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Reflections…
A s we are on the tip of August and
sliding into September, I am so drawn to the voices of my parents saying…"Time
is going by faster & faster!" This time of year I always agreed with
them, as school was about to start, haying was completed, and all the fun of
gathering was about to begin. Unfortunately with school, I missed out on much
of that fall gathering while attending school, and somehow time returned to
its slow pace.
Now, things have changed! Not only do hours
race by, but the months seem to follow suit. We have been planning for 2004
now for the past two months! All this racing, and the horses seem to just stay
the course! Influenced by the seasons, hating the flies, and loving the green
grass. The mares are interested in the fellas, and the geldings can’t figure
out where to be to stay out of trouble. Their life just seems to flow…
Horse Time! I need to find it
more frequently. "Breathe & Believe" as my friend Polly from
California reminds me!
A
couple of notes of remembrance as I reflect on these past few months.
We and the horses have lost two amazing horsemen this year. Tom Dorrance
passed early summer, and his close friend, Dan Warnock Sr. joined him just
last week. Tom and Dan were both raised in Wallowa County, and grew up
watching horses. As they observed, they applied the principles we are all ever
striving to understand….The ability to work with the horse. These two
fellas will be greatly missed here on earth, but just think of the great rides
they are having up in Heaven!
Half-Pass Postures…Don’t Procrastinate!
In the 10th newsletter we looked
at focusing, visualizing, and riding a pattern. You will recall that we
started, as always, with our
"Horseman’s Protocol"…
- Become Present
- Think & Visualize
- Focus, which Prepares your Posture
- Allow & Reward
Next, we applied these principles to several combinations of maneuvers,
first established through work-in-hand, and then accomplished under saddle. In
short, we carried a soft, self-carriage from a shoulder-in down the
quarter-line, to a turn-on-the-forehand, to a shoulder-out down the wall, to a
big reverse bend on a circle, to a shoulder-in or forward leg yield on the
diagonal to the wall, and finally stopping in a haunches-in posture. Now it’s
time to ask for some movement with the haunches in!
Up until this point, most of our
movements have been in a "leg yield" posture. If you think of a
banana traveling on a circle, looking inward, and we "leg yield" the
banana away from the center of the circle, we are pushing with energy from the
inside hind, to the outside fore. The horse (or banana!) moves AWAY from the
inside of the bend, AWAY from his inside eye, and the circle gets bigger. The
balance of the movement pushes from the inside leg, and is caught on the
outside shoulder and rein. There is very little bend, and in the saddle, your
body should stay pretty square to the mane line, with your outside shoulder
slightly leading – ahead of the movement. If you lean to the inside, you
will find yourself behind the movement, and inhibiting the ability of the
horse to move his inside hind foot under his belly towards the outside
shoulder.
So let’s change the balance of the
movement, so that the outside hind foot moves or is DRAWN towards the inside
shoulder = Half Pass postures. Go back to your banana on a circle. Still
looking to the inside, put some pressure on the outside hind foot or outside
arc of the banana, and push inward. Notice the circle gets smaller, and the
banana is moving INTO the inside of the bend, TOWARDS the inside eye &
center of the circle. You have just ridden that banana in a Half Pass posture…He
has moved INTO the bend – INTO the suggestion of your inside aids.
Next, hop on your two-legged horse and try
these exercises to FEEL the balance of movement differences between a
"leg yield" and a "half pass" postures. Find a wall, and
stand parallel to it. Look slightly to the left, put your left hand on your
waist for a slight bend left in your rib cage. Now move sideways, left foot
over right, moving AWAY from your left hand, down the wall to the right. That’s
a "leg yield"…Away from your left bend. Freeze – While still
looking and bent slightly to the left, bring your right hand and place it on
your hip. Don’t change the bend. Move sideways, right leg over left, INTO
the left bend. The energy is coming from the right hip to your left shoulder,
while your are still bent left and moving left. (Kinda Hard??) This is a
"Half Pass" posture…moving INTO the bend. Now try this same
exercise as you move forward on circle, or on a diagonal line. Get handy in
your body with changing your aids from the energy coming from the inside hind
to the outside fore (i.e. leg yield) or outside hind to inside fore (i.e. half
pass posture).
Ok…Now that we understand the balance of
the movement, and can feel it on our two-leg horse, let’s apply it to our
work-in-hand skills. (Reminder…Review your positioning and rein preparation
for work-in-hand (8th & 9th Partnership Journey
Newsletters)
#1 Find yourself on the wall, with your horse’s shoulders closer to the
wall, and the haunches slightly in towards the center of the arena. You should
be facing your horse, your bellybutton pointing at the inside hind foot,
perpendicular to the wall.
