how your horse wants you to ride: starting out, starting over

HOW YOURHORSE WANTSYOU TO RIDEStarting Out Starting Over

GINCY SELF BUCKLIN

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HOW YOURHORSE WANTSYOU TO RIDE

Also by Gincy Self Bucklin:

What Your Horse Wants You to Know: What Horses Bad Behavior Means, andHow to Correct It

HOW YOURHORSE WANTSYOU TO RIDEStarting Out Starting Over

GINCY SELF BUCKLIN

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright 2004 by Gincy Bucklin. All rights reserved.

Howell Book HousePublished by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, NJPublished simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the publisher upon request.

ISBN: 0-7645-7099-4

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Harris Howard Bucklin Jr., finest of horsemen andbest of husbands, this book is lovingly dedicated.

There is only one kind of mistake, that is, the fundamental mistake.Regardless of how advanced the exercise, if the performance is defective, onecan directly trace that fault to a lack in the fundamental training of either thehorse or the rider.

Erik Herbermann

Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiiiHow It All Began 30 Years of Revelations

PART I 1Getting Started or Starting Over Success Is Easier Than You Think

1 3Looking into Your Future A Confident Rider on a Confident Horse

2 17Building the Foundation The Seven Steps, Part One

3 29Meeting and Greeting Good First Impressions Create a Positive Relationship

4 47Grooming, Tack, and Tacking Talking to Your Horse in Different Ways

5 79Leading Be in Charge without Being Controlling

6 95Mounting and Dismounting Riding Confidence Starts Here

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PART II 127Riding without Fear Bareback or without Stirrups

7 129Sitting on the Horse The Seven Steps, Part Two

8 157Communicating Considerately The Stick, the Seat, the Center, the Weight, and the Eyes

9 183Free at Last! Riding without Reins, Sitting the Trot without Stirrups

10 197Handling the Reins Goofproof Your Moves

PART III 211Riding without Fear Back in the Saddle and Using the Stirrups

11 213Settling into the Saddle Adjust to the Difference

12 223Solving the Stirrup Problem The Seven Seats, Part One: Full Seat

13 243Solving the Balance Problem The Seven Seats, Part Two: Half Seat

14 271Posting the Trot Perfection Is Perfectly Possible

15 285Cantering Basics Just in Case

Contentsviii

PART IV 295Helping Your Horse Do What You Want The Leg and Rein Aids

16 297Using Your Legs No Strength Required!

17 305Understanding the Rein Connection Use Your Hands Effectively

18 327Overcoming Rein Resistance Simple Hand and Rein Effects That Work

19 353Putting the Aids to Work Go, Turn, Stop, and Back

Conclusion 379Build Self-Confidence in Yourself and Your HorseBe the Perfect Student

APPENDICESAppendix A 383Making and Fitting a Neck Strap

Appendix B 387Plateaus Charting Your Progress

Appendix C 391The Flowchart Where Can You Go from Here?

Appendix D 395Resources

Index 399

Contents ix

Acknowledgments

This book represents a lifetime of help from my teachers, my students and myhorses, but it owes its existence as a manuscript to Brigit van Loggem, whoencouraged me to write it and helped me through the early years of its creation.It owes its existence as an actual published book to my agent, Pat Snell, whomade me write and rewrite the proposal more times than either of us wants toremember, and to my daughter, Karen Hayes, who encouraged and nagged asneeded to keep me going. My editor, Beth Adelman, has been invaluable insupporting me when I get discouraged, helping me work to deadline andanswering all my questions about the publishing business. My thanks also espe-cially to George Morris and Jane Savoie for taking the time during their busyFlorida season to write the kind remarks on the back of this book. And finally,I want to thank again the members and contributors to my Riding WithConfidence e-group, who constantly challenge me on the one hand, and on theother, bring new thoughts and concepts to me every day.

And thank you to publisher J. A. Allen & Co., Ltd., and Mr. Herbermannhimself, for allowing me to include the quote on page vi from ErikHerbermanns 1999 book Dressage Formula, Third Edition.

Photo acknowledgments: For their generous contributions of time and theirpatience, I am most grateful to the following:

Photographers: Terri Miller for the cover; Ron Whittemore, to whom spe-cial thanks are due for the many hours he spent in ice-cold indoor arenas inNew England in February; also Josh Sprague, Karen Hayes, Douglas Murray andPaul Coupland.

Models, Humans: Kelly Shine and Liz Anderson (cover), Peg Megan,Douglas Murray, Katy Murray, Heather Holloway, Jackey Davies. Equine (andtheir owners): Fox Robin and Honey (cover), Sammy and Edie Johnson, PrinceWilliam (Wills) and Maggie Clarke, Colette Star and Judy Truesdale, MissKitty Coker and Kathy Bowser.

Locations: Clouds Hill Farm, Cherry Croft Farm, Glen Farm, CastlefieldFarm.

xi

Introduction

How It All Began30 Years of Revelations

When my husband and I retired from actively running a large stable and ridingprogram, I naturally had time on my hands. I started exploring the Internet andstumbled across the horsey newsgroups. Eventually I found my way to theHorseman Off-Topic group, and discovered the joys of talking to like-mindedfellow horse people all over the world. With my extensive experience as a pro-fessional, I could often help others with problem solving. When Brigit, one ofmy correspondents from the Netherlands and an editor by trade, suggested Ishould write a book, I agreed to try. As a result of her invaluable assistanceand constant naggingover a period of several years, this book was written.

Why did I accept her challenge? Why does any one write a book? Becausethey have something to say that they think is important, and they want themessage to reach a large group of people. Also, it must be a message that is toocomplex to be transmitted in a few words, or even pictures. My message istwofold: I believe anyone who really wants to can ride well, I think peoplewho love horses should have the pleasure of enjoying riding them, and, mostimportant of all, I think the horses should enjoy it too. This book starts youon the way to accomplishing those goals.

The next question might be, what qualifies me to make that statement? Asthe daughter of Margaret Cabell Self, a well-known instructor and author ofhorse books, I grew up with a solid background in teaching, which, as of thiswriting, I have been doing for nearly 60 years. Growing up in an area withmany top show stables and Olympic riders also exposed me to the best therewas in riding. For many years I followed the traditional methods of how toteach riding.

Then, about 30 years ago, I was teaching in Connecticut at a moderate-sized stable, one that I also comanaged. We had the usual mix of students andschedules, but it happened that I had two classes, back to back, of teenagers inthe 14- to 16-year range. The first class, a group of advanced beginners riding

xiii

less than a year, were walking, trotting and learning basic control. The second,my most advanced group, had been riding six years or more and were showingover fences and training their own horses.

For weeks I taught the two lessons, one right after the other. Then one dayI suddenly realized that I was repeating myself! Even though each group wastraining at a completely different level, I was giving the advanced riders thesame corrections as the beginners. That is, there were basic skills they hadstarted working on when they were beginners that they still hadnt mastered! Iwould find myself saying, Look up, Get your weight back, or Heels down,just as often to the advanced class as I did to the beginners.

I pondered this for some time, then came to the conclusion that I hadntspent enough time making sure the beginners had mastered each skill before Imoved them on to the next. This meant that when they tried to learn a newskill, they would lose some of the old one, since they couldnt think about bothat the same time. Then, since each skill was built on the preceding ones, asthey advanced the students became in many ways less competent, not more.And of course, by permitting them to do things the wrong way, I allowed theirfaults to develop into habits they couldnt break.

At about the same time, a group of mothers of my younger students decidedthey would like to learn to ride as well. They all talked about how frightenedthey were, how concerned they were about having an accident, which, ofcourse, none of them could afford.

In those days the usual first lesson was to quickly introduce the student tothe horse, put her on and give her the reins and stirrups. After some walking,unless she was terribly awkward or nervous, she would try to trot. Her trottingwould be dangerously tense and clumsy, but of course that was the way begin-ners trotted!

Thinking about how my advanced students hadnt learned their basic skillsmade me realize that having a student trot in her first lesson was about theequivalent of having a beginning driver travel at 40 mph on a major thor-oughfare the first time out. So as I planned the first lesson for my nervous moth-ers, I decided to give them a fairly extensive introduction to the horse on theground, followed by having each rider sit on her horse briefly and walk a fewsteps as correctly as possible.

