Can't learn feel? Watch me teach it!

Have you been told feel can’t be taught?

I have seen it said by instructors throughout my career that feel can’t be taught.

And its always made me query that comment, because that’s one of the most important things that I teach.

I think the biggest mistake an instructor can make when it comes to this comment is perceiving what they think what they are seeing feels like. And I think this confuses a lot of students and makes them lose confidence in themselves and their feel because it doesn’t match what the instructor says they should be feeling.

There are 2 things that need to happen for the eyes on the ground and the feel in the saddle to match:

1. The eyes on the ground actually need to have ridden the horse!! There are so many times where I’ve had to jump on the horse and figure out what I’m seeing feels like. I’ve also had a handful of horses that just are so awkward and difficult to ride that it allows for a little compassion towards my students.

2. As coaches and instructors we need to listen!! What our students are experiencing and feeling shouldn’t be dismissed. I find that the most common reason for an instructor dismissing what a student is feeling is they feel insecure in what they are teaching or that they’ve missed something. When an instructor is confident in the process and what they are doing, listening to the student becomes vital to their students growth and development so they can do the work in between without them.

An example of this: I was coaching Sarah on one of the school horses we both ride. She made a comment about him being “off” - just couldn’t pick it. On the ground, I was seeing a horse that was indicating he wanted to pee but wasn’t, and she was feeling a horse that didn’t seem to connect.

Hoped off, untacked and turned loose (and also had to turn our backs), one giant pee later and we had a sound horse! This is where it pays to now what the horse should feel like AND to listen to your student.

How confident are you with what you’re feeling in the saddle?

Join our free workshop “Riding With Heart”, where I will be teaching how to develop feel and connection in the saddle and build your confidence in interpreting your horses cues while being ridden.

Are you afraid to canter?

Are you struggling with your canter?

Have you ever wondered if your fear is holding you back?

I know I have, and I know that it’s true.

For a long time, I doubted that I would ever canter. It took a long time, a lot of courage, and some stern self talking to actually start working on the canter under Katie’s instruction.

I’m going to break down some of my fears, and what we did to overcome them:

I wouldn’t be able to balance into the movement

The concern that I wouldn’t be able to ride the canter itself was a combination of a lack of confidence in my own riding abilities and a need to refocus on my core strength. This took a bit of preparation, including:

• Practicing sit-trot

• Improving my core strength in the saddle with exercise (yes, I actually worked out to prepare to canter)

• A bit of self love and self reflection, to remind myself I have the tools needed to achieve my goal

• Selected a horse that was balanced in canter already

Having trouble with your seat?

Get the exercise program that translates to the saddle here

I wouldn’t have brakes

Ahh, the fear of not stopping. I also classify it as a lack of control. The fear that the horse won’t stop cantering when you ask leads into other fears, primarily falling off. Unfortunately, this fear also means that every time I would prepare to canter, I started to pull back on the reigns – and  confuse the shit out of the horse!

To overcome this, I:

Relinquished control of the reigns by having Katie put my horse on the lunge

Relinquished control of the paces by letting Katie manage the horse

It may sound counter-intuitive, but once I could trust that the horse would stop on Katie’s command, I knew that if I lost control once I was no longer on the lunge, the horse would listen to Katie’s call. It also helped to have a horse that had more Wow than Go!

I would be going too fast

In reality, this was a silly excuse that was a result of allowing the fear to grow larger in my imagination than the ‘threat’ it posed. In reality, this fear didn’t go away until I was actually trying to get into a canter, and would you believe it if I said I now want to go faster?

I would fall off and get seriously hurt

I would fall off because I couldn’t sit in the saddle and couldn’t stop the horse, and because the horse would be going too fast, I would end up seriously hurt.

Oh my, how this fear of riding a canter really escalated!

Self reflection was key. I had to remind myself that I could fall off at any pace (and in fact had done so recently at the trot, and survived!), and really think about what I wanted from riding.

Would I be happy if I could never ride beyond a trot or walk? What would my life be like if I never achieved my dream to canter? How important to me was it that I achieve this? Was my desire to canter stronger than my fear of getting hurt? Was I actually ready to canter physically?

I would fail when I really want to succeed

Fear of failure is a little pet hate of mine. I hate disappointing myself and I hate disappointing others. The reality is, however, that if I never tried, I would never succeed and I would be more disappointed. I simply moved the goal post – first it was try to canter, next will be sit the canter, next will be to canter without the lunge lead. By breaking down these steps, I can put a success tick next to each as I graduate and reward myself for the success.

