| The Rider Warm up. At the very least, all riders should warm up before their ride. We understand how and why to warm up our horses. Shouldn’t we do the same for our own bodies too? Most riders understand that warm up prepares the horse’s muscles for the work they’ll do and to prevent injury. However, warm up has specific guide lines in order for you to achieve full benefit. A good warm up should be approximately 20 minutes and the goal is to increase body temperature and heart rate. By increasing those two things you’ll get the blood pumping to the muscles and get your joint fluid going. When I don’t have time to complete my normal routine, I at least get 20 minutes of warm up. For me, this is easily achieved by taking my dogs for a walk. During my walk I include skipping, walking on different parts of my feet (inside, outside, toes and heels), walking sideways and even backward! The dogs enjoy the walk and my neighbors get a kick out of my ‘crazy’ walking too! Start at a slower pace and work up to skipping by the middle of your walk. Think about using your core muscles during the walk. If you don’t have a dog, you can take your horse for a walk. A walk or skip with your horse warms you up and helps build the relationship between you. Body awareness. Be aware of your own body’s imbalances. In my experience, not one body, horse, human or otherwise, is perfectly balanced. And as they say, the first part of fixing a problem is recognizing that there is one. Your own instructor or a ground person with a good eye can help you detect which side you collapse on, which side you sit to, or your strong side versus your weaker side. In my teaching program I use digital photos of my riders, on the horse and on the ground, and put them into a program on my computer to analyze muscle imbalances and develop exercises to correct them. You may already recognize your imbalances but, when you see a picture it helps to strive for correctness! Your horse also has a strong side and weak side too; often this is referred to as the ‘stiff and hollow’ side. Sometimes horse and rider combinations can help balance each other out and sometimes they can make each other have worse balance. A good strength and flexibility routine will help to balance you to become more even; so you can be more beneficial to your horse. Riders need a combination of strength and flexibility. Personally, I know where I get tight so I stretch those muscles. For me, this means stretching my inner thighs and shoulders, those are my tight spots. Because muscles work in (antagonistic) pairs, tight muscles also mean the other half of the pair may be weak. If my inner thighs are tight, my outer thighs are most likely weak. In my shoulders, my pectoral muscles are tight and the back of my shoulders are weak, therefore, pulling my chest closed instead of open. You need to discover what your strengths and weaknesses are and work to make the muscle pairs work equally. Otherwise, it’ll be a challenge to feel where your horses’ imbalances are. Even if you know about your horses’ imbalances, it will be hard for you to make the horse straight if you’re not straight. Choose what’s right for you.
Do you need strength, flexibility or tension release or ‘D’ all of the above? There are many riders who are fairly symmetrical; however, they have a different kind of imbalance. I’ll give you two examples of these riders. |
| The Tight Rider.
The first is a common example of many riders, a gentleman who started riding in his 50’s and previously owned an ex open jumper. Needless to say, this gentleman learned to contract every muscle in his body out of fear of falling off. He now owns a very sweet and reliable gelding that’s perfect for him. For this type of rider I have two suggestions: 1) This rider MUST warm up before riding. Ignoring the warm up can ruin a ride if the blood isn’t flowing to the muscles. Muscles held in contraction also hold joints in contraction (hips, knees, ankles etc…) and prevent ‘feeling’. Interestingly enough, riders that are tight often don’t think they are since their body is used to ‘holding’ all the time, even when off the horse, which leads me to the second suggestion. 2) If you’re a tight rider it can be helpful to tire the muscles before riding. You don’t want to completely exhaust yourself, but you want to give your muscles a ‘job’. I’m referring mainly to arm and leg muscles getting a little tired; so the core muscles have a chance to work while you ride. If your arms and legs are holding on all the time, the core doesn’t have a chance to be useful or get stronger. I admit to being a tight rider if I don’t watch it. My own choice to release my muscles is riding my bike or ‘spinning’ everyday. I set my bike on a low gear to get more rpm’s and use less strength. Because I address flexibility with other routines, spinning allows me to warm up and release any superficial, non-productive energy. Pedaling a bike with even rhythm and cadence in a straight line is a super way to release the energy and concentrate on my core too. The Spaghetti Rider.
The second type of rider is ‘Spaghetti’ or too loose. This rider is very flexible. They aren’t seen often! This rider needed a strength training program. The program was designed to strengthen her core and by doing so, the rest of her body followed. We also had to get her cardiovascular system up to par since she tired and became out of breath easily. In this case, we needed to work with health professionals to make sure she didn’t over do it. I suggest all riders check in with their doctor before making any drastic changes or if you have specific health concerns. Chair Seat Versus Upright Pelvis in Self Carriage.
Be kinder to your horse by improving fitness and core strength. Chair seat versus upright pelvis in self carriage Getting fit and stronger in your core not only makes you a better rider, but helps to relieve the burden your horse carries with a rider on his back. So many riders come to me in ‘chair seat’ position hoping the horse will magically find their balance while they just sit there. Gaining core strength is the key to keeping your pelvis upright in any gait doing any movement. An upright pelvis allows motion to go through your back as well as your horses. Riders need to be strong enough in their core to keep it upright and flexible enough to let the motion go through their body. Since a lot of riders depend on their legs to carry them around all day, the arms and hands to complete tasks and then spend lots of time in an office chair, doesn’t it make sense that riders need to work on being fit to ride? Whatever fitness program you choose, make sure it works for you and your body type and addresses your strengths and weaknesses. Dancing in partnership with your horse is an amazing feeling when each partner is in self carriage and balance without unnecessary tension or burden. |