58/ MAY 2012 THE RIDER
Are you and your horse communicating?
Riding effectively can be boiled down to a signal/response/ pressure or release system. Your hands send the signal, communicat- ing messages such as slow, turn and flex to your horse. When the horse responds accurately to your request, you respond with a reward, releasing the pressure and giving him freedom. If he responds negatively, you keep the pressure steady or even increase it. So, you see, you’re always having a con- versation of “no” and “yes” to your horse. By trial and error the horse learns that a certain response always yields con- sistent release. Unsteady hands interfere with this clears message, like static interfering with a radio sta- tion. The real message is hard to discern.
Quiet those noisy hands!
By Lindsay Grice Blah, Blah, Blah…
the TV or car radio to focus on something else? Some of us tuned out a teacher as we daydreamt about an upcoming horse show!
just that – background noise that drowns out other signals you’re try- ing to send to your horse. At best, the horse can ignore the noise,
A rider’s unsteady hands can be Do you ever tune out a voice on
becoming desensitized to it. Equine behaviourists call this habituation. At worst, erratic hands will scare your horse. He’ll learn to preserve himself by avoiding the bit in some way. Gapping mouths, elevated heads, hollow backs and choppy gaits are common evasions. Instead of making the mistake of solving those prob- lems with band aid solutions such as nosebands and artificial aids, let’s go first to the root of the problem – developing elastic, independent hands as a rider.
Keep your hands still! I can still hear my early instructors barking at me. Like any novice, while I focused on keeping my horse going or identifying the right diagonal, my hands would elevate and bounce around. But the more I tried to force them down, the stiffer and more jarring they became. Eventually I learned that still hands are the result of elastic arms. Unlocking the move- ment in your shoulder, elbow and wrist joints is the first step to soft, following hands. I ask my students to picture holding a cup of coffee as they drive over a speed bump. Shock absorbing elasticity will keep you from spilling the coffee on your lap.
Sally Swift used the analogy of holding baby birds
in your hands to illustrate the difference between holding the reins and gripping the reins. Grip too tightly and you’ll crush those birds. Hold them too loosely and they’ll fly away.
It starts in the seat.
If your seat is bouncing in the saddle, you won’t be able to keep your hands from bouncing, either. A deep, fol- lowing seat builds the secure foundation upon which elastic hands can develop. If you’re unbalanced in your position, you’re resort to holding on with the reins for stability. Here again, the key is soft- ness, not just strength. Cling- ing on with your thighs will only push you up out of the saddle. Trying by sheer might to keep still will cause your lower back to lock with the jarring effect of a ride in a hay wagon vs a Cadillac. For that luxury ride, learn to follow, not overpow- er the motion of the horse. Try sitting trot without stir- rups (no pain, no gain!) and concentrate on not locking your lower back and hips. Picture the influence of your hips in a swing. As you open and close your hip angle you control the arc of the swing. Sink down into the tack, let- ting your seat bones find the deepest place in the saddle. Let your stomach allow you to mirror the horse’s motion like a hula dancer. At first you may only be able to trot eight or ten steps without stir- rups. Perfect practice makes perfect. Many European sys- tems of equitation require rid- ers to “earn their spurs” by spending hours on the longe line, developing strength and balance. But go easy - push-
ing yourself to muscle fatigue will result in gripping and perching out of the saddle as opposed to sinking down around it.
The leg bone is connected to…
…the hip bone, is connected to the back bone ,is connected to the arm bone. Effective riders have the ability to use their aids independently. The various cues they use with their legs and seat bones aren’t mirrored in their arms. Try this drill: post trot with your fingers touching the mane, saddle pad or swells of a western saddle (whatever you can reach comfortably). With your hands in one place, you will have to open and close your elbow as you rise up and down. Your upper arm and shoulder will feel fluid. Now raise your hands a bit so they’re no longer touching. Can you recreate that feeling of keeping your hands in one place while the rest of your body rises and lowers? The same closing and unfolding elbow enables you to follow the motion of the horse’s neck at the canter and over a jump. I’ve taught some stu- dents this idea by having them reach for a strap, such as a stirrup leather, fastened around the horse’s neck while posting or cantering.
cation is the key to relation- ship. Keeping your cues dis- tinct and recognizable for your non-English speaking equine partner is the most considerate thing you can do for him. Don’t be in a hurry to canter before you’re solid and consistent at the trot.
As they say, communi-
Build your independent aids slowly and systematically like a child learning phonics to read. Otherwise your conver- sation will sound to your horse like blah, blah, blah…
SIDEBAR
Three typical ways your horse deals with the noise.
1. Rooting. This is when a horse opens his mouth and thrusts his head and neck for- ward, pulling the reins out of the rider’s hands. Often the rider gets a jolt as the horse tugs her out of the saddle. It’s a horse’s frustrated attempt to get some peace from the rein pressure. And it usually works! School horses are quick to learn this trick – the unstable body position of a novice rider makes them easy to unseat.
The fix: Your job is to make absolutely sure your hands are communicating a clear message of signal/response/ pressure or release to your horse. If he understands hor to find release through yielding to pressure, it might be time to show him his usual escape route is now closed. As soon as you apply pressure, get ready for him to answer with a root. Anchor yourself in the saddle and sharply brace your arm, or even bite back a little with a little snap of your own against his tug, so he feels like he’s rooting into a brick wall. The trick is, every time he does this, he must meet with this result – don’t miss one, so be on your guard. He’ll soon learn that this behaviour NEVER works.
Continued on Page 59
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