Just like us,
horses have their own body imbalances and spinal
twists and because of this they
also have their own idea of what 'normal' is.
Most horses can easily get a rider to sit where
they want them and get the rider to work around
them. This is not because they are being
naughty; it is because they feel safe in their
usual, way-of-going. It’s normal to them. |
|
|
Right and Left hind drivers.
Humans
usually favour one hand to write with, just like
us, horses have one hind leg that they prefer to
use. They are either “left-hind drivers"
when their left hind leg is strongest, or a
"right-hind drivers" when it's their right hind
that is dominant.
click on pictures to enlarge.
Frosty is a left hind driver.
Watch as he travels up
the long side of the arena.
He
starts off with all the tapes lining up, but
after only a few strides, even though Chloe has
her right leg and spur against his right ribs,
he still crosses his left hind to the right
pushing his quarters in and away from the fence.
This sideways moving is typical in horses that
have a dominant hind leg. Instead of
stepping forwards the
dominant hind leg pushes sideways. Although the
thrust is bigger the stride is actually shorter
leaving the rider’s seat bone unsupported on
that side. This crookedness not only results in
lack of impulsion and crab walking, it also
leads to R.S.I. (repetitive strain injury) to the
sacroiliac joints, hocks and stifles.
Groovy is a right hind
driver. She always
jumps to the left side of the fence because her
right hind crosses sideways to the left leaving
Louise unsupported and hanging off to the right.
 click
to enlarge
How
right and left hind driving affects the horse’s
shoulders and makes fitting saddles a nightmare!
 As
mentioned above left and right hind drivers use
their dominant leg in a sideways rather than
forwards direction. This develops asymmetry in
the horse’s shoulders, which in turn affects the
fit of the saddle
|
How do they do that? Photo 1. Take
this left hind driver in the photo
opposite. You can see as he stands square
in the yard, his right shoulder is lower
and set further back than the left.
Why is this?
Photo 2. Because left hind drivers
push sideways to the right they over
burden the right shoulder. The muscles
around the right scapular shorten and bind
themselves closer to the ribs, placing the
right scapular lower and further back than
the left.
Photo 1. As
the rider is dropped to the right, the left side of the pommel wedges itself up
against the horse’s left vertebrae restricting
blood flow to the muscles and pain to the horse. Ouch!
|
The reverse happens in
a right hind driver. Because the right
hind is stronger is pushes more weight into the
left shoulder. As the left shoulder contracts
from the strain it binds lower and further
back to the ribs. Because of it's backward
position it pushes the saddle back on that side making
the saddle
twist. Remember the rider has no support under
the right seat bone because this, “right- hind-
driver” as crossed sideways and through lack of
support the saddle and rider fall back and down to the
right.
|
How does this affect the riders'
position?
-
The horse’s left shoulder is set further
back pushing the saddle up and back on
that side.
-
Having no support from the crossing
right hind the rider and saddle drop
down and back to the right.
-
The rider places more weight on their
right seat bone.
-
They unconsciously try to address this
imbalance by
leaning over to the left
which collapses their left hip.
-
They twist and collapse through the
waist.
-
They develop a pelvic tilt down to the
right.
-
They hold their right shoulder and seat
bone further back.
-
They grip up with her left hip and thigh
which pulls their left knee and heel up
and forwards
-
They tense their left shoulder in an
effort to keep over to the left.
They put more weight on their right
stirrup
|
And
you thought it was all your fault you couldn’t
sit straight!!
|
|
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE AND TIME TABLE
|
Start
10am Lecture Demo:
How the horse's
crookedness affects the rider's position. |
|
11.30
Riding lessons: How
to school the rider to straighten
the horse using the Bentley
Technique spinal alignment
principles. |
|
1pm
LUNCH |
|
1.30pm Schooling the
rider dismounted workshop: |
|
3.30pm
Semi private lessons for the rest of
the day. |
I encourage riders to
take photos or use
a video camera during the exercises as it
records much more than the naked eye can see,
and helps them to understand more about
themselves and their horse. Riders are very
often very surprised at what they find.
Riders partner up and place
tape
on each other to make it easier on the eye.
HERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN PLAY WITH TO GIVE YOU
A FLAVOUR OF THE WORK.
-
Is your horse imprinting his natural
crookedness into your
position?
Grab a willing friend and use the following
questionnaire.
You will
find out
how to identify if your horse is
a left or right hind driver and how he/she may
be making it impossible for you to sit
straight. Take photos or use a video camera
during the exercises so that you can see
stills, or run slow motion, and really see
what is going on. I guarantee you will have
great fun and may be very surprised at what
you find?
1.
Before you set off on a ride, or work
in the arena, with your friend, place tape on
your back, your horse’s dorsal line and your
saddle as we have in the photos above. Then ask your
friend to ride behind you, or film you from
the corner of the arena so they can give you
feed back on where your spine is sitting in
relation to your horse’s spine and the saddle.
You are going to find out if the tape on your
back goes out of alignment with the tape on
the horse’s dorsal line and the tape on the
back of the saddle in walk
trot and canter. It’s good to make notes. Do
the same for your friend, and compare
your findings. You may be surprised!
2. Where
is the rider’s spine positioned in relation to
the horse’s dorsal line and saddle on the
right rein?
Right
Left
Central
3.Where is the riders spine positioned in
relation to your horse’s dorsal line and
saddle on the left rein?
Right
Left
Central
4.Work on both reins making transitions from
walk to halt, trot to walk, and canter to
trot. During the downward transitions does the
horse lean on, or step sideways onto one
shoulder on the right rein?
Right
Left
Even
5. How about the left rein?
Right
Left
Even
6. Does one stirrup feel shorter than the
other?
Left
Right
Even
7. Is the rider being dropped down to one
side?
Left
Right
Central.
8. Is one of your horse’s shoulders smaller
and set further back than the other?
Left
Right
No they are even
9. Is your horse a right or left hind
driver?
Left
Right
Not sure
10.
Does your saddle twist?
Yes
No
If you are have any worries or concerned about any of the topics
highlighted on this page, please feel free to
contact me for help on the email link below or
call me on
07877782174
|
Before you
read this page it may not have been immediately
obvious to you why sitting straight is so important. You may have
wondered why the horse world is always banging on
about “straightness." You may have thought, “why can't
I just ride crooked and enjoy myself?”
Now you know how dangerous crooked
riding is, but you also know you don't have to feel
helpless about it! If you are like me at all, I bet you
want the best for your horse. This mounted workshop
will help you FIND NATURAL STRESS-FREE EXCELLENCE.
Here's my recommended 1-2-3
1. Get my
free workbook “Riding Success Without Stress”
click here
2. Call me. Tel 07877782174
or email me by clicking on my email link below, and lets see if a
"rider friendly" workshop, at your yard or mine, would be
perfect for you and your horse.
3. Can’t make a workshop? No problem.
My newly published 2 part cutting-edge DVD and CD Home
Study
Course are now available
here.
5
6
click
 her
|
