Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

The "bicycle thing" ?  What's that?


On Jul 31, 2007, at 12:35 PM, Don Huston wrote:

> 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.
> > :)
> >
> >
> >
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> >  Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
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> > -----------------
>
> Don Huston at cox dot net
> SanDiego, Calif
>
>
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> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
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> Ride Long and Ride Safe!!
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