A Good Book on a Hot Day

Been working on my centered riding, mostly while reading Sally Swift's books. It's been so hot here (up to 108 two days ago), that the only thing we've been doing with horses is hosing them off twice a day.

I've had a chance to watch more from my library of videos as well and the title of one caught my eye: "Balanced Riding". Here was a chance to see how other clinicians approach the idea of balanced riding in their instruction. It gave me a chance to apply the "Four Basics: soft eyes, breathing, centering and building blocks as well as grounding and clear intent" in a real example of riding.

Teaching a rider how to find her balance point, the instruction proceded to ask the rider to move her horse to the left at a walk in a round pen, while the rider held on to a rope attached to a halter. Except, the horse kept moving to the right.

The rider was having difficulty keeping her right leg stretched to the stirrup (because she was using her stronger, contracted right leg to balance herself in the saddle)and it threw off her balance which then pulled her horse in the same direction (her body was not lined up as building blocks and her feet were not grounded evenly in the stirrups). The horse moved very slowly with hips that moved as restricted and tense as the rider who was instructed to secure her"butt"into the saddle by placing hands on the withers and push herself back(rider was no longer centered, using the less centered upper body to secure her seat). With shoulders rounded and arms stiff at the elbow and weight forward, staring down at the horse's head (hard eyes, instead of soft eyes which leads to restricted breathing) it was clear that their would be no feel of balance by the horse from the rider on his back.

There was no evidence of a following seat, as the rider's hips were tense and unmoving, not allowing the horse to move her when its hips moved (she was not giving clear intent to her horse as to which direction she was headed through soft eyes and awareness of her own body and was repeatedly instructed to use the rope to turn her horse-the rider was not turning from her center).

The lesson was intended to improve the rider's "core stability". But, how does one develop stability when their weight is not evenly distributed, relaxed and moving freely with the horse and she is breathing short, shallow breaths, with shoulders, ribs, pelvis and hips stiff and inflexible. The rider expressed frustration as she did not feel her balance was improving. How could it? In hopes of giving the rider a better idea of what was being asked, she was allowed to ride the horse with no contact, keeping her hands on the withers to push herself back to her balance point. Again, because she was tense and restricted in her body and off balance, the horse would not go forward unless the instructor moved a rope near its body to drive it forward. Fortunately, this was a quiet, low key Icelandic horse who naturally is not an excitable, forward going horse. I think the lesson would have gone much different with a more sensitive horse, but only in that the rider would have been focused on slowing and stopping the horse through a series of pulls on the rope or one rein stops, which would have further exaggerated the rider's loss of balance and upset the horse.

Overall, it was a great way for me to "develop my eye", a skill that we were encourage to work on by Dawn during the first session of the instructor's clinic. Unfortunately, it changed my opinion and confidence in the clinician, whose videos I usually find very helpful and instructive. I have gotten a lot of help from them in terms of their benefit to the horse. It's clear that many of the natural horsemanship clinicians may have it right when it comes to the horse, but they still have a long way to go when it comes to helping the rider. I recommend they get a copy of Sally Swift's book and spend a hot summer day inside with a cool drink and READ IT!

Centered Riding Becomes a Reality

While the clinic has been over for more than 24 hours, this is the first chance I've had to reflect on the entire experience. I can honestly say that meeting Dawn Ruthven and participating in a clinic with her as the instructor has been one of the best experiences in the 20 years I've been with horses.

By the second day, there were several concepts that had made their way into my brain, destined to stay forever. Remember to BREATHE, is the first and foremost. It seems that when you try too hard, straining not only your muscles and joints, but your emotional sensability, you take very short shallow breaths, making it more difficult to move fluidly on the back of a horse.

Next in importance was the correct alignment of the ELBOWS. Dawn's favorite imagery to remind us to keep the point of the elbow down was to picture them as "post hole diggers" that must be positioned straight down in order to create a "buttress" against which the horse cannot pull, but is allowed to lean , while we are NOT allowed to pull back. With the elbows in place, the hands will not have to grab and hold tight, instead they are expected to gently hold the reins, with each finger able to make the slightest, softest connection through to the horse's mouth.

So much of my struggle for the third day of the clinic was associated with the other activity in my life with horses-barefoot trimming. Unfortunately, I tend to use the right side of my body excessively when I am trimming and I've learned that the muscles and tendons I use are being excessively flexed and tightened without the opposite stretch and extension that is necessary to keep the body in balance and avoid damage to the muscles. As I began to ride a day after trimming my own horse, I could feel immediately that my right side was shorter than the left and that the more I tried to balance myself, the more I became intensely focused on just one part of my body instead of being able to breathe, center and ground myself.

That is when the important aspect of body awareness was introduced to us through another instructor at the clinic who is a Feldenkrais practitioner. The method is designed to encourage a person "to experience how the whole body cooperates in any motion. In this way, people can learn new patterns of movement specifically designed to expand body awareness and to enhance the neuromuscular self-image through more efficient and comfortable movement."

