Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

RE: [RC] Equitation Tip of the Day - Don Huston

Hello Dave,
I'm not Kat and I don't equitate :-[ (you ladies do ride nice) but I do know how to make my horse's back sore. My guy also has a smooth slow jog but if I start doing the "bicycle thing" with my feet in the stirrups and sitting then I'm grinding the saddle back and forth and it makes his skin tender. As long as I keep my legs still and flex in the gut or lightly post we do fine. I also try to mix up the gates and style so we don't overdo any particular muscle group but currently I only have 2 muscle groups left....old and flabby....I'm sure that my horse would agree. :'(
Don Huston

At 11:43 AM 7/31/2007 Tuesday, you wrote: 
Question 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!!

-----------------

Don Huston at cox dot net
SanDiego, 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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=