Sitting Trot

One of the major issues I observe in riders at the sitting trot is the ability to maintain the connection of the sit bones through the entire cycle of the gait. When we loose the rhythm of the cycle of movement the body has to tighten to hold on and in a preparatory reaction to the possibility of hitting the ground. This happens whether we are asking for it or not. The movement in the rider's body looks more like a rising or posting trot than it does the sitting trot.

The movement of the body at the sitting trot should be exactly like it is at the walk. The only difference being the power and the speed in which the body is moving with the horse. The movement of the pelvis, femur bones and lower lumbar mirror that of the rider walking effectively on the ground.

Thanks Florida - What a Great First Clinic!

I'm back home in sunny Arizona after a fantastic 4 days of clinic and lessons in Ocala Florida. The participants were great and Christine did a wonderful job of organizing and hosting the clinic. From the accommodations to the open minded enthusiasm of everyone, I felt right at home and welcome from the start.

We worked on becoming more aware of our breath and the many and various applications it has to riding. Along with the breath we began the process in which we receive and redirect the power of the horse through our bodies. These techniques result in nearly effortless connection with the horse.

Thanks also to Aimee - a gifted instructor and rider. It was her forward thinking that made the whole clinic possible.

I can't wait to work with this group again!

James

Don't Change Direction by Rosie McCall

Bustle wobbled up the straight line across the arena, trying bravely to compensate for the blobby torso sitting on her back.
‘Don’t change direction’ she mutters to herself, giving a snort of impatience and stretching her head down to relieve the tension in her back. ‘I’ll give her don’t change direction’ and does a little jinks to the right.
‘It would help if the human learnt how to stand properly before she sat on my back’, the aggrieved mare thought to herself. ‘I can walk in a straight line but I bet she can’t’, she continued to ruminate to herself.
The blobby human vainly strived to sit in the saddle using her sit bones and keeping her pesky hips in place following the detailed instructions been given from the ground. The perfectly balanced male in the middle of the arena, looking cool and relaxed, sighed to himself and decided a little more ground work might help the blobby human.
Now then, weight on the balls of your feet, hips slightly back, ankles slightly bent, and breathe letting gravity do the work and not the muscles. Sounded easy but years of misspent standing, hip shot, leaning backwards was not to be forgotten in one lesson. How can a body sit properly in the saddle if they cannot stand properly on the ground? The importance of how the human controlled its balance and weight was emphasized. Every in balance in the human is felt by the horse. Poor horse having to spend years trying to compensate for the unbalanced human on its back.
Bustle walked calmly across the arena demonstrating a perfect straight line without this wobbly, blobby person on her back. So humiliating for the human.
Dismayed, Bustle was asked to allow the human on her back for another go. Sit bones realigned, breathing deeply into the stomach – or the posh name Dian Tian, reins loose on the neck the human was asked to smile and think Bustle forward with intent and on an inhale of breathe.
‘Hey’ Bustle thought to herself ‘now that was easy, I can do that’. Off she moved in a straight line, then felt a wobble on her back so immediately tried to compensate with a back leg moving up and round under her. ‘Not my fault I am changing direction’ she muttered to herself. The Human aware on a deeper level of her weight and her sit bones, corrected herself and put a little more weight into the offending sit bone and Bustle straightened herself up.
Bustle and the human started to move in rhythm with each other, the human’s body mimicking the flow of motion from Bustle, feeling the power of the hind leg coming up under each sit bone and allowing the sit bone to move with the leg. Bustle walked a straight line up the centre of the arena.
Bustle and human moved out into the big wide world daring to aim across a wide and large stubble field. ‘Will she hold her direction’ the human thought to herself allowing Bustle the freedom to walk at a brisk pace.
‘Oh my god’ Bustle’s head shot up, ‘is that a deer I see in the hedgerow?’ ‘Better take evasive action, you never know with these deer’. Bustle started to move in a different direction, the human shifted the weight on her sit bones, turned her sternum to line back up the way they were going and Bustle settled back down to the original direction. The slow deep breathing and the following hips of the human, relaxing Bustle. They walked across the field at a steady pace, minute adjustments to direction and speed being communicated between horse and human with soft movements of bones and breath.
‘ok’ the human thought, ‘I will aim for a downward transition and a halt’. Not being able to look and think at the same time, she closed her eyes, breathed deeply let her sit bones sink into the saddle and exhaled to a halt. Bustle obligingly came to a stop, one front foot at a time, lining them up precisely. The human overjoyed at the success opened her eyes to be confronted by a large tree and some branches in her face! Oh well, she thought ‘I did not actually tell Bustle where to stop, but to stop so guess she picked the best place for her’. Bustle added a little snack to the days efforts.