#2 We want to create a search in your horse that allows you to DRAW the
outside hind foot under his belly, towards the center of the arena. Place your
dressage whip on his side, near the flank. Tap, not spank, with the whip until
your horse tries to move his outside hind foot. At this point, don’t allow
forward movement, and try to keep the slight inside lateral bend. Reward that
try. Set it up again…tap until you see the foot starting to move and quit.
Now he has the idea which foot you are requesting. He may struggle a bit, but
hang in there, and you’ll be amazed at how fast they figure things out.
#3 Now lets allow some forward movement in the horse, and draw that hind
foot under his belly, forward & towards the center of the arena. Set it up
again in a slightly haunches-in position, place your whip, tap, and as soon as
you feel that outside foot searching forward, DRAW the whip away from his
side, and you step backwards, DRAWING the energy of the hips in, towards the
center of the arena. You may only get one step of the haunches-in posture,
before the horse falls back to the leg-yield posture, and moves his hips into
the wall, AWAY from your whip. Simply start again. Pretty soon, with a little
rhythm and timing added in with your whip and your backing-up, you will find
that your horse has discerned the difference between moving AWAY from your
whip (leg-yield) and drawing him INTO your whip (half-pass/haunches-in)
postures.
Now you’re ready to try this new skill up
on board! Don’t PANIC! It will feel strange, but you can no longer
procrastinate on enjoying this great maneuver in your horse. Set it up just as
you practiced on the work-in-hand drill.
#1 On the wall, with your shoulders and your horse’s turn slightly
towards the wall, and haunches towards the center. Tracking left, and your
horse looking slightly left, place your right leg behind the girth, left leg
on the left rib cage, and your seat and shoulder weight slightly to the LEFT.
With your dressage whip in the left hand, place the whip on his side, as you
did from the ground. Tap to cause that same search. Encourage the right hip to
move under, forward, and inward with your right leg. But remember, it is the
DRAW of the inside leg, aided at this stage with the dressage whip, which
invites the movement. If you think of pushing too much with your right leg,
you’ll start to sit on that hip, and it simply can not move.
#2 Reward the slightest try, and set it up again. The horse will probably
get the movement faster than you! Give yourself time to become accustomed to
this new feeling of moving INTO pressure…DRAWING
the suggestion.
#3 As the two of you understand the movement, start combining several steps
with rhythm and timing, then ride off, relax the brain, and set it up again.
In the next issues we will discuss many
more ways of entering into your half-pass postures, and lots of practical
applications. Don’t put it off any longer…Enjoy the feeling of a truly
free hip and haunches-in balance & self-carriage!
Winter 2003 10th Edition
Focus, Visualize, & Ride the Pattern
Reflections:
What a great year 2002 has been for learning, sharing, meeting new folks
and their horses, laughter, fun, fears overcome, and growth. I am so blessed
to have been given the horse, and the people the horse introduces to me, to
journey with me through this life! What a great adventure.
In reflection on the year 2002, I am drawn to pictures of new acquaintances
gathered in Boise, Boonville, and Winlock. I see old friends returning
to Haines for mountain riding and their horses turning into quite the cow
ponies. I also feel a deeper understanding within myself of the multi-layers
of developing horsemanship, and hope I am growing in sharing those
understandings with both horse & humans. YUP…2002 was a wonderful year!
Thanks to all who participated in making it happen.
In October I had the opportunity to again take several lessons under the
watchful and educated eye of Ms. Bettina Drummond. I was able to
ride two very different type of horses for these lessons. One, a 5 yr. old
paint gelding named Prince, owned by Adelle and Michael Moore, and second was
my 4 yr. old Appendix Quarter-horse named Tilly. The difference in movement,
body type, and mental applications was striking. However, even with these two
very different horses, the bottom line was the same: To achieve success in the
movement being requested, a firm foundation in the "basics" is
required. (i.e. The better the go forward, backwards, sideways, and
cross their hindquarters – the better they will do everything else.)
In particular, through the sideways movements, such as shoulder-in,
haunches-in, and half-pass, both horses began to develop better self-carriage
and posture.
Continuing Education:
In the mid-summer 2002 edition of Partnership Journey we discussed
several work-in-hand maneuvers to help our horses develop better
self-carriage. Let’s continue on with some additional patterns to apply to
your work-in-hand, and then applications in the saddle.
To review, we started with working the horse’s feet sideways in a
circular pattern, then carried the energy sideways on the diagonal in a
shoulder-in posture, stopped on the wall to a back-up, then pivoted to walk
forward with our horse straight on the wall. That’s a great pattern. Now,
let’s ask a little more of both you and the horse!
