Never Stop Learning

A few days ago I received an email about an upcoming clinic for anyone interested in becoming a centered riding instructor. I first heard about centered riding years ago when I came across a website about Sally Swift and her first book with the same title. I read the book cover to cover and was fascinated with the amount of information about the human and horse body (I am a medical professional and so anatomy and physiology comes easy to me). She was able to explain how to become a better rider by being more aware of your position, your balance, and your body mechanics in walking, riding or any movement. What really amazed me was that she had written the book and started her centered riding movement when she was 61 years old. It proves that you are never too old to follow your passion. She had used the Alexander technique in her own life after being diagnosed with scoliosis. It changed her life.

And so, I've decided to work towards becoming a certified instructor. The organization is going to make it available starting in 2010, with courses starting this summer. In the past I've audited the CHA (Certified Horsemanship Association) course for instructors and felt I should continue my education through centered riding. I want to take the information from centered riding and use it with my students so that they will understand how their bodies can work more effectively, allowing their bodies and their horse acquire strength, tone and flexibility without inflicting pain.

So much of what we do every day that causes discomfort or even debilitating pain is because of the misuse of our body, due to lack of awareness of how it works. This applies not only to the bone, muscles, tendons and joints used to move our bodies, but also, what we put into our bodies to fuel it. It's the same for the horses. We assume that horses are physical beings that naturally run, buck, kick and play and do not need to be conditioned to do the daily activities that we ask of them. We also assume that their backs are able to hold an unlimited amount of weight, no matter what their size or age or their physical condition at the time we begin riding them. We don't take into consideration the ground that they are ridden on and how it affects their legs, feet and all the supporting structures above.

We feed, or should I say overfeed them because we heard that grain and alfalfa is what horses like and NEED. It is like saying, we need 10,000 calories a day because we read that Olympic athlete Michael Phelps eats that much and we want to be healthy and look like him. Most horses require very little to maintain their weight and overall good health and for some (like my laminitis horse), feeding too much can actually cause severe problems.

Ironically, just as I made my decision to complete the coursework for a centered riding instructor, Sally Swift, 96 years young passed away at her home in Vermont. After more than 30 years of sharing her dream with others, she now passes the tradition to those who have respected her teachings for all of these years. The organization has begun to standardize their levels of instruction and publish a handbook for all CR instructors. As stated in their website, this "should help us achieve quality instruction, recognition, and credibility as individual Centered Riding Instructors, as an international educational organization, and for the continuation of the work of Sally Swift." I feel privileged to be a part of that work and look forward to my first clinic in July. The learning continues.....