When I suggested this change in routine to my partners, they were horrified.The students would hate it! They would be bored to death and never return. ButI managed to prevail and the lesson went as planned. To the astonishment of mypartners, and even a little to me, my students loved it! Instead of being tense andfearful, they talked about how secure they felt. Several of them said they wouldfeel more comfortable if their children were started the same way. This made mesee that having new students spend time getting to know the horse before try-ing to ride him was an important addition to the learning process.

Introductionxiv

With this encouragement, I began to develop a totally different way toteach riding. My goal was to design a program that would buildandmaintaincorrect skills from the very beginning. I began taking my newstudents much more slowly, spending more time on each step. We playedlots of slow games, went for trail walks with hand leaders and did otherthings that would entertain the students minds while their bodies learnedhow to ride.

After a year or two of this, I was delighted to see that my students wereindeed learning to ride more correctly sooner, with better balance and less ten-sion. But I also noticed something else that I hadnt expected.

It is common practice on most school horses for the rider to carry a stick,which sometimes needs to be used with a bit of firmness. Novice riders, espe-cially timid ones, are notoriously reluctant to use the stick, partly because thehorse may respond with a sudden movement, and partly, I suspect, because theydont want to make him angry. But my new students didnt have this problem.Even the most timid ones, when told to use the stick, were quite willing to doso. I dont mean that they became aggressive, simply that the new, slower wayof teaching seemed to have made them more confident.

This marked the beginning of my interest in the problem of dealing withfear. I saw that most riders who lack confidence do so because they tried to dotoo much too soon. Therefore, I could help fearful riders by taking them backand starting them again slowly; by rebuilding their physical skills, I couldrebuild their confidence at the same time.

This, in turn, led to a new discovery: Because the riders werent trying todo things that they werent ready for, the horses werent being abused asbeginner school horses usually are, so they were far less disobedient. This,in turn, increased the riders confidence, so they were more relaxed; thehorses were more relaxed as well, and enjoyed their work much more.

Over the next 30 years I worked with many different people of all abili-ties and ages on all sorts of horses. I took clinics with instructors I admired, toincrease my own skills and knowledge. With the help of my students, myhorses, and the instructors under my tutelage, I gradually fine-tuned the pro-gram so that almost anyone can use it to learn to ride correctly, safely, andconfidently, and keep the horse happy and comfortable throughout thelearning process as well. The goalsrelaxation, balance, understandingdonot differ appreciably from those of any riding program, but the method forreaching those goals is far more detailed, with much more time spent on thebasic concepts. Because I have taught so many riders over such a long period, Iam familiar with nearly all the problems that students run into while learning,so I am able to incorporate solutions for these problems into the book. Thusthe problems can be addressed or avoided before they lead to more and moreserious difficulties.

How It All Began xv

When I try to explain to a new student the reasoning behind my methods,which are so different from those of typical instructors, I often liken them tofinishing a piece of furniture. One way, the so-called easy way, is to do a mini-mum of preparation, then slap on a couple of coats of varnish and consider itdone. The furniture may, from a distance, look fine. But when you put it to use,the finish is rough, it starts to chip, and before long it has to be refinished.Again, you have a choice of throwing on a couple more coats of varnish, butthe same problems will quickly reoccur. If you want to fix it right, you have toremove all the old coats and start over. Very time-consuming and tedious.

The right waywhich appears at first glance to be the harder, longer wayis to spend the necessary time in preparationwhat artisans call the prep work.You carefully sand each piece, first with coarse, then gradually finer and finergrades of sandpaper, followed by a thin coat of varnish, then more sanding,another coat and so on until you have built up a solid foundation that is imper-vious to damage.

When you do the work this way, there is a long period where nothingmuch seems to be accomplished; but when you are finished, its for good! Inthe same way, when you build a solid foundation for riding by proceeding slowlyand carefully, you seem to spend a long time at a very beginnery level, but youactually reach a level of true competenceand confidencefar sooner.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

If you are an experienced rider who wants to improve, you can work directlyfrom the book without outside help. You should start in a safe space, such as around pen or small arena, so you can concentrate on your body without worry-ing about controlling the horse. If you are a beginning student, you must startout with help from an experienced person. The horse, carefully chosen for hisquiet temperament, is held or led by a ground person during all the early les-sons, whether you are on or off the horse. Gradually, over a period of weeks, theinstructor or assistant should allow you more freedom, in a limited space, notto control the horse but to discover that you dont have to control him. At thisstage you only want the horse to walk or jog quietly as best he can under yourunbalanced body, so the horse has no need to be disobedient. Later on, as yougrow in competence and knowledge, you can begin to ask the horse to listen toyou and accept your guidance.

For either level of student, eventually it becomes simply a matter of addingthe basic skillsdeveloping balance at the different gaits, both sitting andstanding in the stirrups; managing the reins; learning to use your aids withoutlosing your position, and only then learning to use them to communicate with

Introductionxvi

the horse. Once you have fully mastered these skills, you can do anything ona horse that the horse is able and willing to do.

One of the reasons you may not spend enough time working on your basicskills is the feeling that you arent getting anywhere. Just like the person refin-ishing the furniture. Therefore, I have included an arrangement for keepingtrack of your progress. One of the things that impressed me about the Parellitraining method is that it makes the prep work interesting. What Parelli hasdone, and what I have tried to do in this book, is to divide your progress intodifferent stages.

Pat Parelli calls his stages Levels. I have chosen to call mine Plateausbecause riders tend to think of reaching a plateau as a negative. I seem to beat a plateau, and Im not getting anywhere, is a familiar complaint. But beingon a plateau really means that your mind and body have taken in an enormousamount of information, and now they have to process it. What you shouldobserve when you are on a plateau is not that you are constantly learning newstuff, which is what you are doing as you are climbing to the plateau. Instead,you are now focused on improving the skills you learned on the climb. Ratherthan thinking, Oh, Im still working on shortening my reins, you should findyourself thinking, Wow, I can shorten my reins so much more easily than Icould a month ago. When you are on a plateau, your body is storing informa-tion in muscle memory. You find yourself, for example, shortening and length-ening your reins without thinking about it when your horse shortens or lengthenshis neck. When he spooks a little, you immediately grow, breathe, center andground, instead of curling up in a ball and hauling on his mouth! The plateaus,and the steps that lead to each one, are covered in Appendix B.

Using this book to help you in the learning process, you have the optionof following it pretty much in the sequence in which it is written, or of skip-ping around. You may want to work on one concept for a while, then go on toanother and come back to the first one later on. This is often a good thing todo if you find you are stuck. By following the flow chart in Appendix C, youcan determine where to go next, and what to go back to if you get in over yourhead. This will be another gauge of your progress, and will add variety to yourlearning. Remember, it should be fun! Just be careful not to get so hung up onprogress that you dont spend enough time just consolidating what you havelearned until you truly know it.

Especially for novices, as indicated in the Plateaus, the work on the groundshould be interwoven with actual riding. Generally speaking, I dont believethat the novice should be asked to control the horse in any way until she feelsreally comfortable with him. This means that tacking and leading, which areoften taught in the first lesson, should be left until a good deal later on. Otherthan that, if you are more experienced and have a particular hang-up, you may

How It All Began xvii

want to work on that right away and skip some earlier chapters. Throughoutthe book, if there is something you need to know from another chapter therewill be a reference.

There are some chapters that you should read first (besides this one!) Theyare the first two chapters, and Chapter 7. Chapters 2 and 7, The Seven Steps,Parts I and II, are especially important, and there are constant references tothem throughout the book. They are the foundation on which all your ridingskills will be built.

I would like to thank Mary Wanless for the writing concept of referring toall riders as she and all horses as he, which simplifies explanations enor-mously. I refuse to refer to the horse as it as though he were an inanimateobject, which thinking lies at the bottom of a great deal of abuse. I apologize toany male humans or female horses who may be offended by this convention.

Finally, I would ask you to consider something else about working from abookabout working from any book. Even when you read a thing carefully, ifit is complex it is rare for you to understand it completely the first time. Youhave to try bits of it, then come back and read some more, and other pieces willstart to make sense. Its a little like putting together a disassembled piece of fur-niture from the directions. They always tell you to read all the directions first,and you start to, but you find yourself completely confused after the first fewparagraphs. So you say, The heck with it, and you find part A and start fittingit together with part B. As you work along, not only does the piece of furniturestart to make sense, but so do the directions. This book is arranged so that fit-ting part A to part B is fairly easy. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful, whichis to say I hope it helps you to enjoy your horse and your riding to the fullest.

