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Re: [RC] CTR and Horsemanship - Lynne GlazerSara, I snipped your post because I think you may have misinterpreted an earlier comment by a list member. She was talking about *poor equitation skills* that she observed while viewing some photos from Tevis, while giving full props to their abilities to get the horse safely through the ride.Poor equitation skills and poor horsemanship can be mutually exclusive as well as concomitant. As someone who spent 5 years fitting saddles, mostly to endurance riders, I can agree with that earlier poster that a lot of us could use some lessons that would help our bodies, and help our horses' bodies hold up better to the rigors of the sport. That includes posture, leg position, neutral pelvis, etc. We're probably all seen riders who bounce about like a sack of potatoes, unconscious leg aids applied constantly "asking" the horse for more, collapsed upper bodies including the "fetal crouch", a single forward rotated shoulder or hip, neck and head thrust forward, guys who sit on their "back pockets", w/feet on the dashboard. We compensate for past or present injuries to minimize our own pain, not necessarily reflecting on how that will impact the horse, who will compensate also. Consequently, like Angie says, saddles take the rap. Many of us could use a coach. I'm lucky enough to be riding with one now, a first time thing, and I think I've got a lot more confidence and am enjoying my horse's changed behavior where he now chooses to carry himself correctly, wearing his back feet way more than his fronts. As an occasional ride photographer, I pick my angles as to minimize these rider faults, nobody's gonna want to buy a photo of them that makes them look bad. Heavens, the bulk of rider photos shot straight from the front would make anyone cringe to review. You guys have seen 'em. I've seen my own. :-) But in general, I've seen rider eq skills get BETTER in the last few years--the education where it's been emphasized how dressage basics are for *every* horse has seeped into the genpop. Lynne collapses right when tired, left shoulder rotates forward, but we have the neck thing licked! and the Rubberband who will squeeze his mass through any open axis offered On Aug 23, 2005, at 1:09 PM, Brian & Sara Minsk wrote:
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