It's Like Breathing Out and Breathing In

It's time to go to a few new clinics and get the cobwebs out of my brain. It just isn't enough to read a book or watch a video to improve my horsemanship and riding. It's fun to listen to someone and watch actual demonstrations or if possible ride in a clinic with an experienced instructor. In preparation for a Centered Riding Clinic I have read a small, but very powerful book by Tom Nagel, called Zen and Horse Backriding. Tom is an instructor and advanced practitioner of Zen bodytherapy and his book is his special approach to riding that combines posture, breathing and body awareness. He especially emphasizes the use of a very powerful muscle, the psoas, which allows us as riders to lengthen our lower spine, tone the seat and inner thigh muscles and provide stability over the horse. It is that stability that gives a rider the confidence to take their horse through greater physical and mental challenges.

I've been working very hard on improving the quality of my transitions, especially my downward transitions and I think this approach to it with its practical steps, is going to make the difference. We've all probably heard about the technique that involves exhaling to get our horse to slow or stop. But, did you know why this works so well? Recently, I started suggesting to my students that if they wanted to drop their lower spine into the saddle, they could simply cough each time they felt like they were hollowing their back, as a way to remind them. There is no way to cough and keep your back hollow and your lower abdomen expanded. A cough is just an exhale that lasts seconds. The psoas in its attachments below the diaphragm pushes the air out as the muscle lengthens downward. At the same time the upper back and spine at the neck is lengthened upward as the muscles at the neck allow the head to move at the atlas joint just between your ears. Try coughing and feel how your back lowers, your buttocks make better contact with your seat.

When you practice the inhale and exhale to slow or stop your horse, you are practicing a means to make contact with your seat and inner thighs, as this same psoas muscle connects from the lower back through the front of the pelvis and on to the top of the femur or leg bone. I've tried the inhale and exhale exercise and with practice have been able to slow my horse within the same gait, what dressage riders call a "half halt" or what western riders might call "rating" your horse, especially in barrel racing, described as a deep relaxation or "melting" into the saddle to slow your horse down.

Can it really be as simple as breathing in and breathing out? Well, this is horse backriding and if you are in it for the long haul, then you've noticed that there's nothing simple about being a good rider. It occured to me recently that there is no other physical activity that involves 2 living creatures in direct physical contact with each other, requiring each of them to be in balance while being strong and flexible enough to move as one- except maybe dancing and pairs skating. But that's TWO HUMANS. We're talking about being on a very large 4 legged creature, with all of its emotional and physical attributes, anyone of which can alter the course of things in or out of the saddle.

So, if you want a great little book that teaches you how to use your breathing and your posture to improve your riding, check out Tom Nagel's book. I'm looking forward to seeing him in person and learn just how "simple" it is to use a breath to control a horse.