Introductionxviii

Part I

Getting Started orStarting OverSuccess Is Easier Than You Think

1

Looking into Your FutureA Confident Rider on a Confident Horse

I have always been interested in learning more about my trade. There is somuch to know that you never learn it all, but the more sources you investigate,the more tools you have to work with. As a result of this, I was watching avideotape about a well-recognized ground training system. The trainer wasworking with a horse who was obviously very tense and difficult, and it was fas-cinating to watch how much the horse improved in both comfort and attitudeunder the trainers guidance. Then, as the tape approached its end, the ownergot back on the horse to see how he had improved. Well! The owner was anabsolutely appalling riderunbalanced, rough, and clumsy! The poor horsestruggled to apply his new lessons, but his owners incompetence interferedwith all of his efforts. I suspect the trainer must have felt a degree of frustration,as well. I know I would cheerfully have slaughtered the owner, had it been me!

This is the one argument I have with ground training systems. There tendsto be a certain implication that if you develop a good relationship with yourhorse, you dont have to bother with anything else. Nothing could be morewrong, or more unfair to your horse. If youve ever carried anyone piggyback,even for a few minutes, you know how much their movements affect your abil-ity to balance and move easily.

As I said in the Introduction, learning to ride correctly first means devel-oping a good foundation, and this takes timemore time than many studentsare willing to take or their instructors to give. Unless they are very lucky, nearlyall of these studentsand their horseseventually end up in difficulties.

Full of enthusiasm and courage, Darcy was in her early 20s when she came toride with me. She loved horses and was eager to pick up again the riding careershe had begun as a child. However, because her life was now teeming withother activities as well, she could only ride once a week. Other, more experi-enced riders were cantering, jumping, and showing. Darcy was eager to do the

3

same, instead of working on perfecting basic skills. She seemed to listenpatiently to explanations that she wasnt ready, that trying the fun stuff toosoon could be dangerous and result in bad habits. More importantly, her lackof riding skills would interfere with the horse, making him uncomfortable oreven scaring himhardly fair to the horse. But she knew there were other sta-bles in the area that would allow her to do what she wanted, so after a fewmonths she left.

Continuing to take lessons in the area, Darcy soon bought her own horse.In a very short time she was showing at a moderately advanced level. But thereshe stuck. She had achieved just enough skill to perform adequately, but wasnever willing to do the necessary work to overcome the bad habits she haddeveloped in her hurry to move up. Periodically she would change stables andwork with a new instructor, and often change horses as well, but since she lackedthe proper foundation, she was never able to progress beyond mediocrity.

Darcy loved horses and riding, yet was unlikely to reach her full potentialas a happy, competent rider. Only if she was willing to change her thinking, oreven start again, would she be likely to eventually ride with both skill and con-fidence and provide her horse with the comfort he needed.

One of the most difficult tasks facing any instructor is teaching the student thenecessity of learning slowly. Some of my best pupils have been those who havehad traumatic experiences with horses. Caught between their fears and theirlove of horses, the only way they could cope was to be very, very cautious. Theresult was the necessary willingness to go slowly, and spend the time on thebasics that every rider needs if she is to learn to ride correctly.

Lets put it right up front: This book is about learning to ride correctly, soit contains a lot about equitation! But, you say, Im not interested in equitation.Im never going to show, and you only need to know about equitation if youregoing to show, right? Wrong! Equitation is what its all about. But read on.

Webster defines equitation as the art of riding, and defines art as askill or system of rules. Nope, you say, Im still not interested. I dont wantto fool around with a lot of rules, I just want to have fun. Well, I go along withthat, but how much fun would you have playing golf if you couldnt hit the ballmost of the time, or skiing if you fell down every 50 feet? Every skill has a sys-tem of rules, and the purpose of those rules is to help you to be successful.Thats what equitation isa system of rules that enables you to ride success-fully. Which, in turn, makes the horse more comfortable and more obedient, sowhen you go out to have fun on the trail you dont get run off with, and thehorse goes where and as fast or slow as you want to go. And you both have fun.

One more thing. There is nothing in equitation that does not have a validpurpose that is important for both you and the horse!

How Your Horse Wants You to Ride4

Now lets talk a little more specifically about whats in the book. This is abook that can teach you how to ride well much faster than any other methodyouve tried. But lets make sure that you understand my definition of ridingwell. Many peoples definition of a good rider is someone who jumps high jumps,or rides in advanced dressage tests or reining classes. It is true that many of thosepeople are good riders, but it is perfectly possible to engage in those endeavorsbecause you are brave, or possibly a little stupid, or rich enough to afford a horseand a trainer who can get you to the big leagues, whatever your skills.

My definition of a good rider is someone who can ride in a way thatalways gets the best out of a particular horse at a particular moment and insuch a way that the horse feels successful as well, and whose horses con-tinue to improve over time. A good rider is safe, comfortable on the horse,and able to get him to do what she wants through willing cooperation ratherthan fear.

If you are reading this book seriously, its because you want to become abetter rider. You probably agree, at least in part, with the definition Ive justgiven. And what are the necessary qualifications for becoming a good rider?Many people think its having the right build: slender, long-legged, elegant.Certainly it is easier to learn the physical skills of riding with a good build, butI have known many top riders who didnt fit that mold at all.

Perhaps its being a good athlete? But no, many people ride successfullywell into old age when they cant even walk very well anymore, and many peo-ple who are severely disabled are still able to ride well. Or perhaps you have tobe born on a horse, that is, start riding when you are very young and ride alot thereafter. I can tell you from personal experience that doesnt necessarilywork. I could ride before I could walk, but by the time I was 20 I had developedso many bad habits that I had to learn all over again.

The answer is very simple: Anybody can learn to be a good rider whoreally wants to! No great talent, as you would need to become even an ade-quate musician. No great athletic skills, such as you would need to competesuccessfully in any other athletic endeavor. Just the willingness to learn, and thepatience to spend the time it takes to know and understand. And I can safely saythat becoming a good rider and becoming a confident rider on a comfortable horseare virtually synonymous!

LEARNING, KNOWING, AND UNDERSTANDING

I am standing out by the parking lot talking to a client when a car drives in. Aman gets out and asks, Do you rent horses? No, I reply, we only offer les-sons. Immediately he comes back with, Oh, I dont need any lessons. I knowhow to ride!

Looking into Your Future 5

I have experienced this many times, as Im sure everyone has who managesa riding establishment open to the public. It usually turns out this person eitherrode a little as a child or has rented horses from a hack stable before and sur-vived the experience. It is very difficult to get some of them to take no for ananswer. This is a perfect example of someone who doesnt know the differencebetween learning, knowing, and understanding. He has, at some time learned abit about riding, but has not had enough experience to find out what he doesntknow, far less what he doesnt understand.

Lets explore the difference between learning and knowing. Using arith-metic as an example, when you are learning to add, you learn by repetition. Toknow your addition tables, you must practice them over and over until, whensomeone asks, Whats eight and nine? the correct answer, 17, comes out ofyour mouth without any conscious thought. It has become a reflex.

When you practice a physical activity until you know it in the same way, it issometimes called putting it into your muscle memory. This simply means thatyour muscles now know how to do it without any input from your conscious mind.When you are building a skill, it is essential that each step be worked on and prac-ticed until it is in your muscle memory before you start to concentrate on the nextstep. Why? Because you can only think ofthat is, focus onone thing at a time.If you have to think about staying on your horse, and keeping your feet in the stir-rups, and posting, and holding your reins correctly, and steering, and paying atten-tion to where the horse is going, you are going to do all of them badly.

It is this need to practice each step at some length that is probably at theroot of most of the problems people have learning to ride well and confidently.

Arranging practice time is not easy for the novice, who, for safety reasonsshould not try to ride on her own. A good instructor will allow practice timeduring each lesson. Games and controlled trail rides on a safe horse are otherways to gain the necessary mileage. Unfortunately, the average amateur riderspends only one or two hours a week on a horse; therefore, the time it takes tobuild a good foundation is spread out over months and years. It is not alwayseasy for a busy, active person to be patient. However, this is by far the fastestway to become an accomplished rider, because once the foundation is solid, themore advanced skills come easily.

