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O
nce upon a time, I had a sweet, older lady bring me her new horse, Roy, for some training. Her level of frustration with him was at its max and her definition of him had lots of funny adjectives in it. It wasn’t funny to her, but I quickly diagnosed her riding problems;
Fluidity
It Means Funny
(In Latin)
Rocking Chair Syndrome—lots of movement, but not
going anywhere. I hardly recognized her eight year old
Morgan gelding when I rode him. I should have known him;
I was his breeder, and as his breeder I knew what kind of
a riding horse he was bred to be.
Unfortunately, I recognized the riding horse Roy wasn’t.
Years of riding incorrectly had done their work; riding him
was more akin to flopping around like a bug on a yo-yo.
Tightened muscles had shaped his riding frame
significantly with hind legs offering very little movement
(well, they would kick outwards in a quirky, trained-in,
default behavior when you asked for something which was
awesome) while camped out behind, which offered no real
riding support. Funny, but the bottom line was Roy had
very ugly gaits— jar your teeth loose kind-a-ugly—far
worse than riding three miles of muddy road.
Consequently, the hall of fame trophy I would award him
for outstanding movement was hands down for being the
most braced horse I had ever ridden. I could not ride him
in my hand as he painfully jammed every joint by
pounding against it. But Roy’s troubles all converged
together in his greatest woe, and his owner’s biggest
complaint: He would not/could not lope. At eight years old
it’s not funny, it’s time to learn.
You might say the lightening hit the merry-go-round a bit
for me because the horse I was riding was not the horse
Roy should so easily be. But just because a chicken has
wings don’t mean it can fly. So let me shed some light on
the power you hold in your hands when you ride.
As I’ve grown older, I recognize I only like riding
comfortable horses. No, they don’t start out that way, but
as I ride them they all do seem to end up that way. Their
owners appreciate that level of ‘comfortability’ too. Horses
that I ride and train all leave my facility knowing how to
be fluid within their gaits; this cowboy is going to be comfy.
As I travel up and down New England helping people
resolve their horsemanship struggles, I find myself busier
than a three-legged cat in a sand box, while bringing to
riders the bottom line on so many issues. Horses, I find,
are so tight, in both their minds and in their bodies.
Listening, with your hand on the reins or even on the nose
of your horse, can tell you so much. What is your horse
saying? Does he have a quiet eye and a listening ear?
Maybe he stiffens and tries to avoid your touch, or pushes
back, or my favorite, pulls you with his head? Does he relax
under your touch, and give you his entire body? A lack of
tension in the mind is reflected in a lack of tension in the
body. This looseness is also reflected in the ride. The RIDE.
The riding horse you create, good or ugly, fun or not fun,
is yours to behold. It is the work of your own hands. You
plant a tater, you get a tater. What does a healthy riding
horse look and feel like? Coarse, unforgiving gaits are
allowed by riders who do not yet understand how to
develop the horse’s purest step. To find fluidity within each
gait is the sweetest spot in all of riding. The experience of
fluidity is attainable for those riders who desire to
embrace another tier of horsemanship—it turned Roy’s
owner’s frown upside down, and Roy’s neck, right-side up
Lengthening Roy’s top line, having him begin to reach
forward and down with his head, brings suppleness to his
body and fluidity to his gaits. They will bring change to
your ride too. Roy became comfortable as he came into
balance. This happens as a result of increasing the activity
of the hind legs and lengthening the stride. Instead of
being stiff in the back, the horse must have soft, pliable
muscles, stepping well forward up and under. Well, it’ll just
beat all ya ever stepped in.
I teased out this wonderful Morgan gelding and
introduced him to his teary-eyed owner with super-duper
lope departs, and fluidity. Seriously, NOW she has a riding
horse.
Oftentimes, riders don’t know what they don’t know, and
fluidity within the gaits is one of those topics. It is
something I believe every rider should know. It only
becomes clear to riders who become tired of choppy gaits
and decide to do something about it. Your horse has no
real wish or care to change his position under you. So that
leaves you, Buffalo Bill, to lead the charge.
Dressage for the western horse has been unwept,
unhonored, and unsung for too long. But it’s changing, one
horse and one rider at a time. If that don't light your fire,
your wood is wet. On the other hand, you have different
fingers.
Now, throw your hat in the creek and join us! You and your
horse should ride as happily as a funny tick on a fat dog.
I’m still laying in the dirt with the social media stampede.
Please take some time and “like” us on Facebook so I can
stand back up and dust myself off. That’d make me happier
than a full breeze from a corn-eatin’ horse. I have been
training horses for over 35 years and value the western
horse lifestyle in my approach to training. Giving clinics
and seminars on how to reach your full potential with your
horse through the training foundation of Cowboy
Dressage keeps me young.