Why do we like the Icelandic horse? Many reasons, of course, but surely the comfort and the smoothness of tölt slow or fast, with high leg lift or withmore in a travelling motion, must rank highly amongst Icelandic horse lovers. - And then there is trot. No problem at all in some of the horses, but then there are the others: beautiful, high stepping, expressive - and very uncomfortable. Here are some thoughts concerning sitting trot. - Let's rise to this challenge!
And again, why is it, that on some days I feel in total harmony with the horse, we breathe together, move together and seem to become one. On other days all movement becomes awkward, we bounce off each other, and a still body creates and unhappy and frustrated mind. Again this has a lot to do with biomechanics of the rider, as is explained beautifully by Carry here.
Over the months we have looked at a great range of thoughts and ideas concerning general horsemanship skills. February will be a riding month, and we will look at practical tips on fairly mundane matters - mounting, how to stop bouncing generally, and improving sitting trot in particular. Too easy? Maybe, but then again, what harm can it do to think these question through a bit further?
If yo are anything like me (the other side of 25 he he) mounting lightly and elegantly is a bit of a lottery. Yes, sometimes, it seems effortless and easy. But then again, there are those days, when i am stiff, feel old, I am (apparently) wrapped in too many layers, the horse is standing in the wrong place and seems a goo 3 hands higher than normal - and when I put my foot in the stirrup, the saddle seems to crawl under the horse's belly. But with or without a mounting block - and that is another discussion to be had - did I ever think about the proper mechanics of mounting? Eh? - - - no! This is where Carson James comes in. Who knows? Maybe this will turn out to be one of the more useful minutes you spend on facebook. Go try!!! Give it a click! |
Time-out ......comes from the world of team sports and "allows the coaches of either team to communicate with the team, to determine strategy or inspire morale." - Let's start with the rider calling for time-out, and who knows? Maybe at some point we will be smart enough to hear when the horse takes on that role? Archives
March 2020
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