Re: RC: RC: Hollowing Question

[JPascu@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/3/99 5:57:09 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
wmilner@verinet.com writes:

> o with whether or not the horse is correctly rounded, it is not the chief
>  indicator.  For example, if you look at a high level dressage horse, they
>  generally have a higher head than most folks would want on their working
>  horse, but the horse's back is well rounded. 
>  
>  At a beginning level for the horse, it is much easier to round the back
>  with his head low than for him to carry the head high and round the back.
>  
>  Try this - Get down on your hands and knees. Do a cat stretch, with your
>  back rounded upwards like a hissing Halloween cat. Notice where you put
>  your head.  You probably put your head down.  Now try raising your head
>  up, and then rounding your back up.  This is much harder, and you'll feel
>  the muscles much more.
>  

This is a valuable exercise but it doesn't illustrate the point. What you are 
suggesting is more in line with a horse that is ewe necked, this human 
exercise illustrates that the ewe necked horse can not round.
Perhaps a more appropriate discription would be to feel the difference in 
rounding the back, human, while bringing the back of the head up and forward, 
you'll feel the pull on the nuchal ligament and how important the sterno 
cleido mastoid and scalenes are to this. (in the horse this would be the 
brachio cephalicus/sterno cephalicus and the scalenus). 
The higher level dressage horse is able to round in the neck with the brow 
staying vertical. Some horses flatten just behind the poll, C1-3 this is 
where they are loosing length in the rhomboid fascia. 
In order for a horse to truly round they must be able to raise the center of 
gravity, in other words the whithers must come up.The can only come up if the 
scapula is free. This causes/allows the pubic bone to come forward and the 
pelvis to come under, the stride is longer because the ischial tuberosity is 
further forward...
The human structure (location of scapula, horizontal rather than vertical,  
and having a clavicle) prevents us from actually experiencing the "feel" of 
the quadraped. 

I'm usually not so left brained after working all day.

jim pascucci
Advanced Certified Rolfer
www.equisearch.com/ibt


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