julie's blog

You may think the legs of the horse are the most important element of their soundness, but maybe it's actually their back. Over the years I've retrained several nice horses who were trained by "good" riders and were absolutely pathetically low in their back. They looked like broodmares. Their ribs hung off their vertabrae and their back muscles were flat, not full and rounded. They had no muscle system in their core muscles that supported their back.

How do they get this way and how can a trainer/rider avoid it?

The current rage is "core muscles." I remember years ago when I was coaching students at a show and saying, "use your core," I was the only one saying it! Now, everyone is. So that's good, except for one thing, . . "What the heck are the core muscles?" I've discovered that when I say, "Use the core," students flex a variety of muscles, most often not the right ones! So, they become stiff all over instead of becoming effective at supporting and holding their horse or their own body with their core.

Well, that's obvious, pull on the reins! Not so fast! I suggest you find a few more refined aids.

In dressage, pushing the heels down is a commonly taught method for half-halting, or halting/stopping your horse. Instructors often say, "sink into your heels." They also say, "sit deeper."  Actually, these things are useful when applied at the right time, in the right way. But, I've noticed that these instructions can be more harmful than helpful. When the rider pushes in the feet, in a dressage saddle (and stirrup length) she comes AWAY from the horse, into the back of the saddle, and most often tips her pelvis, so she's a bit more on the back of her seat. This often chases the horse in front of her -- the horse runs out from under the extra pressure on his back. Then the rider has to pull on the reins. So, how really did the rider stop? by pulling.

OK, day after the horse show and you feel rotten. Your horse and you didn't get the scores you hoped for and you feel, "Why do I bother? I'm not any good at this! This is not a good enough horse, etc." Remember that dressage test scores are extremely fluid. I've been at shows where I got 73% and 56% with the same horse on the same day. That's because if your horse is half-a-bubble off his game, just won't go forward, or he's fearful, or not feeling his soundest, etc., it totally alters all your scores. Then, it affects the collectives at the bottom of the test, of course, and that ride just doesn't score well. Plus, if you have trouble with your walk, particularly the free walk, you're in trouble because, the judge looks at that score when determining her score for your horse's gaits. The walk, particularly at the lowest levels of dressage, determines a lot of scores -- and some are multiplied by a coefficient of 2!

Thanks to every student, boarder, parent, and friend who helped out at the Sunborn Stables Open House. It was a great time! People got lots of hands-on opportunities,  but also got a bit of education as they watched beginner to advanced riders do what they do. They also watched some exciting jumping! Thanks to all the helpers and attendees!

Lots going on at Sunborn Stables this weekend and always. Never a dull moment when you are working around horses. They always keep you on your toes and interested. That's one of the best reasons to get involved with horses: intellectual stimulation and you are NEVER bored!! Look forward to seeing you at the Open House Saturday!

Everyone likes to be right 100% of the time. Thus, no one really wants to learn new things if it means feeling they were "wrong" in the past. But dressage is such an evolutionary sport, we might just as well get used to it!

I look at pictures of myself from years ago and thing, "yuck!" And, at the time, I was doing quite well in the show ring and felt very competent. Now, I have evolved and grown as a rider. I wonder what I'll think of today's rides next year or the year after that?!

What should you be able to expect from a clinic or lesson? The most important two things to me are: 1) honest knowledgeable evaluation of me and my horse and 2) help making my horse be better/happier/more obedient/confident/stronger.

Often neither of these are met as we watch a clinician teach the same old "go here, go there." "Do this movement, do that movement" lessons with narry a mention of the significant, underlying problems with seat, legs and hands that plague the rider's success of any of these movements! The clinician is being dishonest because she is often saying "good" when it's not even near good, and the onlookers are being misled in the development of their "eye." You can't learn to see and do good dressage when you are at a clinic like this.

The half halt is both complex and simple. How does that saying go? It’s simple, but it’s not easy!! I think that really applies to the half halt. When you get it right, it’s so simple, you wonder why you don’t get it right 90% of the time! However, it does get more consistent and your success ratio improves, the more you practice it, and the more clear you are with your expectations and your aids. Ultimately, a slight breath out and a touch of the leg/s should be enough to get the horse to shift his balance back to the hind end and step under with the hind leg which is essentially a half halt.

Co-dependency –Though this term is most often used to describe relationships between people, it also can describe relationships between a rider and her/his mount. Codependency is being overly “helpful,” or another way of putting it is “doing someone’s work for them.” I think this is what we often do, as riders. Here’s how: instead of expecting the horse to ante up and step under his body in order to gain the balance to do a movement, we use all our muscles, our core strength, our arms, our legs, to “help” him balance. This results in a horse that can’t do it on its own. I am reminded of the Native American saying . .  . something like, “If you do something for someone that they can do themselves, you make them weak.” Ponder that!

Many books have been written on riding and teaching, but no written word can role-model the enthusiasm and commitment necessary to make a good riding teacher.  Even with a good teacher role model, teachers have to draw on their personal commitment, their personal belief that riding is important!