The demonstration we were given was specific to the pelvis and clearly identified my own personal limitations of movement based on the shortening of my right lumbosacral muscles and tendons. It was tremendously revealing and expanded the understanding of body awareness as it applies to all aspects of our lives, not just our physical activities. This was another wonderful moment of self revelation and it will make all the difference in my riding as well as my daily activities in and out of the barn.

The second part of the clinic is in just 6 short weeks, giving us all time to absorb and digest all of the information we were given and to share it with our students. I hope I am up to the task. I know that no matter what the outcome of the remainder of the clinic, I have already gained so much information that will dramatically improve my own horsemanship and that I hope to share with all of my future students.

I hope that the CENTERED RIDING concepts will continue to spread throughout the horse world and that amazing educators like Dawn Ruthven will be able to continue sharing the vision of the great Sally Swift (Dawn's 84th birthday is next week and she shows no sign of slowing down). If you want to find out more, go to http://www.centeredriding.org/

A Crossroads-The Centered Riding Clinic

This weekend I decided to expand my horsemanship and my learning and participate in a Centered Riding Clinic for Instructors at Katie Twombly's place in Beaverton,Oregon. This is my account:

Chanty and I arrived yesterday at the Crescendo Farms after a ride through the greater Portland area, a trip that includes highway driving with pockets of congestion and lots of rough patches of road at 60 mph. I feel bad for Chanty back there in her trailer with the sounds of trucks and cars whizzing past her or just the sound of air blowing across the metal of the truck and the wheels bouncing over the highway. I once read in an article from a John Lyons' magazine, that the only true way to know what a horse feels when they're in a trailer, is to go back and ride in one, but so far I've never tried that little experiment. It's probably because, we humans would rather not stand in a metal box with only a small window and a screen to look out as a means to travel even if it's just around the parking lot to see what it's all about. This attempt to empathize with my horse in every situation has been making it more likely that I will take my time and pay attention to her reactions in every situation.

And so, when I brought Chanty to her temporary "new digs" I was aware that she was feeling lost and looking for something or someone familiar. She whinnied several times and paced for a while in between bites of hay and took some time familiarizing herself with the stall which led out to a very spacious paddock and a view of her neighbors out in a large pasture. I was also aware of her frequent glances my way and whenever possible, I reassured her with a stroke to her neck and head and spent some time grooming her. Fortunately, she settled in quite quickly. And why wouldn't she. Crescendo Farms is a gorgeous facility, with large expansive pastures, beautiful stalls and an enormous indoor arena to die for. I could stay here forever.....

Today begins the actual course work and a chance to work with a woman, Dawn Ruthven, who studied with Sally Swift and whose own career with horses has included rider, competitor, teacher and judge. I am looking forward to a chance to expand my knowledge and open my mind to new experiences.

The day began with a warm welcome and introductions. We are fortunate to have a very small personal group of instructors under the expert guidance of Dawn and Katie. In just a short time, I am aware of a feeling of excitement, as I know that I have begun a new chapter in my life with horses. They say that when the student is ready, a teacher will be there to give you what you need. I would never have been able to appreciate what is being given to me in this clinic, just a few short years ago. We take small steps in our life that then bring us closer to another door to open, another opportunity of which to take full advantage. Dawn is "at least" 30 years older than all of us at the clinic, but she has the excitement, enthusiasm and love of learning of someone 30 years younger than me. It is obvious that she has a passion for teaching and is dedicated to bringing the vision of Sally Swift to everyone she meets at these clinics. I feel extremely fortunate to have this chance and will make the most of every moment.

We spent time going over the basics of Centered Riding, complete with demonstrations, with each participant taking turns as the "horse", kneeling on all fours. I have watched Sally's videos and read her book, but here I was practicing the "unbendable arm" with a woman who'd personally learned the technique from Sally Swift. It's like learning to swing a golf club from someone who learned from Tiger Woods.

Once we finished Dawn's discussion of the four basics, Soft Eyes, Breathing, Centering and Building Blocks, as well as grounding, we headed out to the arena to participate in the mounted portion of the clinic, taking turns observing and riding. We were all extremely impressed with the demonstration of how to ground your feet, which is essential to establishing balance and fluidity on your horse. Dawn showed how the tension in the pelvis and hips creates muscle tightening in the upper thigh, closes the angle of the hip, inhibiting the motion of the "following seat" which coordinates your body movement with the horse's rather than interfering with it. She asked the rider to drop the stirrup, allow the foot to hang and with her hands under the upper leg, attempted to lift it off of the saddle.

Like a lead balloon, the leg was almost impossible to move. Dawn began a series of visualization exercises for the rider to follow, each one designed to release tension and free up the muscles and joints and allow the body to absorb the motion of the horse. Once the rider relaxed, it allowed Dawn to move the leg with greater freedom and lightness-and this happened in JUST MINUTES!!! I was able to experience this first hand and I will never forget how it made me so much more aware of my own body. Best of all, Chanty remained relaxed and with instruction from Dawn, I was able to improve my posting and trotting in just one lesson. EUREKA!

I can't wait for tomorrow......