There is another aspect of the learning process that is often overlooked.Besides the time spent riding, it seems to take a certain amount of elapsed time for a new skill to sink in. I have observed that while a student learns faster takingtwo lessons a week than taking one, she doesnt learn twice as fast. Apparently,there is a law of diminishing returns involved, because any student can only absorbjust so much new information at once.

Sometimes it is months or even years before a piece of information learned earlier finally fits into place and begins to make sense. This is where the


understanding part comes in. You learn to shorten and lengthen your reins earlyin your riding career. You practice shortening and lengthening them until theactions are automatic, and you no longer have to think about them because youknow how to do it. But it may be much later in your riding career before youfully understand how shortening and lengthening your reins affects your andyour horses balance and grounding.

ESPECIALLY FOR BEGINNERS, OR THOSE WITH SERIOUS FEARS

Rider fear is the cause of probably 75 percent of the problems riders havewith their horses. The tensions created, both physical and emotional, makethe horse tense as well, so his responses to the aids are delayed, awkward orincorrect. Fear causes the riders body to react in ways that often hurt the horse,who then behaves in a disobedient manner, frightening the rider still further.And of course, if youre frightened, youre probably not having much fun.

If you have had a bad experience from which you are trying to recover, youmust make a commitment to patience. To many riders this sounds like a com-mitment to boredom. Not so! By understanding and accepting the need to dealwith your fear, and committing yourself to giving it the necessary time, yourelieve yourself of much of the pressure. You also become more deeply involvedin the total learning process and riding starts to be fun again.

Almost everyone has at least some fear when they first start to ride.Whether or not this becomes a serious problem or quietly disappears dependson the innate courage of the individual, but even more on what happens to her


Tidbits & Supplements

One learning aid that you may find useful is to review your ridewhether taught or noton the way home, perhaps even keeping adiary. It is surprising how often you will come up with a new approachto a problem just by thinking about it quietly. A friend of mind keeps arunning record on an appointment calendar. She makes brief notes ofwhat she did each day, whether riding or groundwork, and what theyaccomplished. In the process, she finds herself reviewing the ride andrethinking it. Looking back over past months gives her a sense of howher riding is progressing over the long term, as well.

in her early lessons. One of the most common causes of serious fear is insuffi-cient time spent on early skills, so that the rider is unprepared to deal with theproblems she meets. Novicesand often their instructors as wellmake themistake of thinking that the way to be safe is to learn to control the horse,but no living thing is absolutely controllable. Instead, the rider needs to learnsuch skills as good balance, emergency dismounts, and how to recognize and,most important, avoid potentially dangerous situations.

The two major fears for most riders are fear of falling and fear of losing con-trol of the horse. This book is about dealing with those problems in very con-crete ways. But there is a third, very common fear: fear of what others maythink, or of what you think of yourself. Many riders constantly push themselvesinto frightening situations because they think they should be able to do it.What these riders dont realize is that fear originates in our innermost, reflexbrain. Our outer, rational brain has no direct connection with this inner crea-ture, so telling yourself to relax when your insecure, terrified body is telling yourreflex brain that danger is imminent is an exercise in futility. What does workis to treat your body like a separate, frightened animal that needs lots of sup-port, careful direction and successful experience to regain its confidence.

It is especially important for people with fear problems to take lessons, andfrom the right instructor. Research has shown that the greatest barrier to learn-ing any new skill is fear. Therefore, before signing up for lessons, watch a les-son at the level at which you expect to be riding. Look for relaxation andconfidence in both horses and riders. Beginners should not look extremely inse-cure, which would indicate they are being faced with more than they can han-dle. Ground helpers should be available so that students can focus on positionfirst. Talk at length with the instructor or manager and find out their teachingphilosophy. Are they in a hurry to get you to shows, or are they more interestedin developing good skills and having you enjoy your riding and be safe? If youknow yourself to be naturally timid and are starting from the very beginning,talk with a prospective instructor about her attitude toward fear. Be sure she iswilling to take you as slowly as you need to go.

Circumstances often determine who your instructor will be, and each onehas her own technique, which may not fit in with your needs. However, bybeing aware yourself of what your needs are, you can sometimes discuss themwith your instructor and find she is willing to work with you. This is somethingthat must, of course, be handled with tact and discretion, but a riding experi-ence that leaves you confused and unsure is almost worse than nothing. Andsurprisingly often the instructor is open to new approaches to teaching. It canbe very hard to come up with a bright, fresh approach to the same horses andpupils working on the same basic skills. And, by the way, just what are thebasics?


THE BASICS: MORE THAN HEELS DOWN

The definition of basics or fundamentals varies somewhat from instructorto instructor, but usually is taken to mean certain essentials of position; thingslike sit up straight and heels down. These are, of course, very important butthey are not the basics. They are things that occur as a result of correct basics.

The real basics, if I may put it that way, are:

A good relationship with the horse, so that you trust one another

The ability to work around the horse on the ground and sit on him atall gaits, in a way that does not disturb either horse or rider

Understanding the language; knowing how to communicate with thehorse and understanding what he is telling you

Lets have a closer look at these basics, one by one.

A Good Relationship

The first and most important basic is a good attitude toward the horse. I knowmany of us were taught that we must master the horse, and be the boss, butwhile I dont believe in spoiling horses, I do feel that this kind of thinking is asoutdated as women automatically being submissive to men, or children beingseen and not heard. The results of allowing the horse to tell you when you arewrong (as long as he doesnt tell you in an aggressive way) are astounding andrewarding for everyone. The horse is far less frustrated and irritablethereforesaferand you really learn what works best for the horse and what doesnt.And whats best for the horse ultimately will always be best for you.

When I still had school horses, if a rider learning to trot on one of myhorses got off balance, her horse would stop. Not nasty, he just stopped to lether get organized, then he would go on again. As she improved, his perform-ance improved, so the student was taught by the horse what was correct for thehorse and became a better rider sooner as a result.

Relationship issues should always be worked out on the ground. Youwouldnt get into a taxi if you felt the driver was untrustworthy and wouldnttake directions. You wouldnt want to commit your personal safety to such aperson. No more should you do so with a horse.

Fortunately, there are a number of relationship-building ground systems,with clinics, books, videos, and support all in place. They all have much tooffer, and any serious rider should investigate them. The best known are clickertraining (positive reinforcement training), Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship


(PNH), round pen training, and Tellington-Jones Equine Awareness Method(TTeam). It is not necessary to own your own horse to benefit from these meth-ods, since they help your understanding of any horse you work with. My bookWhat Your Horse Wants You to Know will give you an overview of these systems,along with their use for many common problems. For more detailed informa-tion about resources, see Appendix D.

Establishing a Balance of PowerAlthough we hear a lot about the need to control the horse, the horse isalways in physical charge of his own body, simply because it is his brain andmuscles and reflexes that control his body. The rider is generally in charge ofwhat the horse should be doing with his body, because usually horses are oper-ating in a world in which humans have made the rules. For example, when ahorse and rider go for a trail ride it is probably the human who knows the bestway to go, therefore the human should expect to be in charge of which trailthey take. However, it is the horse who knows whether or not he can negoti-ate difficult terrain at a particular pace, and the rider should expect to give thehorse some choice when riding over trappy ground.

So a successful horserider relationship becomes a partnership that works,not because the two are always equal, but because each one is able to eithertake or relinquish leadership as necessary for the most successful functioning ofthe partnership.

When you think about working with your horse, think about how you feelabout the different things you do; how hard you work at things that are funand how cranky you get when you feel threatened. Listen to your horse if youwant him to listen to you! Tell him about it when he is good, try again a dif-ferent way when he fails, but dont punish or humiliate him. If he doesnt do



I was once giving a sitting trot lesson on the longe to Robin, a new pupilwho had had a lot of previous experience. The horse, OMalley, keptstopping, and Robin got quite upset with me, maintaining that shecouldnt possibly learn to sit if I didnt keep OMalley going.Immediately after her lesson another pupil, Eleanor, who had been withme for a while, also rode OMalley. Robin was still nearby when Eleanorstarted her sitting trot work. Without any help from me or apparenteffort on Eleanors part, OMalley trotted steadily and quietly for as longas she wanted. Robin, being a nice person, promptly underwent an atti-tude change, and her riding improved rapidly.

what you want, let him show you what he wants. Then, keeping that in mind,show him how what you want is a better solution . . . if it is! Thats how he findsout that you have his welfare at heart. Once he knows that, he becomes part ofthe solution rather than part of the problem.

