A note on straightness...What is straightness anyway?
When I talk about straightness, I certainly don't mean a forced or rigidly held position; neither our bodies or our horses' bodies are structurally quite symmetrical, and could never really be so. Here, straightness means that through unwinding negative tension patterns involved with postural deviations and possibly discomfort, we can develop flexibility and graceful controlled movement and balance to the right and to the left, front and back, inside and outside. Straightness evolves, along with grace, fluidity and poise. Modern living means that we spend a whole lot of time sitting down, driving and using computers; all of which plays havoc with our abilities to use as bodies as they were intended to be used. We need to move more! Moving in a helpful way though can sometimes become a bit of a challenge, due to body-use habits that we've picked up through layers of injuries, lots of repetitive actions (like mucking out!) and the general stresses involved in our daily lives. We tend to get stuck in certain preferred patterns, which may not necessarily present as problematic until a) we get pain and/or b) we get on a horse and expect him or her to be able to do movements equally both ways. So how does this apply to riding? |
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The Rider |
The difference between a mechanically straightened rider and an intrinsically balanced rider is that the rider who has had only external realignment by a therapist (perhaps a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor) may not be aware of their inherent postural or movement imbalances and perhaps therefore not do the necessary releasing, mobilising and strengthening work to support the corrections. As soon as they start to ride their horse (who is still moving in the crooked pattern), or even just walk out of the treatment room and carry on with their usual routine, although there may be an initial improvement it will probably gradually start to decline as the rider is drawn back into the crookedness. The original imbalance returns.
The intrinsically balanced rider (which may well also involve physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment or osteopathy) is aware of their own biomechanical and postural imbalances and has the tools and techniques to improve them. This means they are far more empowered to manage these issues from within. When riding a horse, they are able to feel where the horse is crooked as they start in a much more neutral position and are able to prevent themselves from being drawn into the horse's pattern and instead invite the horse to join their own, straight and balanced pattern of moving. 'Neutral' is not a rigid, 'held' position manufactured to create an illusion of good alignment, but in this instance means that the tensions in the soft tissues of the body are optimal and even; the body adopts 'neutral' simply because that is the most comfortable place to be. From this point, the process of intrinsically balancing the horse may begin. Your horse (and yourself) will then require far less mechanical adjustment as Equipilates™ training develops correct muscle balance. |
The Horse |
Horses have their own patterns and when you ride, the horse will either mirror your patterns, or will draw you into his own. For instance, a horse who works 'quarters in on the left rein and falling out through the right shoulder' at a basic level, will continue working in this pattern all the way up the levels unless this is addressed, later on manifesting more subtly in shoulder-in, half-pass, pirouettes- even through to piaffe and passage.
It is possible to train your horse to execute difficult movements without addressing crookedness issues, but the extra few per cent which you would otherwise have had will elude you, and marks are too expensive to lose at international level! Practising these movements in isolation over and over again without correcting asymmetric working patterns will not genuinely improve way of going or the movement itself- it will simply confirm the fault within the exercise and place unnecessary strain on the horse. However, recognising your horse's working patterns and training him to develop his muscles correctly will result in an athlete who is an improved and enhanced version of himself. It is of paramount importance to take time and patience to train the young horse in this way and resist temptation, particularly with the talented horse, to rush his development. Although clearly having a 'purpose built dressage machine' with excellent conformation, wonderful temperament and naturally fabulous paces to begin with can make the process much more straighforward, it is an incredibly rewarding journey to work with a horse with less than perfect conformation, weak topline and ordinary or even poor movement. Thoughtful and intelligent training transforms these horses to such an extent that their physique and paces exude a strength and brilliance one may never have thought possible. |
