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RE: [RC] Equitation Tip of the Day - Smith, DaveQuestion for Kat: My mustang has a relatively slow trot that he seems most comfortable in. At this particular gait, his trot is so smooth that I can "sit" with just a very minimal amount of "posting." When he speeds up, I do post, but he seems to be able to go forever in the slower version. I wonder whether I might be working his back too hard when I sit his slow trot. What do you think? --Dave -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of k s swigart Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 4:22 PM To: Ridecamp Subject: [RC] Equitation Tip of the Day Angie said: P.S.S. If some riding professional like Kat wants to start an "equitation tip of the day" I'll sure read it! The muscles that develop strength and elasticity if you are riding "correctly" are your lower back and your inner thigh. Pretty much all the other muscles are passive (be used no more than if you were standing). Posting should require very little effort, it is the thrust of the horse that pushes you up and gravity that brings you back down. Your inner thigh allows you to apply leg aids, and your lower back allows you to apply weight and rein aids. If you are developing strong arms to apply the rein aids, you are pulling with your arms, which, when riding correctly you shouldn't be doing (the reins are HELD with the lower back, not pulled on with the arms). For me, who spends my whole day riding, the only thing that requires effort and wears me out is saddling and unsaddling the horses. If I had a groom to take care of the tacking up and untacking (which many professionals do), then my job would be easy. All of this assumes that you have a horse that is sufficiently well trained that it is carrying itself "correctly." Some horses will beat the tar out of you because they have not yet learned self-carriage...or they don't have the strength and endurance to maintain it for the distance travelled. If both the horse and rider know it, movement is pretty effortless. If the rider knows it but the horse doesn't, then the movement is a conditioning exercise and requires a little more effort from the rider. If the horse knows it but the rider doesn't, the rider can mess up the horse a little bit, but it is still going to be less work than.... If neither the rider nor the horse knows how to do it. In which case they are both going to get beat to all hell. kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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