This does not mean that we permit the horse total freedom right from thestart. It is important that the horse learn the same sort of rules for social behav-ior that we expect from anyone with whom we interact. People who allow theirhorses too much leeway are really treating them very unfairly. If a horse is con-stantly doing things that make you tense, even though you dont show it out-wardly the horse will be aware of it and will feel uncomfortable withoutknowing whywhich makes for a very nervous animal. Further, if a horse hasno manners and he has to interact with people other than his owner, they maynot be as patient. He will be constantly offending and may even find himselfbeing punished in a way that seems unreasonable to him. Ordinary good man-ners are useful for everybody, and should be quietly insisted upon until theybecome a habit. And of course, you need to set the example.

A Working RelationshipIf you work a horse to the point where he isnt enjoying it anymore, he will stopwanting to work for you because he will really be frightened of the lessons. If,instead, you let the horse tell you when hes had enough and reward him forwhat he has done, gradually his willingness to work will increase. Note that thisdoes not spoil the horse. The horse realizes that you are being considerate ofhis needs and will reciprocate, if necessary. One of the horses I work with usedto be very cranky about work. Once we made it fun for him, he learned to loveit. However, sometimes he gets tired toward the end of a lesson and wants toquit. If I need to do a little bit more, I can just make it plain, in a nonaggressiveway, that it is important to me to continue a little longer, and he settles downand goes back to work. In return, when we finish I make a point of thanking himfor the extra effort.

Horses understand consideration and fairness far more than we realize. Iwant my horse to pay attention to me because he has learned that I have use-ful messages to give him that help him to function better, and because heenjoys working with me. I have found that horses on the whole enjoy the chal-lenge of working with us, provided we treat them fairly. So any sort of ridingwhere you have specific but fair and sensible goals for the horse can and shouldbe as interesting to him as our riding lessons are for us.

Perhaps the most difficult situation of all to deal with is one in which arider has become frightened of her own horse but still cares enough about himto want to keep him. This situation tends to be self-perpetuating, because theriders fear is passed to the horse as tension, and he then tends to react in justthe way that she feared. A lot of the skills in this book will give you physical


tools to deal with your fears in this situation, but your attitude toward yourhorse and his toward you are a big part of the cure. If you treat your horse fairly,kindly and lovingly, once he understands which actions of his are frighteningto you he will try very hard not to repeat them.

Freedom and Balance

The second basic, to be able to sit on and work with the horse in a way thatdoes not disturb either horse or rider, is divided into two parts: freedom fromtension, and physical balance. The two are mutually dependent, because youcant be balanced as long as youre tense and you cant be free from tension ifyou are unbalanced.

Freedom from physical tension is often the most difficult to achieve andmaintain. If you are a beginner, just getting past your bodys innate fear of thehorse, his height and his movement may take several months. You may need tobe careful that your instructor doesnt put you in situations that create tension.I am not just talking about overmounting you, but about such things as havingyou trot before you have had sufficient experience at the walk or expecting youto keep your horse out on the rail and away from the other horses before yourposition is pretty well-establishedthings that most beginner instructors con-sider far easier than they are.

More experienced riders have often developed many bad habits that resultin overall body tensions that they may not even be aware of. People who com-plain of stiffness or muscle soreness after riding are feeling the results of this kindof tension. You may have some bad responses that have become reflexes, andreflexes are not easy to change. Reflexes do not involve conscious thought, soyou cant change them by thinking about them. You change them by practicingthe correct reflex until the body learns that as new behavior. Probably one rea-son many people keep riding with the same bad habits, or give up in disgust, isthat they dont realize how long it takes to change a reflex. But it sure is worththe effort!

Emotional stress creates physical tensions as a side effect. An all too com-mon kind of tension is that which you bring with you from your other life,the workplace or home. Rushing to your horse after a bad day at work and along commute can make for a very unsuccessful ride. Using relaxation tech-niques such as TTeam for both you and your horse before riding can be veryhelpful and a real time-saver in the long run.

A source of tension that is often overlooked is nutritional. Caffeine is thebig offender, but sugar and in some cases allergens can be problems as well. Lowblood sugar is also a common problem; if you ride after school or work, youshould have a healthy snack first.


True phobiaoverpowering,mind-warping fear that bears littlerelationship to what is actually hap-peningis a whole different thing,and usually needs some sort of pro-fessional help, either from conven-tional or alternative medicinepractitioners.

Physical balance is the secondrequirement. If you arent balanced,your body (whether you want it toor not!) is going to hang on, either obviously with your hands and reins, or lessobviously with your buttocks and legs. It is not possible to develop correct useof the aids without true balance. You must learn to balance yourself without anytension, especially in those parts of your body that directly affect the horsethat is, your arms, hands, and legs. You must be able to balance both in full seat(sitting) and in half seat (standing in the stirrups), eventually at all gaits.

Finally, correct position, which is both the cause and the result of goodbalance and freedom from tension, is essential. Good position is not just aboutlooking pretty on your horse; good position is about being on the horse in amanner that does not interfere with either his or your optimal functioning.What does optimal functioning mean? That neither of you should ever feelnervous or unsure of your ability to cope physically with whatever comes up!Its about staying out of the horses way while he does his job. And the greatthing about correct position is that it makes riding much easier. Our motto isnot No pain, no gain, but If it isnt easy, its wrong!

If your position is really correct, it is perfectly possible for you to feel justabout as comfortable and secure on a horse at any gait or speed, including overfences and up and down hill, as you do standing still! The main part of thisbook is devoted to teaching you correct position. If you are able to follow thedirections, and are willing to give yourself enough time to learn, you will even-tually reach this degree of security. Probably sooner than you think.

Learning to Communicate

The third basic is the ability to communicate. This involves, first of all, learninghow to use your toolsyour aidscorrectly and effectively. To shorten andlengthen the reins quickly and easily. To use your body so that the pressure on thereins doesnt become tense. To use your legs so that your thighs and seat stay soft.To be able to carry a whip, apply it, change it from one hand to the other. Havingthese skills in your muscle memory enables you to use your aids effortlessly.



Accidents can happen, of course,just as they can with your car. Allyou can do in either case is tolearn the best techniques, usecommon sense and good judg-ment, and then have a little faith.

However, having these skills is not the same as having control. Controlof the horse comes from the horse himself. At best, it is a gift he gives usbecause we have a good relationship. At worst, it is a grudging result of fear,liable to be withdrawn at any time, out of either anger or panic. Websterdefines communication as the exchange of information or opinions. By focus-ing on the communication aspect of the aids, rather than control, we have agreater chance of maintaining the good relationship we need. That is, if we lis-ten to the horse, he is far more likely to listen to us.

Contrary to what is often thought, the aids do not differ greatly from dis-cipline to discipline. If they did, a dressage rider could not ride a reining horse,and vice versa, but the fact is that any expert rider in any discipline can ride ahorse who has been trained in a different discipline and have no trouble withthe basic aids. She might not be able to get the horse to do things that arerelated only to that disciplinefor example, a saddle seat rider who has neverjumped would probably have difficulty getting a hunter around a course, and aWestern rider might have difficulty getting a gaited horse to rack. But the basicaids are the same for all horses.

These basic aids that you will find described in this book are, for the mostpart, not tricks that the horse has to be taught. They work because they affectthe horse physically in some way, and result in a physical response. For that rea-son, the horse finds them very easy to understand. Naturally, a horses responsesto the aids will always improve along with his coordination, musculature, andwillingness to please.

Learning to ride well is not something you will accomplish in a couple ofmonths, or a couple of years. Riding is undoubtedly the most difficult of sportsto do well, because there are so few constants. Every horse is an individual, andevery day is a new one. On the plus side, as long as you retain even a modicumof physical and mental health, you can ride for your entire life. Lots of peopleride well into their 80s and even 90s and never stop learning.

You can look at this concept and say, Well, I just dont want to have tospend my whole life learning, or you can say, Hey, this is great, I can be learn-ing something new all the time for my whole life. Im never going to be bored!Its all in how you look at it.

