In Harmony with the Walk, The Technique of Sitting Trot and Canter
$35.00
Product code:Mini03
Building onto our knowledge of the Mini Course the Paces and the Biomechanics of the Movement of the Horse we will now discover how to use our seat to create rhythm and impulsion.
But first we must know how to just follow the movement of the horse. In other words how do we use our body, actually mainly our pelvis, to be in harmony with the horse.
Often instructors tell their students to RELAX! Of course we need to be relaxed and not tense. Sometimes riders take this as letting go of their muscles beginner riderand sort of slump in the saddle. But actually with being relaxed we mean Being Available. There is a certain body tension which helps us sitting straight up in a sort of proud fashion and at the same time we need to be available to follow the movement of the horse. This will not happen when we are tense and hold onto our muscles as if we are afraid to fall off or that the horse will take off or buck.
We start with the walk, continue with a detailed explanation of the technique of sitting trot and the canter.
By following the movement of the horse in walk it is actually possible to know when each of the legs is moving forward. When you know when the legs are moving forward you will be able to time your leg, seat or rein aids more efficiently.
Many riders struggle with the sitting trot. Here is a clear explanation How to do the sitting trot. Relaxing in the sitting trot is not slumping into a heap on the horse but it is actually an action statement. Did you know that sitting trot is actually a four dimensional movement? Our explanation has helped many riders come to grips with the sitting trot and they actually started to enjoy it.
All Mini Courses are supported with video.
The video is important because 85 % of our learning is done with our eyes.
As with all other Mini Courses, we have included problems people have when they try to follow the horse in walk, sitting trot and canter. Here are a few exanmples:
Walk:
2. Doing too much.
Havent you been told that to achieve something you have to work at it. You cant just passively wait until things come to you. However, when we do too much on horseback it will often result in the horse going faster. Everything we do more than to be in harmony with the horse will go against the horse.
Correction:
Experiment with doing less until you have worked out how little you have to do to find harmony with the horse and the horse keeps walking at an even rhythm. With all corrections be careful to make the changes gradually.
Canter:
4. You are very busy with the seat.
In this case you move your seat more than the canter requires. You slide in the saddle much more than the movement requires. Of course the result is that the horse goes faster and faster.
Correction:
Try to do less until there is harmony between your seat and the canter movement of the horse. If your horse is used to having a busy rider and you are now doing less, the horse will initially think that you require a downward transition to trot and will fall out of canter. It may take a while before the horse realises that this is the new you. Make the adjustments gradually. Review the canter technique in the video.
The text has many drawings and is supported as usual with video showing how the technique is done.
