Tuesday 11 August 2009

Mary's training tips

I am finally a real person with friends on Facebook, so now is the time to connect them and you to my blog, and post a new riding/training tip each week. so here goes with my first offering......

If you are riding a speedy horse, your first job is to get control of the speed of his legs. The burning question is: does he move you, or do you move him? Whoever controls the speed and movement of your seat bones controls the speed and movement of his legs. We all like to think that we can slow down the horse's legs by pulling on the reins.. but no chance! The horse will probably get claustrophobic and move faster, not slower! Instead you need to slow down the speed of your seat bone movement, and often to make that movement smaller. Be sure you can feel your seat bones - if you are 'popping up' by tightenning the muscles betwen them and the saddle you will not be able to make this work.
Imagine the tip of a pencil attached to each seatbone. What lines/shapes would those pencils draw in each stride? Are they the same? Is one a deeper, darker more repeatable line, and one a random squiggle? Can you even them out? Can you slow them down, and make them smaller?
Exerpiment to find out the effects this has.
Good luck! we'll talk about lazy hores next time!
Mary

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