SAFETY ISSUES

Anyone who writes about riding has, in my mind, an obligation to at least men-tion safety. Horses, because of their sheer size, strength, and quick reactions,have a potential for danger even when their intentions are the best. When youfactor in the possibility of the horse having been abused or having an unsus-pected phobia, the possibility of danger is greatly increased. I remember an


incident that occurred with an old pony named Johnny whom I had owned foryears. This was the bomb-proof one whom I always used for my most timidpupils. I was using him to sit on while I directed my class, who were learning amusical ride. At one point I forgot what the next pattern was supposed to be,so I reached into my pocket, pulled out a paper copy of the ride and unfoldedit. The pony absolutely panicked and almost bolted out from underneath me.Talk about totally unexpected! And yet I constantly hear people say, Oh, I cantrust old Mike absolutely. He would never hurt me. On purpose, no, probablynot, but if you accidentally trigger a reflex that you didnt even know the horsehad, as I did with Johnny, you can get in trouble.

I hope riders at all levels of skill will use this book, so there may be placeswhere the more experienced rider-reader will say, Yes, yes, I know all that. Ihope she will consider that others less experienced may not have thought of anaspect of horse handling or riding that is second nature to her.

It would be impossible to list every scenario that might be dangerous, butit is possible to list a dozen simple, general rules that will keep you safe in mostinstances.

Safety Rules

1. Begin your riding career by taking lessons from a mature, experiencedprofessional. Visit the stable beforehand and look for calm horses and ridersand a neat, well-kept facility. Ask if they teach ground handling techniques indepth as well as riding. Avoid instructors who are aggressive with their horseshorses who are expecting to get hurt tend to kick first and ask questions after-ward. Hard hats should be a requirement. Keep taking lessons as long as youcan on some regular basis, and for at least 200 hours.

2. Dont buy a horse until you are pretty comfortable, and keep him witha professional for the first few months at least. Better yet, lease a horse to makesure you have the time and the desire to work by yourself. Learn about your andthe horses equipment. Know how it should fit and how to use it, and keep it ingood shape.

3. Spend time making friends with any horse you ride, even if you are onlygoing to ride him once. The safest horse is the one who is not afraid of what youmight do to him, and who knows enough about you to care at least a little whathappens to you. Learn how your horse (or the horse you ride) shows tension, dis-comfort, and aggression. Watch his eyes, his ears, his tail, his body position.

4. When you are working on the ground with a horse, always stay in thearea around his shoulder whenever possible. You are the least likely to get hurtthere.


5. Never touch a horse on his hindquarters on first approach. Always go tohis head, then work your way back.

6. Never approach a loose, unknown horse in a field without some sort ofdefensive instrument, even a lead rope, in your hand.

7. Always be especially cautious when more than one horse is involved.Never assume just because two horses have met that they wont do anythingaggressive. Horses often play games with each other that can be extremely dan-gerous to nearby humans, and they dont realize that you cant get out of theway as fast as they can.

8. When you try anything with a horse that you have not done before your-self, be a little careful until youre sure hes okay with it.

9. Listen to what your body tells you. If you feel really nervous about some-thing, dont do it if you can possibly avoid it. Walking home on your own twofeet is better than being carried home on a stretcher.

10. Try not to ride alone. If you must, make sure that someone knows youreout and will check to make sure you are safely home.

11. Wear a hard hat, even if you think theyre stupid and uncomfortable.You can get used to anything except a smashed skull! I have personally knownthree people who died of head injuries received as a result of falls from horses.They were all riding their own horses and none of them were jumping. In twoof the instances the horses were walking quietly immediately before the acci-dent; in the third instance a piece of new equipment failed.

12. Bear in mind that horses are living creatures, and therefore by definitionunpredictable. Just as people can never be counted on to show exactly the samebehavior under a certain set of circumstances, neither can horses. Pay attentionto the state of mind of the particular horse you are on, and to the relationshipbetween you. General principles apply to all, but evaluating each horse as youride has a lot to do with a safe and successful experience.


2

Building the FoundationThe Seven Steps, Part One

Kitty had ridden for many years, but had recently suffered a very serious fallfrom a horse. She was anxious to get back into riding again, and wanted to dealwith her new and severe fear problem. When she came for her first lesson Ibrought a horse out for her to groom right away, assuming that with her lengthyexperience there would be no difficulties at this level. Much to my astonish-ment, she was extremely tense working around the horse on the ground. Shestood very awkwardly, with her feet placed far away from the horse. This forcedher to lean forward, out of balance, to use the grooming tools. As a result, hermoves were clumsy and disturbing to the horse, thus making him feel tense as well.

I realized I would have to correct her body at this level before we evencould think about riding. Although neither she nor the horse wanted to hurtthe other, the subconscious messages they were exchanging were very threat-ening to both, and could only result in trouble.

Though she may not be conscious of it herself, almost every new rider is deal-ing with a certain amount of fear. The standard practice of giving the begin-ning rider far too many challengesstirrups, reins, postingand not givingher enough time to develop a feeling of security on the horse allows that fearto grow and solidify, creating a monster that may take years to tame. Withoutthe secure position that can only be built on a careful foundation, there can beno real confidence and relaxation.

While it is not a concept that leaps to mind when you think of riding, it isobvious that in order to ride well your body must function well. If it is full oftensions, or is unresponsive or unbalanced, the horse will be affected and youwont get the results you want or expect. In this chapter and in Chapter 7 youwill be introduced to some basic ways to improve your body, release tensionsand find balance.

17

In trying to solve these problems over the years, and with much help frommy pupils and especially from Sally Swift, the creator of Centered Riding, Iworked out Seven Steps that I found could overcome the initial fear and makealmost anyone comfortable on a horse in a comparatively short time.Eventually, I could put an absolute beginner on a horse for the first time afterhalf an hour on the ground during which she had learned the first five steps,and at the end of the hour, using all seven steps, have her walking (hand led)and looking correct as well as comfortable.

GROUNDING: WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

The Seven Steps can be described as the tools the rider needs to achieve thesecond of my basics; that is, to be able to sit on the horse in a way that is notdisturbing to either horse or rider. Another name for this concept is ground-ing. Grounding is probably the single most important factor for the successof any athletic endeavor. When I look at a new student, her ability to ground,or lack thereof, is what I see first. When I start to work with her, that is whereI begin. I suspect that experienced instructors in any sport see and work withtheir students in exactly the same way. The diver who must balance on theboard, the golfer who must have a firm stance, a batter, a quarterback, abowlerall these must be firmly grounded in order to perform even adequately.Grounding is what we see when we look at a rider and say, She has a wonder-ful seat on a horse!

Grounding begins with allowing your body to truly connect to the ground.If you envision standing on a solid floor in sneakers, as opposed to standing ona patch of ice in slick-soled shoes, you can envision how the lack of ability toconnect with the ground deprives you of security if you have to make a sud-den move.



What is covered in this and the related chapters is just the tip of the ice-berg. If you really want to reach your full potential as a rider, you shouldexplore such things as Centered Riding, Alexander Technique, yoga,and tai chi. There are also many individual practitioners who have devel-oped useful variations of the standard techniques.

When you are securely connected with the ground, which, when you aremounted, means the stirrups or the saddle seat, your body can relax and centerover your basethat is, your feet or your seatbones. This enables you to reacteffortlessly in any situation. By focusing on grounding as you move around thehorse on the ground, you teach your body to stand and move in a way thatimparts confidence to both you and the horse, as you will see more clearly aswe work through this section.

When you have completed the work laid out in this chapter, you will havelearned the first five of the Seven Steps. That is, you will have read andapplied the exercises, and felt how they worked. When you ride, you will takethese, and the two additional steps explained in Chapter 7, and apply them tositting on the horse. Over time you will find that the Seven Steps have becomeestablished in your muscle memory, so that you immediately notice when yourbody is wrong and are able to correct the error promptly, and even without con-scious thought. At that stage, they have become an integrated whole. You willknow them.

You can and should practice the unmounted exercises at home. In addi-tion, you can begin to apply the techniques of the exercises to any situation inyour life where you feel tense. Driving in traffic or preparing for a difficult inter-view are some examples that come to mind. And the more you practice theexercises in situations where you are not tense, the easier it will be to producethem when you need them.

