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these are 3 discs with a lot of information to summarize !
Educational Article for those who want to know why.
Core Position and How It Avoids the Crush Mechanism in the Horse as it Affects English, Western, Jumping, Eventing and Dressage training.
A horse is built without a collar bone. This often makes his job difficult in carrying his rider due to the sheer magnitude of weight his muscles must support. A horse is heavier, by natures construction, on his front end than on his hindquarter. A rider leaning forward at any time during the ride, will be out of balance with gravity let alone his horse. Whether it is in taking a jump, executing a canter pirouette, Piaffe or just working on the flat, this leaning by the rider will result in overloading the front end of the horse even further than his natural imbalance of weight. The result will evoke a crush mechanism from the horse, which is a natural fight response ( to move into pressure) when the rider leans upon his shoulders. His communication with the rider to get off his shoulders may be a mild request (crow hop) or a very unpleasant demand (a buck or a rear) depending on the nature of the horse and how much the crush mechanism (natural) has been replaced with a learned response. This was clearly seen in the Olympics with the German rider who had trouble during the execution of the Piaffe. All to sad we don’t acknowledge the crush mechanism coming out in the horse through resistances and we just go blindly blundering on spurring him or in someway ignoring his request by our telling him to get over it. His final action becomes a demand to get off his shoulders because we are out of balance with gravity and can not hold ourselves up, making the horse pay the penalty. His only way to tell you, is to become in our minds, disobedient. A crucial position of the rider is evident in jumping through the lift off (the “rearing” position the horse must assume prior to launch) as well as the incline of the rider on the other side of the jump, where once again, gravity plays its role or perhaps “toll” if the horse becomes the leverage to keep us from falling forward in the movement up or coming down. Thus the crush mechanism comes into play if things are out of balance. All too sad, we do not recognize it .
So we ask ourselves what does it take to become a better load for our partner? First we need to examine our ability to balance with gravity using the triangle of stability as our starting point. This is the triangle formed by the riders leg when seated in the saddle. A point from knee to ankle to toe and returning to the knee The angle is changed by the length of ones stirrup, yet the vital part of this change is only correct if the foot remains underneath you at all times. Any act by the rider to place his foot ahead of this triangle results in being out of balance with gravity which is followed by immediate consequences that cause two things:
1. a pull when ever the reins are used.
2. a crush response by the horse from the imbalance.
If the riders triangle of stability remains directly under the riders knee and weight and stays there, the rider can not pull, for no leverage is provided by the foot
Try this: place a set of reins around a post. Now act as though you are going to play “”tug of war” to gain ground by making the other party come toward you by means of pulling with your hands.
Did you place one leg or perhaps both in front of you?
Now without allowing either toe to come forward ( they are side by side under your body weight) try to pull with the reins
Not as easy?
Testing the triangle: Standing ,with legs apart as though upon your horse, move both your toes ahead only two inches from where they were when you were at rest with your feet under you.
Did you loose your balance backwards?
A triangle of stability is just that, it provides us with the means of remaining stable with gravity for ourselves and not relying on our horse to hold us up. When the foot comes ahead in the “chair position”, (no matter how short the two inches), you will automatically pull on your horse. This excessive pressure evokes the crush mechanism in the horse and he will then root or raise his head and hollow his back or shake his head side to side trying to relieve himself of the pulling hand. In addition he will be upset with the riders location “position”, and react with the natural response of moving into pressure. This may not be what you want.
So we ask ourselves what does it take to become a better load for our partner? First we need to examine our ability to balance with gravity using the triangle of stability as our starting point. This is the triangle formed by the riders leg when seated in the saddle. A point from knee to ankle to toe and returning to the knee The angle is changed by the length of ones stirrup, yet the vital part of this change is only correct if the foot remains underneath you at all times. Any act by the rider to place his foot ahead of this triangle results in being out of balance with gravity which is followed by immediate consequences that cause two things:
1. a pull when ever the reins are used.
2. a crush response by the horse from the imbalance.
If the riders triangle of stability remains directly under the riders knee and weight and stays there, the rider can not pull, for no leverage is provided by the foot
Try this: place a set of reins around a post. Now act as though you are going to play “”tug of war” to gain ground by making the other party come toward you by means of pulling with your hands.
Did you place one leg or perhaps both in front of you?
Now without allowing either toe to come forward ( they are side by side under your body weight) try to pull with the reins
Not as easy?
Testing the triangle: Standing ,with legs apart as though upon your horse, move both your toes ahead only two inches from where they were when you were at rest with your feet under you.
Did you loose your balance backwards?
A triangle of stability is just that, it provides us with the means of remaining stable with gravity for ourselves and not relying on our horse to hold us up. When the foot comes ahead in the “chair position”, (no matter how short the two inches), you will automatically pull on your horse. This excessive pressure evokes the crush mechanism in the horse and he will then root or raise his head and hollow his back or shake his head side to side trying to relieve himself of the pulling hand. In addition he will be upset with the riders location “position”, and react with the natural response of moving into pressure. This may not be what you want.
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