Stirrup irons. They’re not the most glamorous part of the saddle; they’re just sort of there. You put your foot in them, they support your weight and you go on about your life. They’re pretty unassuming, overall. But what if they’re more to them than I realized?
I had a really great lesson on Husky yesterday, where we focused on changing gaits by using just our energy. Here’s what we did: The Exercise: Visualize yourself as an hourglass. When you want to go from a walk to a trot, imagine all your energy moving from your legs up into your shoulders. Feel … More Don’t Get Stuck in the “Oh, Craps”
I just came across this wonderful post on Confident Horsemanship – The Blog: A Simple Exercise to Improve Your Riding Position, Balance and Confidence. It talks about riders being soft and supple, which allows the horse to do the same. In the post, the author mentions that by correcting a rider’s position, horses that have … More The Source of the Problem is Probably the Rider
After the County Fair Open Show, Husky decided he was done moving properly. He was okay at the walk, listening to my legs, bending and with a nice soft head. But as soon as I even thought about trotting, his head shot straight up and his back hollowed out. He was taking very short, choppy … More Sepentines and Stepping Under
Before bath time, I rode Husky (inside again…the outdoor is still a soupy mess from that storm the other night) and he was pretty good. He was more willing to get into his frame and round his back, but he wasn’t consistent. We did a lot of serpentines and stretching of the neck before working … More Countdown to County Fair
Tonight was a super fun lesson! We changed things up and did some jumpers exercises. It was great because it made everyone – horses and riders both – pay attention and focus on the task at hand instead of going into autopilot over the same old lines we normally do. The setup: three low fences … More Jumpers Exercise: Breaking the Routine
Well, after a full week of vacation for both me and for Husky, I wasn’t all that surprised to find that he was extremely distracted and unbalanced this afternoon. It was a hot, humid day so of course we were both sweating within about five minutes. And since Husky made me work so hard today, by … More Unfocused, Unbalanced
Centered in the Saddle 