Working in harmony with horses

This series of 3 articles was written by Julia at ‘The Green Polly’ for my free e-newsletter ‘Brain or Pain’.  Julia promotes “Working in Harmony with Horses” and can be contacted on 01544 327189.  You can sign up to receive ‘Brain or Pain’ for free at www.holistichorsehelp.com.  Inclusion of these articles does not imply endorsement by Sue Palmer or Holistic Horse Help.

“A Good Lifting Technique for Horse”

 

“I don’t do dressage so it doesn’t matter how my horse goes”

Many horses would disagree. Some schooling problems and injuries could be prevented or significantly reduced if horses worked from behind and over their backs. 

The equine equivalent of a “good lifting technique”

Look at your horse. Answer the following questions:

What part of him generates his propulsion?

Which has the best  “energy absorbing” capacity, back or front legs?

Would he be more comfortable with a supported spine in a neutral position or unsupported?

The answers provide the optimal way for horses to work: pushing from behind, utilising the elasticity in their haunches for changes in speed and direction, and an engaged core supporting their backs and our bums!

When a horse is first ridden his response is to drop away from our weight. He hollows his back and raises his head, transferring his weight to the front legs whilst the hinds trail. A reversal of the optimal picture created by your answers to the questions above.

To help a horse in the un-natural task of carrying a rider we need to teach him, through progressive training, the equine equivalent of a “good lifting technique”.

Firstly his core strength and stability is developed helping him support and protect his spine and create a rounded back. By a process of increasing engagement, encouraging him to place his hind legs further and further underneath his body, he is enabled to push from behind. As his weight is incrementally transferred to his hindquarters he is able to utilise his haunches to accommodate changes in speed and direction making him more balanced or stable.

Working horses from behind and over their backs is not about style it helps them to do their job more effectively; it helps protect them from back related problems, relieves concussion on the forelimbs, helps you and them stay up right and cope with different terrain, reduces pressure on their mouths, heads and necks when they try to balance on a riders hands; the list is almost endless.  To achieve it takes time, consistency and experience but changing the way a horse works can literally change the horse, and his life for the better.

Emotional Intelligence Equine Style

Do we consider our horse’s emotional development and do we ever specifically train for a better emotional state?

Humans reflect thoughts and moods as body language or posture, either consciously or unconsciously. You know your partner is in a bad mood by how he enters the room; or when we have many thoughts whizzing through our minds, which is sadly normal today, we have quick & sharp movements.  Horses live in a mainly silent world communicating by signals. They too “read” emotion via movement, but to a much greater extent than we do. Your busy mind, to a horse, can be the equivalent of someone bursting into the room.

For the equine / human relationship to improve we have to learn to relax and leave everyday thoughts behind. Entering a horse’s world in this state invites a steady and balanced approach from him. Think about your friends, some enter your world like a whirl wind creating chaos, others leave you relaxed and refreshed. Remember we reflect out what we think, manage your thoughts into positive calm and your body posture & movement will follow.

There are numerous meditation & relaxation techniques designed to help you learn to manage your thoughts and emotions. Keep searching and you will find the one that works for you. Then practice! It gets easier! Adopt it whilst you are around your horse.

The approach of managing your emotions & thoughts works on two levels. Firstly and most directly it is easier for us all to learn in a calm environment. Your horse will be more receptive and respond better to new instructions if all is calm.

 But actively deciding to manage your emotions around your horse at all times works on a deeper level too. Horses are herd animals and copy the behaviour of other herd members. By continually modelling calmness, you can encourage your horse to adopt it as his style, his way of life. A definite decision to use your emotional intelligence can work specifically to influence a horse’s emotional development and mould his approach to the world. 

For some horses, turning down the emotional volume is just what they need.

Mirror Mirror

Monty Roberts burst into our lives and amazed us all with horses who joined up with him & “copied him” You cannot fail to feel the man’s passion and empathy. He has a rare gift. However, what’s probably more surprising for some, is that our horses have been secretly copying us all for years. Not by overtly joining up with us, though many do, but by mirroring our position when we ride.

Ok time for a little imagination, think about your riding in the following terms; your back mirrors your horse’s back, your legs reflect your horse’s hind legs. Your shoulders correspond to your horse’s shoulders and your arms to his forelimbs. Finally think about which way you tend to sit, forward or backward? Are you sitting heavier to the left or the right? None of us is straight so don’t feel bad just be honest.

Now you have a mental picture of a rider’s body as a mirror of their horse, watch a video of yourself or watch someone else ride and note the degree of mirroring which occurs.

Firstly note the rider’s posture and how straight and level he sits, (This demonstrates a rider’s core strength and stability). It quickly become obvious riders who sit tall and light and support their backs encourage their horses to have active swinging backs.

 Riders who have good control of their legs and deliver effective positive leg aids have horses with an active engaged hind leg. The degree of control and stability the rider demonstrates in carrying his shoulders and arms will be reflected in a horse with a lighter forehand.

Thinking about riding in this way can help us identify areas where we may need to put extra emphasis on our riding skills to help us improve our horses. For example, if you have a horse who does not “track-up” or is not active behind its worth examining the effectiveness of your leg aids; it maybe worth experimenting with exercises which help your legs be more effective so that you can help your horse use his hind legs more effectively. Similarly if your horse is heavy on the forehand check where your upper body is positioned. It could help him if you check your shoulder position and ensure you are carrying your hands.

I run a rehabilitation yard and I even see established horse & rider combination mirroring each others soft tissue injuries, just about every horse I see who is stiff and sore behind the saddle will be accompanied by a rider holding their lower backs grumbling of back pain.

Look in your equine mirror and see what you can learn from each other.

Have fun.