White Rapid Equestrian

Happy New Year!!

ISO the perfect unicorn Trying to say close to Calgary Qh crosses,draft cross, Colour is a bonus! Great family horse, trail riding, little jumping... level headed horse looking to stay with a gelding See more

Merry Christmas #horses #2020 #merrychristmas2020 #snowday #tennesseewalker #cantack #whiterapidequestrian

what hard work and always switching horses pays off! @n_atalie24 #2020 #goals #wleshpony #yyc #equestrians #gridwork #hardwork #jumping #jumpingpony @n_atalie24

New girl Riley! first bareback ride #2020 #riley #newgirl #yyc #equestrianstyle #barebackriding #equinelife #therapy #happylife

Had a little fun on Friday the 13th! #bgcarboncopy #metersfirst #yyc #yyhorse #hunter #jumper #arbaian #flying #lovethisboy #nohopenoscope #rock

We have a few horses available for onsite lease, half or full. Beginner and advanced. We are located between Indus and Langdon. Indoor heated arena and stables.... Very clean, relaxed and friendly. Proper bathroom, kitchen and viewing room, tack areas or we can supply tack needed for lease. All disaplines of riding with on site trainer. Message us to book a viewing and meet our beautiful horses. We look forward to meeting you. www.whiterapidacademy.com See more

Sometimes hanging out in the stall is not fun

Stephanie working on her cantering work! Her goal for the end of the month to be trotting with out stirrups! #yyc #training #horses #beginners #candianwarmblood #workinghard #goals #ridinglessons @stephaniecampbell7

After our ride Pharaoh was a really great demonstration horse. #prochoice #candiangirls #candianhorse #greenhawk #yyc #demonstration #pharaoh #helmets #safteyfirst

How are you teaching your riders the difference? Thanks, Tonya Johnston, Mental Skills Coach

Nothing like jumping the grid after a show to release some stresses!! #jumping #gogirls #ribbonskirts #gridworkmakesthedreamwork #aftereffects #yyc

For a snow kind of day the girls did amazing at the last best show thank you Advanced Connection Equestrian ! For hosting the show! So proud of all the girls

The cute little pony islay! Love the fuzzy ears!!! Who’s ready for winter? #winteriscoming #pony #welsh #purple #cuties #fuzzyears #yyc #equestrian

Happy thanksgiving everyone’s! I am so thank full for my students and horses in my life #thanksgiving #thankyou #yyc #happylife #horses #horsemanship #sunnydays #coaching #horsesthatwork @horsesthatwork

To get a feel for the aids that ask your horse to bend "Imagine walking up a spiral staircase. To negotiate the stairs in balance, you must turn your shoulder...s on the precise path of the stairs and your seat and leg must be in the correct, stable position to ask for bend." Corinne Foxley Illustration by Sandy Rabinowitz