#1 - Find yourself on the quarter line of the arena. In your
work-in-hand position at the shoulder with the snaffle bit bridle set up,
prepare your "triangle" rein position. (i.e. While standing to the
left of your horse, shorten the outside, right, or support rein. Next, draw a
line with that same support rein from the mane down to the point of the
shoulder & lightly hold the support rein here with your right hand.
Finally draw the 3rd side of your triangle from the point of the
shoulder to your slobber strap, parallel to the ground, and lightly caress
this active rein just below the bit with your left hand.)
From this position, with a slight lateral bend inward (left), ask the
hindquarters to drift slow and rhythmically away & around you.
#2 - As the horse’s rump is nearly perpendicular to the wall, and
his nose is towards the center, beginning moving your body with your toes
following the quarter line. As you progress in this shoulder-in posture, feel
for the softness in the vertical flexion, with a slight inward bend.
Hindquarters cross, then forequarters cross in slow, reaching, & rhythmic
motion. Accept the motion from the left hind to the right rein.
#3 - As you approach the corner, slow your feet, and direct your
energy towards the hindquarters, asking them to again drift around you 180
degrees until the horse’s nose is facing the wall and his rump towards the
center of the arena.
#4 - Pick up the quarter line again with your toes and walk in a
shoulder-out posture for several steps. Remember that the shoulders lead, but
the energy comes from the inside hind towards the outside shoulder & rein.
#5 - Next move a little ahead of the horse’s nose, speed up a
bit, and place your toes on a large circle. Now the shoulders are moving
faster than the haunches or shoulders around hips or reverse bend on a
circle. Your back will almost stay pointed towards the outside of the
circle.
#6 - As you complete 3/4th of the circle place your toes
on the diagonal to the wall and bring your positioning so that your belly
button is on a line under the horse’s neck. You be headed to the wall now in
shoulder-in left and tracking left.
#7 - At the wall stop, backup, and then reward the horse by
going forward, straight on the wall.
This
is a great exercise pattern for riding as well.
Here are the sequence of aids to accomplish this pattern on-board:
#1 Prepare your posture by stacking-up your blocks; prepare your reins,
asking your horse for a "soft-feel" with a slight left bend;
#2 Place your left leg slightly back, right leg neutral with the
right cheek slightly weighted; Left shoulder back, right forward, your eyes
level, looking left, and seeking the direction of travel of the hips…left to
right; Send the energy from your left leg to the right shoulder & rein,
with a little forward movement;
#3 Change your focus, seeking the line of the quarter line with your
eyes, belly button and shoulders; put a little more feel into your right, or
support rein; direct the energy from your left leg to the right rein, forward;
weight the right cheek, with a little weight in your right little toe; don’t
over bend! Allow the movement to flow from left hind to right
rein.
#4 Slow the forward by feeling for both reins and slowing the rhythm of
your leg aids. Think of slowing the right shoulder to allow the left hind to
drift around your leg 180 degrees.
#5 Focus down the quarter-line with the horse’s nose to the wall,
shoulders ahead of haunches; Same aids as in #3;
#6 Visualize a large circle on the ground, moving to the right; keep
your eyes on that circle over your horse’s right ear; keep your back and his
rump towards the center of the large circle; with rhythm and timing ride his
left hind leg, towards his right shoulder, with very little bend to the left;
feel for a flow & reach in the movement and the front end moving around
the haunches;
#7 Just before you complete the circle, change your eyes to the diagonal
line, ahead, to the right, and towards the wall; catch the energy in your left
leg and direct it on this diagonal line; feel for the energy from the left
hip, and catch it in your right rein; weight slightly in your right cheek and
right little toe;
#8 Prepare before you get to the wall, and think backup; become internally
light, deny the forward if need be with your hands on the rein, but don't pull,
just hold; back until the horse is light, round, and soft; stop in a
slightly haunches-in shape, supporting the haunches with your right, outside
leg; ride the inside left hind forward from your seat and left leg squeeze.
Relax and Reward!
Seeing a pattern in your minds eye is the critical first step to any maneuver.
This is a fun pattern that helps develop your horse's self-carriage, begins to
acquaint you and your horse with the use of the supportive or outside rein
aid, and works on the human’s focus, timing, and feel. You will find great
rewards to this exercise in the softness of your horse, and the human’s
ability to develop subtle aids. These can be applied to any discipline. Always
remember…
THINK about the movement requested before your start, and SEE the pattern
on the ground first.
FEEL for a softness and a confidence in the horses’ carriage, moving his
energy from the inside hind to the outside rein.
ALLOW the horse and yourself time to find the balance and rhythm.
REWARD the movement and the effort by going forward on the track softly,
and with verbal and internal "At-a Boy's!
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