What are you struggling with? Comment below!

The art of riding

As with any discipline there is a science to riding and an art. The science is the biomechanical and psychological result of our training techniques and style. The art is the emotion and intuition we evoke in ourselves and others when we ride. It is the way the movement of the bodies in unison inspires the watcher and the way it can touch something deep inside and evoke emotion. 

A true artist needs an imagination and a belief that anything is possible. They can take a lump of clay and through their imagination of what that lump of clay can be they can transform it into anything from a vase, to a bowl, to toys and figurines, to pot plants. It is what inspires a wood worker to craft furniture and toys and a painter to transform a blank canvas into a vision. 

As a horse rider you need to be able to see a horse and transform it through your imagination of what could be and discipline conditioning into an athlete, a dancer and a gymnast. You use your imagination of what could be possible to inspire your horse to work with dynamic flow and lose itself in the art of movement. We use our innate ability to manipulate and shape energy and through applying our movement to the horses movement we can transform it into artistic expression of our bodies flow of energy vibrating in harmony. 

Tips to becoming an artistic rider

Pre-visualisation

Take the time each year, each month, each week, each training session to stretch what you think is possible. Our experiences create self limiting beliefs of what is possible and over time we stretch our goals less and only define realistic, achievable goals to avoid disappointment. But an artist is not confined to reality, they are the day dreamers that believe anything is possible. Stretch what you believe is possible to achieve the impossible.

Create room for magic

We like to create rules and structure so that life is easier to understand. When we define the rules of the game we limit the possibilities of the outcome. If for example, you've had a couple rides leaving you feel flat and unhappy and come into your next ride feeling the same way and expecting the same result, you will not be creating an environment or possibility for a successful ride. Magic and possibility need space. They need room to be brought into reality. Come into your training sessions without judgement, without preconceptions, without constraints of what is possible and allow movement to flow through you and your horse. 

Inspiration

Inspired action requires inspired thought. If you are just punching out the training sessions and finding no joy in the dance take the time to find fresh inspiration. The will power to stick to a regime is draining but inspiration is empowering and energising. Take time to remember why you started riding in the first place and let your heart sing with the joy of doing something you love. 

Flow of movement

The way that figures and movement flow into each other is an art. It can help to listen to some music when you ride that has a similar rhythm to your horses. Let each movement, each transition, each stride, each aid flow into the next and the next and the next to become a graceful expression of your relationship with your horse.

Let go of your ego

Our ego stops us from believing in magic, it stops us from being our selves for fear of judgement, it protects us in social situations from losing our identity and sense of self to other peoples choices. In the process of our ego protecting us, we don't feel safe to be who we are truly meant to be. If you are to lose yourself to the movement you have to first be able to let go of our ego.

Being an artist is about flow and feel and being an artistic rider is using the flow of movement of the 2 bodies integrating into a harmonic rhythm. Being an artist means to lose yourself in the rhythm and flow of your heart, allowing that song to inspire movement and flow through and energise you. Where 1 + 1 = 3. Where the horse and rider combination brings inspiration to the hearts of others and allows them to believe in magic. Because a good rider is magic in motion.

What is an independent seat, and why should you be aiming to achieve one? (Part 1)

The independent seat is a terminology that is thrown around a lot in riding. While the words conjure up a vague image of what it should be, do you truly know what it is, how to get one and how to tell when you have it?

What is an independent seat?

The independent seat happens when a rider can move one part of their body independently of other parts of their body and independently of the horses’ movements, while maintaining balance. The rider is moving with the horse but still maintaining a level of independence so if the horse stumbles or transitions gait the balance is maintained. There is a level of softness to the contact and aids, with no added pressure.

The independent seat is not legs jammed down into the stirrups with your ankles locked and knees firmly in contact, it is legs that are relaxed that naturally sit lightly in the stirrup and hug but don't grip the horse. The independent seat is not a rigid, inflexible posture, it is upright and balance and fluid in movement while at the same time lacking unnecessary movement. The independent seat is not hanging onto the reigns, but instead soft contact with the mouth that alters slightly in response to the horses actions and desired outcomes.