The majority of these exercises originate in the Chinese martial art of tai chiand similar sourcesI just put them together in a way that I found works the best

Building the Foundation 19


One of my students, who is a fairly advanced rider, was having sometrouble handling her horse on the ground. She tends to be a quiet,nonaggressive person and the horse is rather a macho gelding. As wewere working with the horse, I put a strong emphasis on my student car-rying her body correctly and keeping herself firmly grounded. The horseresponded very well to the work, and she had no more trouble. As wewere talking over the lesson afterward, I realized that she actuallyappeared taller, and something about her facial expression made meask her if she felt more confident in a general way. After a momentsthought she replied in a somewhat surprised voice that she did, indeed,feel more self-confidence.

for people starting out, which is something I discovered by experimenting. Forexample, I tried starting with breathing, and found that most people were soscrunched up, they couldnt breathe. So I tried starting with other aspects and indifferent sequences, and found that this Seven Step plan worked. But of course,not for everyone, so you can do them in a different order if you like.

When working with these exercises on the ground, stand with your feetcomfortably apart and your hip and knee joints unlocked but not bent.

1. GROWING

Growing is part of the loosening process. Muscles need to be stretched andlengthened to become soft and flexible. For the body to bend easily, while themuscles on the outside of the bend are lengthening, the inside muscles mustcompress without tension. To achieve this, they must first be stretched to makethem relaxed and soft. Growing assists this process. For nearly everyone, theleft side is stiffer than the right, so it is always stretched first.

1. First, think about your feet. Imagine them growing both longer andwider. Let your heels grow out the back of your feet, and your toes grow out infront. Let your toes spread out like ducks feet. Now, starting from the anklesand working up, release the tension in your hips and legs and let your wholebody rest on your feet, so you feel connected to the ground.

2. Drop your left arm by your side, then bend your elbow and bring your lefthand up in front of your face, thumb toward you. Your face should be verticalwhen seen from the side. For many of us, that means dropping the chin just alittle, as though you were looking straight ahead over a pair of granny glasses.

3. Imagine a string pulling the hand up over your head, and allow yourhead to tilt gently back to watch the hand going up. If you like, imagine thestring is attached to a large helium balloon, which is pulling your arm up (butnot too hard).

4. When the arm is straight up (vertical) from the shoulder, bring youreyes and head back level, then reach up a little higher until you feel a stretchat the waist as though your shirt is pulling out of your waistband. Remain inthat position for a short time, as long as it is comfortable, then bring the armslowly down in front of you and back to your side.

5. Repeat with your right arm, but this time bring your hand down to thetop of your head, to the point where a line drawn from one ear to the otherwould intersect a line drawn straight back from your nose. Tap that place, asthough you were attaching the string, then bring your hand down to your side.



Peg growing her right side. Notice howmuch longer the whole growing side is,

and how well grounded Pegs right foot is.

Locating the exact top of your head.


An optional method of growing and grounding.

6. Now imagine yourself floating along in the sky, hanging by the top ofyour head from the string of the balloon. Your body will feel very straight andtall, but not stiff or straining.

7. Finish by thinking about your feet again and letting your weight restfirmly on them.

Standing (or sitting) up straight is a concept that is often misunderstoodand incorrectly taught. An upright posture results from releasing the tension,primarily in the front muscles, not increasing the tension in the back muscles.The body naturally wants to balance itself, and allowing the front muscles torelax will accomplish this without effort.

2. SHAKE-OUT

Shake-out helps rid your body of little tensions deep inside the muscles thatyou may not even be aware are there.

1. Starting with your left hand dangling at your side, begin shaking yourfingers as though you had water on them and were trying to shake it off. Thisis a very loose, floppy, uncontrolled movement. Then shake your hand, fol-lowed by your wrist, forearm, elbow, and upper arm.

2. Repeat with your right hand. When you finish the right side, let yourarms drop and shiver your shoulders as though you were cold.

3. Do the same exercise lifting your left leg, starting with your foot andending at your thigh, then your right leg.

4. Then allow your upper body to fall forward so that your arms are dan-gling. Now shake out your whole body, especially the hips. You should feel allthe muscles in your limbs become very loose and soft. Straighten up slowly andcheck to make sure you havent lost your growing or your grounding.

The shake-out, even a partial one, is a particularly useful exercise beforecompetition or any potentially stressful situation. You often see swimmers andtennis players shaking out just before starting.



I recently came across another good way to grow and ground. You cantdo it on a horse, but at least its quick.

Stand against a wall. Keeping the back of your head against the walland your neck and body straight, walk your feet out from the wall aboutsix or eight inches. Allow your feet to ground, and allow your arms todangle straight down. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then walk yourfeet back to the wall and step away. Your whole body will feel very tall,straight and yet relaxed. The photo on page 22 illustrates this method.

3. BREATHING

Breathing is always the first thing to check if you notice yourself or your horsetensing up. Short, rapid inhalations with the chest, or holding the breath, willalways create tension. Long, slow breaths with long exhales from the diaphragmwill release tension.

1. Place one hand on your diaphragm/stomach and take a deep breath(through your nose, if possible), pushing your hand out with your diaphragm.Feel your lower ribs expand, not only in front but on the sides and in back aswell, and try not to let your upper chest move until the very end of the inhala-tion. Your shoulders should not move appreciably.

2. Without any break between inhale and exhale, breathe out slowlythrough your mouth, trying to make the exhale last about twice as long as theinhale. Feel your upper chest, then your lower chest and finally, yourdiaphragm, going in. Feel as though your belly button was going to touch yourspine. Try not to let your shoulders collapse.


Ready for the final shake-out.

3. Repeat several times. You can also try holding your breath to see howtense you become throughout your body. Shake out again afterward, if necessary.

Breathing is probably the single most important exercise. It is used bymany other disciplines to induce relaxation and can be practiced at any time.Needless to say, I am referring to conscious breathing exercises. Not breathingat all except when you thought about it would not improve your riding! But asurprising number of people do just that when they are tense.



Many people have difficulty learning to breathe from the diaphragm. A good way to learn is to lie on your stomach on a carpeted floor (see the photo below). Place your elbows on the floor directly underyour shoulders, and turn your forearms so that they are side by side, withthe fingers of each hand by the opposite elbow. With your shoulders elevated in this way, begin to take some fairly deep breaths. Your shoul-ders will be held still by the position, and you will be able to easily feelyour diaphragm expanding against the carpet. If you practice this regu-larly for a few days, correct breathing will begin to feel more natural.

The correct position for practicing diaphragm breathing.

4. SOFT EYES

Soft eyes, as described here, are desirable for several reasons. Because theyenable you to see all around, you can be much more aware of yourself in relationto your surroundings. They also help you to be aware of yourself in relation toyour horse. If the horse makes a sudden move when you are standing near him,you are far more likely to notice it in time and respond appropriately.

1. Without dropping your head, choose a point directly in front of you andnot too far away, perhaps 10 feet (3 meters), and focus on it intensely. Try toblock out everything else. This is called hard eyes. It is one of the things we do(incorrectly!) when the horse does something sudden and violent.

2. Now, still looking at the point, allow your eyes to become a little lessfocused, so that you can see other things around you. Notice what you can seewithout moving your head or your eyes. Sky, ground, fences, buildings are all eas-ily seen at once. Also notice that you can see quite far behind you. If you havesomeone to help, have her walk slowly past you from front to back. Do notmove your head or eyes. When you can no longer see her, say stop. Then turnyour head and notice that she is well behind you. Your range of vision is muchgreater than you realize. This unfocused way of looking is called soft eyes.

Soft eyes are tied in to your right brain. Your left brain helps you learnthings step-by-step (like these numbered directions). Your right brain helps youput the whole thing together so you begin to feel it instead of having to thinkabout it step-by-step. By consciously turning on your soft eyes, you can turn on yourright brain at any time to help you do things holistically and thus more naturally.Interestingly, a horse who is working and concentrating, but relaxed, nearlyalways seems to have a soft eye. An experienced trainer will often point this out.

5. TEETER-TOTTER (LONGITUDINAL CENTERING)

This exercise helps you find the longitudinal (forward and back) centered posi-tion. Your physical center is located a little below and behind your navel. Yourgoal is to line up your center and your base.

1. Stand with your feet quite close together, toes pointed straight ahead,arms by your sides. Closing your eyes may increase your awareness. Bendingonly at the ankles, allow your body to sway slowly forward until you start to loseyour balance and have to take a step. Observe how, as you start to go out of bal-ance forward, your toes curl up and tension runs all the way up your body, espe-cially into your thighs.


2. Next, sway backward the same way. When you start to go out of balancebackward your toes come up and tension appears in your lower back and buttocks.

3. Repeat the swaying back and forth several times, finishing in the too-far-back position. Then come forward slowly until the tension leaves your backand the weight feels even on your feet. Allow yourself to ground.

