08.26.08
Mom gets riding lesson
When daughter Emmie visited in mid July, I asked her to give me a riding lesson. After falling off Glen during Tom Curtin’s Clinic in June, I decided I needed some coaching to begin developing a more secure, independent seat. Emmie was going to lunge Willy mare while I rode without stirrups or reins. (Thank you HorseGal for the pix and vids!)
You should know that I have taken maybe six riding lessons in my entire life. When I rode on other people’s horses as a teenager, what I knew about riding was from reading books and watching cowboys on TV, and whatever tips I could pick up; it was seat of the pants riding. I was lucky because at age 16-17 I got to play on one good steady horse that taught me much, but after my freshman year in college I didn’t get to ride anymore until my mid-forties, when Hubby and I got our first horse, Willy. Then, for years I learned ABOUT riding techniques, mostly second-hand, by watching Emmie’s riding lessons. I read a lot more, and studied the basics of dressage and hunt seat schooling, which was what Emmie did in her teens.
At a Walk to start out, practicing without stirrups
Walking with arms out LOL
Normally I ride in a lightweight “endurance” saddle which is western-style but without a horn; it has a leather seat and pommel and cordura nylon flaps and skirts. For this lesson, I went in an English saddle. Em instructed me to try to feel as if my heels were being pulled down into the ground, which helped my legs be stronger on the horse’s sides and my seat to sink deeper into the saddle. We discovered that my left leg was harder for me to keep straight down and steady than my right leg– I was off balance on the horse. I have probably always ridden that way, since my half-chaps have always gotten more worn on my right leg than on my left.
So I went around in circles while trying to point my toes forward, drop my weight into my heels, relax my shoulders and upper body and follow the motion of the horse with my pelvis. Immediately I was using muscles which hadn’t been used much before, stretching them in new directions while I focused on how it felt to get my center of gravity over the horse’s center of gravity.
Look ma, no hands!
Willy mare is the type of horse that will make a good rider out of anyone willing to work at it. Being an Arabian, she is sensitive to the rider’s position in the saddle, and it annoys her if her rider bounces around on her back. By watching her ears and keeping tuned in to her reactions, you can tell if you are riding in balance or not. She puts her ears back when someone gets loose and bouncy on her, or off balance in the saddle.
After a little while I do some seat action, stopping the mare by resisting with my seat and NOT following her movement, then starting the mare by making my seat more active and sort of “pushing” her with it… demonstrating her sensitivity to the rider’s weight in the saddle.
I trusted to Em to direct the mare’s speed, and without having to steer I could focus entirely on my balance and body position. I could hold my arms out or on my thighs or my head at the walk. When we first started trotting I pulled myself down into the saddle with one hand holding the pommel in front of me. After a while I felt secure enough to let go completely for a few strides at a time. I didn’t feel quite secure enough to try cantering however.
It was quite strenous to keep my heels down, and it pulled my calf muscles to point my toes straight ahead. I kept on with the self-torture however because I could feel it working. Em said she could see my leg and body positions improving. Finally she had me ride for a spell WITH stirrups, trying to replicate the same feel and position I had when stirrupless. At first I had trouble keeping the stirrup in place on the ball of my foot, which was OK because that meant I wasn’t carrying my weight on the stirrup anymore but rather into my heels– that was a good thing.
Trot work, holding myself deep in the seat with one hand, trying to keep myself there without tensing up my upper body, and letting go with the other hand.
Me taking a much-needed break
Now I feel I have some tools to use and will be able to practice better skills whenever I go riding. Emmie was an excellent teacher! Doing this stuff makes one feel like you’ve never ridden before. My legs were sore for days!
Emmie and HorseGal both managed not to laugh… here’s Em on Willy.
