Learning to 'feel'
Every athlete in the world
seeks to improve their 'feel'. But, it's hard to do unless you
have some specific measurements.
We all see little kids tipping
forward, and although they're asked to 'sit up straight' they genuinely think they are
not leaning forward.
You might have had that experience yourself when you see yourself for
the first time on a video and realize you ARE kicking your horse at
every stride, or looking down, or your heels are up, but you just didn't feel it.
On the forehand
The step to higher level work
is to make sure the horse is carrying the rider's weight on their
two BACK feet, and not on the forehand & shoulders.
Q.
When you look down...can you FEEL the horse's two front feet get
heavier? When you look up can you FEEL the horse's two
BACK feet get heavier?
Falling in, cutting
corners
Q.
When you look down to the
inside front leg can you feel how that one front foot gets
heavier than the other legs? Can you feel how your circle gets
smaller?
Q.
When you approach a corner and look sharply and early
around a corner...can you FEEL how the horse cuts the corner.
When you look straight ahead, and only look around the corner at the
last minute...can you FEEL how the horse goes deeper in the corner?
FEEL the shoulders
It is very important that the
horse's shoulders don't have to bear the weight of the unbalanced rider above.
When the shoulders are carrying your weight, the horse shortens the
stride.
Q.
When you ride down a long side and look down: if you
count the number of strides...does the horse do more or less strides
when you look up again?
A few quick tips to
improve FEEL:
Look up...FEEL how you are pulled back on your 'butt crack' - an
essential element of getting the horse off the forehand.
FEEL how just the slightest look to the inside of the circle makes your inside stirrup carry more weight.
FEEL when you look down how your hands change.
FEEL when you
hold one earring closer to the ground than the other that the horse goes
crooked.
More tips to
come...click NEXT:
Copyright © 2005
[Colleen Kelly. Improve Your Riding ABN 76799531257].
