We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine June 2018 | Page 19

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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.