ONLINE LESSON 17 July 10, 2020 STRAIGHTNESS, PART 1: THERE WAS A CROOKED RIDER Susan E. Harris There was a crooked rider who rode a crooked horsehe rode a v...ery crooked dressage test, of course! Sad to say, that could be any of us. Humans are not symmetrical; we’re not made by machines. (If you ever meet someone who’s perfectly symmetrical, it’s an alien!) We all have a dominant eye, hand and leg, usually not all on the same side. Over our lifetime we acquire unconscious habits of how we use ourselves. Try this test: Clasp your hands together and notice which thumb’s on top. Then unclasp and repeat, with the other thumb on top. Does that feel wrong? I bet you didn’t know you had that habit! Try folding your arms, then repeating with the other arm on top. Or step off in a walkthen try stepping off first with the opposite foot. Or brush your teeth with the wrong hand. If you have two identical bathroom scales, stand with one foot on each scale. Most people will not have equal weight on each foot. We all walk, stand, sit or pick up an object in the way we’re used to, usually using one side of the body more strongly than the other. Our crookedness feels normal and natural to us, and we usually don’t notice it. But when we ride a horse, the horse notices and reacts to our unevenness. Horses have their own natural asymmetry, too. If horse and rider happen to be asymmetrical in opposite ways (your tight side is the right and his is the left), we even each other up to some extent. But if we’re both tight on the same side, we make each other worse. Addressing the horse’s natural crookedness is one of the long-term goals of training, but we’ll discuss that in another lesson. In this lesson we’ll focus on the rider’s crookedness and what we can do about that. What makes a rider crooked? Often it’s tighter muscles on one side of the torso. Tight muscles are shorter; they pull that shoulder down and that hip up. Often the elbow, knee and foot stick out more on the shorter, tighter and stronger side. The opposite side, especially the leg, is longer and looser. Many riders adjust their stirrups to their crookedness, with the stirrup slightly higher on the tight, short side and longer on the long, loose side. The saddle tends to slide sideways toward the longer leg. The rider may collapse in his torso toward the short side, and may carry his head toward the other side to compensate. Some riders have a twist in their body, which can be hard to see. They may habitually carry one shoulder more forward and/or one hip backward. Sally Swift had severe scoliosis (the bones of her spine were twisted); learning to live, work and ride with her disability gave her the insight into human bodies that led her to develop Centered Riding. Many people have a milder scoliosis or other physical condition that makes them asymmetricalsometimes it’s left over after an old injury. The two sides of the pelvis can be un-level or one hip bone rotated forward or backward. (I knew a good rider whose horse bucked every time she asked for a right lead canter. Her doctor told her that one of her hip bones was tilted forward and the other backward. After treatment and physical therapy, her pelvis became more equal and she could canter on either lead without upsetting her horse.) Horses have a problems with crooked riders. Even when the rider is unaware, the horse can feel unequal weight on his back and must compensate for it. He’ll find it harder to bend and turn to one side, take one canter lead, or move in balance in one direction. A crooked rider tends to slip toward the long side, and often the saddle slides sideways. To arrest this slipping, they unconsciously grab onto the horse’s side with the other legthis is called a hook leg because it hooks on to hold the rider. They also have trouble turning one way and often unconsciously hold, grip or pull harder with one hand. Over time, uneven riding can make a horse stiff, sore, or even lame. A recent study showed that with asymmetrical riders (made crooked by raising one stirrup 2 holes shorter than the other), the rider’s hips shifted one way and upper body shifted the other. In the horses, while the load increased on the legs opposite to the shortened stirrup and the back motion was altered. [1Dr Russell MacKechnie-Guire, Journal of Veterinary Science.] How can we address rider crookedness? First, become aware of your asymmetryyou can’t change what you’re not aware of. It can help to look at yourself in a mirror or have someone video you from front and back. An instructor can assess you from the back and the front. Here are some steps to get straighter in the saddle: Check your saddle to see that it’s straight over the horse’s spine. Measure your stirrups with a yardstickoften the holes are uneven. Sit on your horse (he should be standing square) with your feet out of the stirrups. Are you sitting in the center? If not, adjust your seat so your seat bones are centered and your pelvis is balanced. Do you have equal weight on each seat bone, and in each stirrup? If you were a giant Beanie Baby rider with 1000 beans in your body, do you feel as if you have exactly 500 beans on each side? If one side is heavier (too many beans), imagine that as you inhale you can lift 5 to 10 beans up from the heavy side up to chest level. Let them cross over, then exhale and let them drop down inside the other side. Are you equal now? If not, shift another 5 or 10 beansbut only a few at a time, not a hundred! This gives you an internal shift of weight, better than leaning or sitting heavier on one side to compensate. Can you identify your shorter, tighter, stiffer side? Run the hand on that side up the center of your body, fingers pointing upwardpast your chin, straight up over your head, palm inward, thumb backward. Exhale and let everything from your armpit down release and lengthen. This can be very comfortable and effective when you ride at a walk (or later even in a trot or canter) with one arm up, allowing the horse’s movement to loosen the tight muscles. Have your helper check you from behind and take some video! When your arm gets tired, bring it back down and allow your shoulders to float evenly above your hips. Next, try the diagonal method. Run the arm opposite to your tight side up the center and straight up over your head. Now imagine a long rubber band running diagonally from the raised hand to your opposite seat bone. As you exhale, let it lengthen. Try riding with the opposite arm up, and see which one makes you straighter. As you bring your arm down, imagine a large X from your right shoulder to your left foot (and left seat bone) and left shoulder to right foot (and seat bone.) Your center will be in the center of the X. This method works especially well for riders who have a twist in their body or scoliosis. Ride at posting trot in steady rhythm, changing diagonals every 5 or 6 strides (every 5 or 6 up-downs.) Then, keeping the rhythm (counting, humming or singing to keep breathing!), change diagonals every 4 strides, then every 3 strides. You may get so good that you can change every other stride! In the beginning, usually one diagonal feels good and the other feels awkward. After this exercise, both diagonals may feel equally good. The hind leg you post with has to work harder to lift you, so when you change diagonals frequently, you’re making your horse work harder with one hind leg, then the other. This makes him as straight and equal as he can be that day, and also makes you ride more equallya win-win situation! There are many other exercises to help a rider become straighter and more symmetrical. However, if you have trouble getting straighter or you experience pain, it’s wise to see a sports physician, chiropractor, or expert bodyworker who can assess you and help you with any deep imbalances. There is more about straightening the crooked rider in Horse Gaits, Balance and Movement, Revised, page 248. Ride straightand enjoy the ride! Susan Harris