The independent seat is a beautifully communication with your horse that makes it look like you are both working as one. It is what we, as riders, would call an amazing feeling, and I’m sure our horses would agree.

But an independent seat is not a naturally easy achievement. It can take years of practice and correction of bad habits, both on the ground and in the saddle. An independent seat can also be tested, challenged or perfected by riding different horses.

How to achieve an independent seat

As a rider you need to remember first and foremost that you are an athlete. A weight lifter does not go from beginner to 180kg lifts in a short period of time – they use different exercises over a long period of time to condition their body and prepare for the end goal. It is with that in mind you need to consider what your end goal is: if you wish to compete or even just work on your horses’ fitness, you need to be fit as well.

To achieve the highly sought after independent seat you require:

• Balance

• Good Posture

• Core strength

• Coordination

• Positive and action oriented mindset

• The knowledge of how to use your aids to communicate with your horse

As you may see, a large part of your athletic development can occur outside of the paddock, in the comfort of your own home, with refinement of these techniques in the saddle. It is also something we need to consistently work at until it becomes second nature.

Do you need help with your independent seat? Check out our 3 Weeks to Improving Your Riding course, which focuses on the exercises you need to improve balance, core strength, posture and mindset, both on the ground and in the saddle.

How Different Horses Support Rider Development

Can riding different horses benefit riders?

Simply put, yes!

I could stop writing right here, but I feel I should probably elaborate.

No single horse is the same - they are a combination of their genetics, their muscular development, their stage of training, their learnt behaviours, the interactions they have had with their environment, tightly bound by personality and bundled into a gorgeous, tidy package that is known as HORSE.

And just like every person could teach us something new, so can every horse.

My equine story starts with Natalia, a gorgeous grey Arabian mare of 11yrs, intermediately educated, and essentially every beginners dream under saddle. Like almost every Arab, she had some quirks, but once you were in the saddle she was a calm protector (most of the time). Natty taught me a lot in 3 years, including how much I loved the mare attitude (so much like my own) and how the right approach to riding can benefit both rider and horse. When we lost Natty to a sudden, severe illness, I felt like my world had imploded, but I made a promise to her and myself to keep helping horses and growing the gifts she gave me.

Next, was Pedro, an older schoolmaster Thoroughbred gelding. This beautiful, placid boy was just the right start after loosing my beloved girl, and taught me to focus on my seat and core as he had a tendency to stumble in our initial riding days. I also learnt a lot more as Katie helped me through instruction on how to correct these movements and biomechanical deficiencies. Pedro also taught me that no matter how placid a horse is, you shouldn't be complacent! I apparently am not as breakable as I thought as it only took 3 weeks to get over the bruised shoulder that was the result of my first adult fall - funny how that happens when you're heading one way and your horse is suddenly going the other direction!

Katie's number one rule of riding - keep the horse between you and the ground.

Custard came into my life when a friend suggested he needed someone to love him - yep, I'm a sucker. Custard had never had a horrible life, but he had never truly been loved either, being shuffled from one home to another several times in the previous few years. This had left Custard with some serious trust, separation anxiety and herd-bonding issues. It was on Custard I discovered how easily I could be unnerved when I didn't have the feeling of conversation - something that Custard had no idea existed as I could only assume he was always bullied into submission by his previous riders. It took a good 3 months to feel comfortable riding my boyo as he finally started to understand that it was ok if he physically couldn't do something, as long as he tried or 'spoke' to his rider, we would listen.

This week I also got the chance to ride another new horse Rabbit, a 7yr old Paint x. Riding Rabbit once taught me something Katie had trying to teach me for years - how opening my chest really impacts your riding for the better.

I could keep going on, but I don't want to bore you. The honest truth of the situation is that some of us have the opportunity to ride many horses, and the rest of us only have the one. So how can we benefit from the lessons of different horses?

• Try playing 'Pony Swap' - my best friend and I do so regularly with our lessons to keep ourselves, and our horses, fresh to new ideas and lessons

• Riding schools offer a large variety of horses with different personalities

• Take the opportunity to go on trail rides outside of your area with other horses

• Recognise your limitations with your riding, and make the effort to correct them - we can get a little 'lazy' with riding our own horses as we can anticipate their reactions. 

Riding different horses can challenge and grow you as a rider. If this simply isn't an option for you, challenge your riding and your horses development, and grow together.

Happy Trails!

Click here for more articles on rider development.