……///
Riding a horse is an ongoing conversation between horse and human.
Before we are critical of a horse changing direction, we need to check that inadvertently we are not giving him indication to do so with our bodies.
Anybody who has seen a horse gallop freely across a field will know that a horse can hold a direction without any difficulty. It is when the human element is introduced that the horse struggles to understand the conflicting messages received from hand, leg and body. The right hand says go right, the left leg pushes out, the body leans back and out, now what is the horse to make of that?

Moving Your Pelvis 3 Directions While Riding?

I was reading Anatomy Trains again and, as always, inspired by the author’s insight and guts to say it how he sees it. It got me thinking about the 3 movements of the pelvis while walking. Walking is something that I have spent 1000's of hours doing and looking at in the last 10 years. Wu Style Tai Chi and my most amazing teacher Wen Mei Yu first presented me with the notion that maybe I don't really know how to walk.
Not know how to walk? I’ve been walking for decades! What was she talking about?

What she taught me was that the pelvis can move in 3 directions while walking most of us only allow ours to move in one maybe 2 directions? Picture her (a small Chinese woman in her 70’s) showing me a (man in my 30’s) to follow the expanded pelvic movement. Learning to allow my pelvis to move in this way while walking made a tremendous difference in my range of motion.

This is true for in the saddle as well as on the ground. The 3 directions of movement relate to the 3 bone structure of your seat, the femur bones the pelvis and the lower lumbar. Any restriction in one of these parts inhibits the others and equally any over use of one area causes the restriction of the others. For instance movement one in the saddle, the power of the horse should raise and drop your seat bones in a forward inclination. In the second movement the power of the horse should also pivot your pelvis from the center, (just in front of the sacrum/lumbar area) to the left/center/right. And third, the same power flowing up through the sacrum/lumbar area allows the pelvis to move balanced between the ball and socket joints of the hips, forward and backward with out ever losing the contact of the seat bones. I ‘see’ these movements in 3 dimensions as if I was inside the bowl of the pelvis( your center) looking out in all directions, from that from that reference point the 3 movements combine as one, creating a gyroscope effect in the center of the body.

These 3 movements when balanced receive and redirect the power of the horse entering into the skeletal structure of the rider. They are the foundation of all balance, timing and sensitivity. By the way Balance, Timing and Feel cannot be separated out. They are one, they stream from the same source and that source is your center--your seat.
James

Dr. Dolittle and Chief Dan George Got It Right!

I was looking through Tony Stromberg's beautiful book "Spirit Horses" again the other day and read a quote from Chief Dan George:

"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other.

If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear.

What one fears, one destroys."

I have talked before about the stressful impact fear has on our bodies and our connection to our horses. I've seen horses risk their own health to support our bad habits that we developed to keep us from falling. I know that if we talk to our horses and then listen to their responses (relaxed neck, fluid movement, etc.) we can do what is not only healthy for us, but healthy for them. When we learn to be balanced we don't fear being on our horse, we don't let fear destroy either of us.

James

Back in the UK - Did You Miss Me?

September 9 - October 8!

I'm so excited to be back and see what progress has been made in the short time I've been gone and to meet some new riders at new clinics! We have several new clinics lined up so make sure you contact Rachel at http://www.naturalhorsecompany.com/ or http://www.naturalhorseshop.co.uk/ to sign up.

I won't be back again until late spring of 2010 and I hope to see all of you then!

James

Thanks for a Great Clinic in Essex!

