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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
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
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