If your center is directly over your base, there will be very little tension,since you will be perfectly balanced and will not require any noticeable mus-cular effort to stay in that position.


The teeter-totter; notice that only the anklejoints open and close.

Notice also what part of your foot leaves the ground just as you lose yourbalance either forward or back. This point, which is at the back of the ball ofyour foot, behind your second toe, is an important element in grounding. Itscalled your bubbling spring, and well talk more about it later in Chapter 12.

This is the last of the exercises that can be done standing still. If you areable, review them several times before you begin with your actual riding.Always finish by grounding onto your feet. Later on in this book we will seehow these exercises transfer to mounted work, and will add two more so theyare truly the Seven Steps to a Secure Position.

Besides restoring your body to a safe, grounded position, and thus buildingyour confidence, having the Seven Steps as a specific routine to follow givesyou something concrete to do when a scary situation arises. This helps preventthe sort of panic you get into when your mind focuses on the problem insteadof the solution. With practice, your reactions can become so quick and auto-matic that you rarely lose your grounding at all. Your physical security will alsohelp your horses confidence, thus making him safer to work around.

Even though the Seven Steps should be taught to a rider from the first time sheapproaches a horse, they must never be thought of as beginner exercises. Theyare the tools you will use throughout your riding career to tell your body how toreturn to its optimum position whenever that position is disturbed. In fact, themore advanced the work you are doing, the greater your need for them will be.



Betsy, a friend of my new pupil Joanie, was watching Joanie learning thefirst five steps. I invited Betsy to join us, and explained that I felt theseexercises would help Joanies rather nervous mare to feel more relaxed.Sure enough, as we went through the steps the mares head came downand she gave a relaxed sigh. Joanie and I continued the lesson whileBetsy went to look after her own horse. This horse was the buddy ofJoanies horse, and always became very upset when Joanies horse wasout. Usually Betsy, a novice horsewoman, was unable to deal with this atall, but this time she decided to try the five steps. Within a few minutesthe horse had settled down and allowed Betsy to groom her and pickout the stall without incident. When Joanie and I returned with hermare, instead of hearing whinnying and stamping of feet, we were metwith silence and a calm expression. What a relief to all concerned!

3

Meeting and GreetingGood First Impressions Create a Positive Relationship

Jane was 17 when she went on her first and only horseback ride. She and agroup of young friends were visiting Florida and decided it would be fun to renthorses. At the stable, horses were brought out and the riders were immediatelymounted. With no further instruction than being briefly shown how to holdand use the reins and their legs, off they went. They had been out just a shorttime when something happened to scare Janes horse. He took off at a gallopbetween the other horses, bucking and swerving until she fell off. Frightenedbut unhurt, she was coaxed into remounting and continuing the ride, whichfinished uneventfully. She dismounted, breathed a sigh of relief, and for 10years never went near a horse.

Long after that event, she realized that she had developed a serious phobiaabout horses. Wanting to get past her fear, she called us. We described our pro-gram, and she came for a lesson. She spent the customary half-hour on theground getting acquainted with her mount, a gentle pony. Once she seemedcomfortable, the time came to mount. She swung her leg over, sat down andfroze. Her body still remembered her past experience! Fortunately, the kindlylittle mare stood like a stone for the 10 minutes it took the instructor to gentlypersuade Janes body that it could give up its fear. Jane continued to ride for sev-eral months, until she accomplished her goal and became reasonably comfort-able around horses.

Janes Florida experience was her first contact with a horse, and because it wasso traumatic, it nearly became her last. Only because she found a stable thatwould reintroduce her to horses slowly and safely was she able to begin herrecovery.

One of the most important moments in any relationship is that very firstmoment when you meet each other. If each has a favorable impression, then

29

the chances are the relationship will continue to develop successfully, at leastfor a while. If one party is rude or clumsy, so that the other one feels annoyedor threatened, a wall is erected that then has to be dealt with before the rela-tionship can develop. This is even more true when the two dont speak thesame language.

The introduction to the horse should be looked at both from the point ofview of the horse and from the point of view of the rider. I have met manyhorses who were fearful of meeting new people, and I have met even more rid-ers who were fearful of meeting an unfamiliar horse.

Introductions between horse and beginning rider need to be handled espe-cially carefully. First impressions of a different species are really important. Iremember a mistake I made that I didnt even realize was a mistake for manyyears. It is my practice to exercise school horses before riding by turning themloose in the arena and encouraging them to loosen up by running and bucking,so that they dont feel the need for such activities with a rider on their backs.I usually turn out at least two horses together so that they encourage oneanother, and I dont have to work so hard to keep them going. One day I wasdoing this while waiting for some new students to arrive. They did so while thehorses were having a good run, and I thought nothing of it until I saw theirexpressions. They were petrified! What I perceived as a couple of old schoolieshaving a good time together, they saw as large, violent animals hurling them-selves about. It took me quite a long time to persuade my new students thatwhat the horses did on their own time was not related to what they were goingto do in the lesson ring. But I had been letting horses run free for years withbeginning students looking on and it had never occurred to me that this wasthreatening to an inexperienced horse person.

The major part of this chapter is different from the others in this bookbecause it is mostly a description of the way I personally introduce a totalbeginner to a horse for the first time. I cannot know which parts apply to you,or how you will use this chapter. The introduction described is the least threat-ening not only to the (novice) rider, but also to the horse, so advanced riderscan adapt it to working with new horses. Although many of the movesdescribed here may seem like overkill to an experienced horseman, I havefound that the best rule is to assume the worst and take every safety precautionpossible in a new relationship with a horse. Once you and the horse have got-ten to know each other, you will know what corners you can safely cut.

I should also mention that I have always used a version of this with everynew rider who takes lessons with me, no matter how experienced, and haverarely failed at least once during the lesson to get a reaction of either Nobodyever told me that before, or I never thought of it quite that way.

We begin with some basic instruction in handling your own body in whatmany perceive as a threatening situation.


THE APPROACH

I begin with my new student standing outside of the stall of the horse I havechosen to work with. If possible, this horse should not be too large and shouldnot be the sort of horse who fidgets while being groomed or standing on thefloor. One who behaves rather like a large boulder is kind of what I look for. Ifit is fly season, the horse should be well fly-sprayed so that he is not constantlytwitching and stamping his feet.

Before bringing the student into the stable, I have asked her not to do any-thing to the horse unless I tell her to do so. The first thing I explain to her isthat safety is always a consideration when working around a horse. However, itis not because the horse is aggressive. The average horse in a well-managed sta-ble is no more likely to bite or kick you for no reason than the average personyou meet in a nice part of town is liable to haul off and slug you. What makeshorses dangerous is not their attitude but their size.

In our everyday life, we deal with another large, potentially dangerousobjectthe automobile. If you are crossing the street and a car comes along, itis extremely unlikely to run over you on purpose. However, if you habituallycross the street carelessly, without using ordinary good sense, eventually youwill probably get hurt by a car. The same is true of horses. Ordinary commonsense and knowledge of safety practices should keep you safe from all except thefluke accident, and those are rare. The few times I have been actually hurt bya horse on the ground were invariably the result of my own carelessness.

Getting the Horses Attention

As we stand in front of the horses stall, I explain that approaching a horse hasto be done the right way, for two reasons. One is that the horse, in the generalscheme of things, has the potential to become some predators lunch, so aggres-siveness in ones approach can be perceived as threatening. The second is that,while horses do sleep lying down with their eyes closed, they are quite capableof nodding off while standing up with their eyes open. After all, if we can sleepwith our ears open, why shouldnt the horse be able to sleep with his eyesopen? And horses sleep as much as 20 hours a day.

If you walk up quietly to a horse who is standing there with his eyes openbut not doing much and you put your hand on him, if he was asleep hes goingto jump right out of his skin! And in the process he may take you with him. Ofcourse, I also explain that running, shouting or any loud noises or suddenmoves can startle even a horse who is awake, and thereby endanger anyonewho happens to be standing nearby.

Your first action, then, is to get the horses attention so that you know thathe knows youre there. How can you tell if you have his attention? The same

Meeting and Greeting 31

way you can tell if you try to attract the attention of a person who is some dis-tance away: She turns and looks at you. The horse will look at you, too.However, because he can see very nearly 360 degrees around himself, if his tailis more or less toward you he may

how your horse wants you to ride: starting out, starting over

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