I just wanted to thank you once again for a most interesting and informative clinic.
I suppose that I was expecting there to be a lot of talk about moving 'energy' and of 'chi' - which, by the way, is fine by me too as the horses seem to respond to this type of approach too - but it is all too easy for this approach to become too 'airy fairy', as you put it.
What I was not expecting was to be more than impressed by your extensive anatomical and bio-mechanical knowledge. Being a Mechanical Engineering graduate and practising Osteopath, it takes a lot to impress me!
Likewise, with a background in Tai Chi (short Yang form - for 3 yrs some 25 yrs ago), Aikido - for the last 5 yrs, Yoga, Pilates, Qi Gong and one year of continual Alexander Technique lessons - all over a period of 30 yrs - I was amazed at the effectiveness of your Laing Gong exercises. I found myself able to access and stretch parts of my body that I had not been able to reach since an old back injury at the age of 27 - 20 yrs ago! The deceptively simple instruction to 'hollow' the lumbar spine before forward bending automatically made me - and my fellow students - forward bend by rotating the ilia about the femoral heads. This too is what Alexander is aiming for but it took me many lessons to break my of forward bending from the lumbo-sacral area. This one piece of advice produced the same elegant, pain-free mechanics!
However, the biggest revelation to me was the re-alignment exercise at the start which you called, 'Standing Meditation'. My mind reeled against the idea of an apparently 'leaning forward' posture but I was determined to keep an open mind and to accept and try these new ideas. I was grateful that your work is so rooted in practical application. I few quick physical tests of the 'heels' vs 'balls of feet' posture told me immediately that this was correct! Also, within a minute of standing in this new posture, I had the same releases that I'd experienced only after about 10 Alexander Lessons; I was breathing into the posterior and inferior aspects of my back (activating my floating ribs or 'widening the back' as F. M. Alexander put it). Some time later, I realised that your suggested posture had activated my core, pulled in by middle-age-spread of a tummy and allowed the front of my chest to expand - all with no conscious effort! It felt wonderful!
Finally, as I drove home yesterday, I had a bit of a personal revelation regarding my understanding of basic equitation. I had puzzled for ages why so many people and equitation instructors seemed obsessed with 'transitions'. Even Linda Parelli has been encouraging her L3 students to use 'a million transitions' to help them progress their 'Finesse', presumably due to her experiences with Walter Zetl. Having only been riding for about 5 yrs in total, having no goals to succeed in Dressage - and having a rather under-motivated 'been-there-seen-that-go-ahead-and-impress-me' kind of a horse (yeah! I know we should be careful about how we describe our horses - they are our mirrors, after all! Lol!) - I was having trouble seeing how I was going to present these types of exercises to Jo (my horse) when I was unclear of the purpose.
Anyway, suddenly it came to me - by following your example and applying a mechanical analysis....
It suddenly became clear to me that transitions (changes of gait) are Accelerations and Decelerations and this is where Anterior/Posterior forces are developed. It is these forces that easily cause the human to become UNbalanced and to tense and to grip!
It is one thing (not easy - but relatively easy) to sit to a regular walk or trot or even canter - ie at relatively constant velocity - but to be able to do the same whilst accelerating or decelerating is quite another! Horses can easily do all these transitions in the field, carrying only themselves, even Flying Changes etc - and it became clear to me that they could fairly easily do this with us aboard if only we could 'stay connected'; could shift our weight to match theirs; could keep our centre over their centre; could balance OUR bodies without levering against them!. In Tai Chi terms its no more then 'Pushing Hands' done with the whole body.
So....if a human is seeking to develop that type of connection; if they want to allow the horse to perform as well as they can in the field etc then staying in balance during transitions is one of the keys! The other side of the coin is that it suddenly became equally clear to me just why the average human has so many problems with their horse doing transitions! The missing key, which YOU are providing for us all is how can WE do transitions with our bodies and then, further, how can we learn to be aware enough of our own bodies so that we can organise them to follow the horse's movements.
In Parelli-land students often experience BFOs ('Blinding Flashes of the Obvious'!). Penny expressed one on Sunday morning. She suddenly a connection with something you had shown them on the Fri evening talk. Suddenly she did not just understand what you had said, she had made it her own. I think this is part and parcel of what you eloquently described as not you 'giving' the information but us actively 'taking' it. My 'transitions' is just the same. It was a BFO and, by definition, is probably 'Blindingly Obvious' to everyone else. Nonetheless it is precious to me and I want to thank you for that inspiration from the bottom of my heart : )
I am sure we will meet again, James and hopefully quite soon. As you can see, my head is bubbling over with the info you shared. I will certainly be recommended all my Natural Horsemanship friends to investigate your approach and to take a clinic with you to experience it for themselves. As I tried to express to you as I left on Sunday, your approach fits so well with a lot of my past experiences and existing knowledge that I know that your way is definitely a way in for me to better understand and further explore my horsemanship.
"When the student is ready, the Master appears."
Kind regards
Steve Miller