In today’s world of global warming marked by treacherous national disasters, hectic lifestyles, and  a faltering stock market and dollar, the question must be asked: Why is riding important? I continually struggle with that question, and now believe I have something of an answer. It is: if one really cares in one arena of life, one can develop habits of caring that transfer to other arenas. This has the potential to help bring about some of the changes that are so badly needed on this planet.

Sometimes we forget because we are goal-oriented and hard-working. But, riding is fun! Remember that your horse, as well as you, needs a walk in the woods – or a cross country gallop, if you are capable of surviving – to make the “fun” come out! Your horse is just like you. He needs a break from the grind and the same old muscles being asked to work. Try to find a hilly pasture or trail with some diverse scenery for your spring show preparation. Start with a walk, but if your horse is fresh, a trot is actually easier to handle, because you won’t be on a loose rein and your leg will be on. That will make you less vulnerable to surprise flights by pheasants, quail and deer. When your horse sees that you like to go forward, even when there are scary things in the world, he gets more confident. So, you’re really training him for the dressage ring, even on the trail. It’s called, “submission.”

From the point-of-view of a 40 year veteran of dressage, I am amazed at how much I learn every single day! It’s fascinating how the qualities of a person’s character, physical strength, ability to isolate muscles, timing and intuition, all contribute to their ability to ride. So many times I say to myself, “wow, I can’t believe I didn’t know this before!” as some heretofore un-discovered tidbit of training unveils itself. So, what is the most important aspect of a rider’s success? Patience? Commitment to learning? Hard to say, but it’s definitely a lifelong pursuit.

It is very tricky being a trainer (or an owner, for that matter). Sometimes the horses do have to bear the brunt of our stupidity as we learn. Unfortunately, the "how-to-train-a-horse" gene was not implanted in us at birth! And, it's important for young trainers to take some initiative or they'll never learn anything.

Sometimes a trainer has an ugly session with a horse. Like they get after the horse too much, or they get impatient. Most of them feel sick, and they think, talk to other trainers, read and study and next time try something else. But, trainers HAVE to be able to make seat-of-the-pants decisions sometimes. We think at the time that we are doing the right thing, and then we get more information and learn more, and years later we say, "gee that was dumb."

You may have heard about the ear, shoulder, hip, heel alignment that a rider is supposed to have. It’s interesting that we expect to do this on a horse, because most of us can’t do it on the ground!  Does that mean we are hopeless and should never even try? Heck no! It means we have to adapt our positions to fit the specific limitations of our body. A wonderful place to begin is just observing ourselves and/or our students in a standing position, from the side, the back, and the front, and also while walking. What does it take for us to be straight off a horse. Now, how do we get our bodies to cooperate while ON a horse!

OK, heels down -- well how far? I think the "heels down" that so many riding instructors like to shout at their students is overrated! Yes, for jumping, absolutely. Yes, for a naughty dressage horse, but what about the rest of the time? When a rider puts the heels hard down it alters their hamstrings, their thighs, and their back. I'm planning to write a lot more about this in a new article soon. But for now, contemplate, what yould happen if I didn't push my heels down? Experiment!

One of the first lessons you need to master as a rider, is the seatbones and thighs lesson. We've been working on this lesson lately. It starts with suppling the neck, then activating the hind legs with the turns on the forehand, and then it focuses on throughness with the reinback. It's amazing to experience how you can really make the neck longer and the horse more through because of this combination of exercises -- if they are properly done. And then, you can incorporate that throughness into all  your riding from that point on, until you end up with a fabulous halfpass where the horse really reaches into the outside rein.

This week I've been having an advanced camp. The girls are riding fairly advanced horses (2nd to 4th level) and have given me many insights. The camp was necessary to get my horses ridden during my time of surgery recovery that has grounded me (no riding). So, throughout the week we've been focusing on transitions. Yesterday, after watching one gal struggle with one of the horses I broke the rules and got on to see what was going wrong -- it just wasn't visible. So, that all prompted this blog entry. Here's my tip for the day: Balance is always key. That means, in any transition or even within any gait, the rider's top priority has to be her balance and the horse's balance. Let's say you ask the horse to trot and he rushes off. That's a sign of tipping on the forehand! You must address the real underlying problem, not the symptom. A few things you might do to fix the problem are: stop, back up, tuck your fanny under, use your gut muscles.

Stirrups are not brakes! In fact the more one steps in the stirrups, the worse the brakes! For good half halts and downward transitions, practice doing them with bend, never retract the rein! Never press in the stirrups! To bend you can open the rein if needed, but never pull it back. When you pull the rein back, you stop the hind legs. We want to stop the front legs and make sure the hind legs keep going for as long as good balance requires, in order to support the horse in the downward transition and help him step under with the hhind legs. When you press in the stirrups you hollow your back and the horse copies you. so, the downward transions are butt-high and lack engagement. Focus on your lower leg by practicing riding downward transitions in shoulder in and leg yield. You must keep your hands still, preferably on the neck for this to work. Use your core muscles, think about what you want, and ride forward until it happens.