A QUESTION I N T R O D U C T I O N

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "A QUESTION I N T R O D U C T I O N"

Lesley Booker
5 years ago
Views:

1 WHERE ARE MY HORSE'S FEET?

A QUESTION I N T R O D U C T I O N A question that comes up regularly in discussions around the timing of the aids is: How do I feel where my horse s feet are and if a foot

2 A QUESTION I N T R O D U C T I O N A question that comes up regularly in discussions around the timing of the aids is: How do I feel where my horse s feet are and if a foot is up or down? This is a very important issue because a lot of things depend on it, such as the efficiency and accuracy of the aids, and the horse s balance and straightness.

3 There are two dimensions to this question: How can I tell if my horse s feet are on the right line of travel? How can I tell if a certain leg is in the air or on the ground?

4 HOW CAN I TELL IF MY HORSE S FEET ARE ON THE RIGHT LINE OF TRAVEL? This plays a role for the horse s straightness and balance. To find out whether your horse is aligned properly on your intended line of travel, ask yourself these questions: Are you riding from navigational point to navigational point (arena letters, circle points, for instance)? Are your straight lines straight? Are your circles round? Is your horse bulging sideways against one rein or one leg? Which leg carries the majority of the weight?

The navigational points, such as arena letters, circle points, fence posts, bushes, trees, roof support posts, and other elements in and around your arena can all help you to make your straight lines

5 The navigational points, such as arena letters, circle points, fence posts, bushes, trees, roof support posts, and other elements in and around your arena can all help you to make your straight lines straight and your circles round. M U S I C In addition to the regular arena letters, you could put markers every 10m along the long sides of the arena to help you divide the arena into a chequer board of 10m squares, which helps you in designing round 20m circles and 10m voltes. You could also mark the quarterlines on the short sides of the arena. They are 5m from the corner, right in the middle between A/C and the corner, so when you ride the quarterline you can ride towards this marker on the far short side, keeping it between your horse s ears the entire time.

6 A good way to practice riding straight lines is to pick a point or a marker at the far end of the arena (or a tree, fence post, bush, etc. when you re out on a trail) and ride towards it, keeping it always between your horse s ears. When you are riding on an inside track or on the quarterline of the arena observe if your horse s body is parallel with the long side and your distance remains the same. You should have the exact same distance from the long side when you arrive at the far end as when you started this line. You can go even further and mark this line with ground poles or cones, and then ride along the markers at a very close distance without stepping on them and without drifting away from them. These are usually quite eye opening in the beginning. A good way to practice riding round circles and voltes is to ride from circle point to circle point. It is helpful to mark these with cone gateways: one cone on the inside of the line, and one on the outside of the line, so that you have to ride in between them.

In addition, you can count the strides of the inside hind leg in each half or even quarter of the circle. The number of strides needs to be even in order for the circle to be round.

7 In addition, you can count the strides of the inside hind leg in each half or even quarter of the circle. The number of strides needs to be even in order for the circle to be round. This is also a great way to train your feel. If the number of strides is too large in one quarter or half circle, the horse is drifting out and you will feel an increased pressure against your outside leg and rein. If the number of strides is too small in one quarter or half circle, the horse is drifting in and you will feel an increased pressure against your inside leg and rein. Setting out cones or poles as markers is a great way to develop your feel. If the horse steps on a marker or knocks one down, ask yourself which leg it was. If it was a front leg, it means that the horse s shoulder drifted towards this side and that you either didn t frame it enough with your knee and rein on that side, or that the horse ignored these aids. If it was a hind leg, it means that the croup drifted in that direction and that you either didn t frame it enough with your calf on that side or the horse ignored this aid. It could also be that you need to rotate your pelvis slightly in one direction to straighten the horse out.

If the shoulders drift to one side, you should be able to feel it in your knee and rein on that side. If the haunches drift to one side, you should be able to feel it in your calf on that side.

Keep your reins close to the neck, and let your thighs, knees, and calves rest softly on the horse s side without gripping for maximum feel.

8 If the shoulders drift to one side, you should be able to feel it in your knee and rein on that side. If the haunches drift to one side, you should be able to feel it in your calf on that side. You will be able to feel these impulses from the horse best when your legs and reins form a narrow channel in which the horse is moving. Keep your reins close to the neck, and let your thighs, knees, and calves rest softly on the horse s side without gripping for maximum feel. Another detail that is worth keeping an eye on is which one of the four legs is supporting the majority of the weight. If it is a front leg, chances are that the horse is leaving his line of travel with this leg. When the horse is aligned correctly, the weight distribution will be more even, or the majority of the weight will be in a hind leg rather than a front leg.

9 How can I tell if a certain leg is in the air or on the ground? This question is relevant when it comes to the timing of the aids because the horse can respond to certain aids only when the leg is in the air, while other aids can only go through if the leg is on the ground. You can see the movement of the front legs by glancing down at the horse s shoulders. When the shoulder blade moves forward, the front leg on that side is in the air. When the shoulder blade moves backward, the front leg is on the ground. The rider s thigh and knee are close enough to the horse s shoulder blade to feel its movement. When the front leg touches down, the rider s knee gets pulled down. When the front leg swings forward, the rider s thigh and knee get moved slightly forward as well. When the hind leg touches down, the hip on the same side rises slightly, which the rider can feel as a small bump under her seatbone. At the same time, you can feel a slight pulse in the rein on the same side because the hind leg fills the lateral rein as it swings forward. This reaches its culmination when the hind leg touches down.

10 If you can t feel the touchdown of the hind leg in your seatbone you may be leaning forward or you may be hollowing your back so that your seatbones are too far away from the saddle to connect with the hind leg. It could also be that the horse is not moving with enough energy so that the movement of the hind leg is too small. You can teach yourself to feel the movement of the hind leg by holding both reins in one hand and putting the other hand on the point of the horse s hip. That s where you can feel the movement most clearly. Then you could put your hand on your own hip and try to feel the same movement pattern there. Eventually, you can feel it just with your pelvis. If you can t feel the impulse of the hind leg in your hand, check your rein length. If the rein is too long, the impulse of the hind leg can t arrive in your hand. If the reins are too short, the horse won t be able to move his neck enough to transmit this impulse.

11 You can feel the moment that the hind leg lifts off in your leg through the swinging of the horse s rib cage. The rib cage swings like a pendulum back and forth. It swings towards the side where the hind leg has touched down and away from the side where the hind leg is in the air. At the endpoint of the lateral swing the rib cage touches the rider s calf. This would be the right moment for a driving aid with the lower leg. The rider only needs to return the nudge to send the ribcage back in the opposite direction which increases the contraction of the abdominal muscles on that side so that the hind leg lifts off with more energy. You will be able to feel the swinging of the rib cage only if your legs are in the right position and if they are relatively relaxed. If the leg is too far away from the horse, it won t be able to feel anything. If it is gripping, it won t be able to feel anything, either, and it may cause the horse to brace his rib cage against the rider s leg and to hold his breath so that the movement of the rib cage is diminished.

12 B Y D R. T H O M A S R I T T E R / R I T T E R D R E S S A G E To find out about all of our upcoming courses, events, and book releases, join our "NOTIFY ME" list! ( go to to sign up)

ARENA EXERCISES AND PATTERNS BEST

50 ARENA EXERCISES AND PATTERNS BEST Essential Schooling for English and Western Riders Ann Katrin Querbach Contents DUPLICATION PROHIBITED Introduction 2 1. Finding Your Center The Correct Seat 4 1.1