Similar Riding Issues--Individual Solutions

I'm sure part of what keeps me interested in learning more, more, more about the work I do is that while the problems riders express with their riding may sound the same, the solutions to those problems are very individual. We all come to riding with a whole host of different experiences that can result in our holding tension in our bodies and blocking the flow of energy from the horse through us. How and where we hold this this tension appears in so many different ways that it is always a challenge to find it, and an even greater challenge for the rider to be able to release it. Often what comes with this release is tears and/or an emotional release that many riders don't expect. What that release allows is a deeper connection with their horse and an ability to move power through their body more effectively. Your horse will celebrate with you when you are courageous enough to deal with the causes of the tension and then let it go! Modern science will tell you that holding on to stress is not healthy for you and can be the cause of many serious illnesses. Having a deep connection with your horse is a healthy sign well worth working for!

I'm happy to do my part!

James

My First Lesson

Dear James,

I just wanted to send you an e mail, after having a lesson with you the other week at Hamley hagg farm, (friend of Sues !)
I did not know quite what to expect but went into my lesson with and open mind.
I soon realised that my breathing was very random and I had no idea of when I was about to breath in and out, which I am starting to realize is AMAZINGLY important in riding.
The times I have ridden since I have to say I am starting to feel a difference all ready, I know it is very early days but when I first get on Apollo and walk him round practicing my breathing he starts taking relaxing breaths himself and I feel he is already working in a more relaxed way and maintaining it for longer, so I will try my best to keep practicing and do understand how you need to control the timing and length of your breaths for more relaxed transitions etc!
Anyway just wanted to let you know the results so far and hope you will see a difference in September.

Many thanks
Julie Gott (and Apollo!!!!!)

Relieve Tension and Impress the Judges

This article identifies the two powers or forces that a rider has to constantly deal with, gravity and the physical power created by the horse. These two forces can flow through our bones usually in opposite directions at the same time. Here is an example from a recent clinic in Tehachapi, California: This FEI level rider was well aware of the force or pull in her hands from the horse's head and neck but could not get the feel of gravity flowing down the arms. When she pulled against the horses power (keeping her balance) with the muscles in the forearms and shoulders those muscles blocked the flow of gravity down the arms. This resulted in the horse not going forward freely and becoming increasingly tight in the neck and forehand, not to mention the exhaustion of the rider from holding against the power of the horse. These are NOT things we want to happen in front of the judges! When she removed the tension by balancing her bones and allowing the two forces to move freely it was a thing of beauty, something she would be proud for the judges to see!

IS THERE A CRACK IN YOUR SEAT? - Part 1

One of the most effective and efficient ways athletes can improve performance is by strengthening their foundation. For the equestrian, I believe that foundation is the body. More precisely: the body's ability to maintain structural alignment while joining with the motion of the horse. Structural alignment is achieved when the bones align in such a way that they carry the force of gravity down through the body while at the same time receiving the power of the horse up into the body without creating unnecessary tensions in your muscles. Tension is created when the motion of the horse pushes you out of structural alignment and the muscles around your joints tighten in an attempt to hold you in balance. This would not be a big problem if we let go of the tension when we return to structural alignment. To maintain this level of balance you must increase your body's sensitivity to and ability to absorb and redirect outside forces - namely your horse.
James

The Squeal of Joy and Tears of Gratitude

It happens in nearly every clinic someone squeals and someone cries.
Some squeals are with joy and excitement when a rider learns how to do something they already know how to do with less effort and more results. They squeal from the the feeling and conection with their horse.
Someone cries tears of gratitude and relief when they find answers or regain hope that they too will have that deeper relationship in the saddle with their horse.
It happened in Oklahoma when a friend, a high level rider, found magic in her canter by using her 'bellybutton out' on a circle that allowed her horse's back to lift and haunchs to engage like never before.
It happened in California when a rider learned the difference between a half halt and a half block on the outside rein that resulted in her PreSaintGeorge level horse softening, stretching and lengthing through it's back and neck like it was veteren Grandpre Master.
Tears flowed when a rider in LA felt the horses energy flowing up her spine to her head and used her lowerback for the first time ever to control the tempo of the walk.
Tears flow in Arizona (from everyone) when a disabled rider with no feeling from the bellybutton down, completely paralized in his waist and legs uses his breath to ask his horse to walk, walk faster, and halt successfully for the first time.
Man, that's why I love what I do!
James

Fear and the Gated Horse in Oklahoma

Another example of how when a rider learned to use her breath her horse magically changed under her:
This rider who has many years of experience with horses decided to get a gaited horse for its smoothness, which would make riding easer and more enjoyable for her as she got older and as the muscles of the body naturaly get weaker and a bit less responsive. The bond between her and her horse on the ground is a thing of beauty, love abounds. Her issues are all in the saddle because of her age and having had a fall in the past, the fear of falling again is constantly showing up in her mind and body.
In the saddle this fear of the mind is processed as tension and bracing in her body. When her breath is up in her chest her spine is ridgid and her lower back is held tight! It is important to remember that this state in her body is a solution to the fear of falling whether or not she would tell you she was afraid. This ridgidness not only drives her gated horse forward like a snowball rolling down hill, the speed increases and control is harder, so the tension builds. When this happens you can see the conection that they had on the ground is gone. To my eye it seems the horse is running from an unknown fear, the fear that is being transmited by the riders mind and body. The horse does not differentiate that the rider's fear is of falling, the horse only picks up the signal of fear. Oh yes, they mirror everything, good and bad.
As she practiced breathing deeply into her body, releasing her ridgidity and tension, the horse reacted by softening and slowing or calming in it's gate. By breathing deeply I mean she changed her breathing from no rhythm to rhythmic by breathing, into her abdomen, in for a 4 count and out for a 5 count. As she softened and found her rhythm and her horse mirrored her, her fear lessened, she softened as did her horse, and for these two this is the path to becoming one, mounted.
Questions? Ask me.
James

Help for a Massachucetts Eventer

Whether its transitions or calming or energizing your horse your breath is the Key.

Here are examples of how changing the breath changes riding from my last few clinics:

In Massachucetts, an event rider whose horse does well in cross country and jumping because of it's willingness to go forward has had real issues in dressage because her horse is hard to control. Prior to the clinic, her only tool to control her horse in the dressage ring was to hold (use force) against the foward movement by keeping the reins short , her back, shoulders and legs tight.
The tightness in her body transfered into her horses body and made their movements choppy and out of rhythm, resulting in not only lower scores but frustration which creates more tension in her body which transfers to her horse, and the cycle continues.
By learning to control and use her breath to influence and change the energy of her horse in cross country and jumping and as an aid to maintain rhythm and balance in the dressage ring, she was able to let go of the tension in her body--which released the tension in her horses body her position improved and her horse moved beautifully. They recieved a higher score and frustration was repaced with joy.
Questions? Ask me.
James

The Magic of Breath- Part 1

We take our breath for granted. We breathe in and out without really thinking about it. Thank goodness for that, because if we had to remember to breathe, most of us would not be here. When we hold our breath, the affect on our horse is apparent.
· Your body begins to tense and the tension is transferred to your horse
· Your horse’s head raises two or three inches
· The movement through your horse’s body is restricted
· You cannot maintain fluid movement and you are disconnected from your horse
· When jumping, you cause your horse to be imbalanced in the air and on the landing.
· Prior to a transition, you lose your rhythm and your timing is left to chance

But what if we did think about it, and by becoming aware of our breath and deepening it we could feel our horse change underneath us? No verbal commands, no reins, no spurs, just our breath as the aide. It can happen just like that, and it does seem like magic!

For more information about my work visit www.shawtaichi.com

James