07/04/2022
𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀
𝘉𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘩, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 2013
Something to keep in mind when you lunge your horse or work him/her in-hand - or ride him/her:
Fixed headsets, fixed postures, fixed gaits for long or even short stretches of times do not build fitness, instead they build stiffness.
Too much energy/activity runs the horse down and damages its body.
Not enough energy/activity and he becomes careless and indifferent, disconnected.
Remember to vary the gaits, and the gaits within the gaits and to vary the level of activity you ask of your horse.
To develop strong and elastic muscles, tendons and ligaments your horse's body needs to gather and extend, open and close, contract and release within a healthy range of postures for his body AND his mind to thrive in unison.
His/Her posture must be able to change, his/her neck must be able to shorten, extend, lower or rise to help him/her find its equilibrium and travel in balance.
This is true of a young horse and of any horse as it progresses up in its training.
𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲'𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 (𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻) 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲.
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Bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, eyes, ears, lips, hooves, bones, everything is cells, fascia, everything is alive, constantly adjusting to movement, load, pressure, direction and thus having to be elastic, to absorb, and distribute and give and stretch.
The mind of the horse is receiving and telegraphing signals to its body constantly based on the data it receives about its environment but also based on its emotional state which impacts its tonus.
𝗕𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲. 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝘁.
We do not want to block this process.
We want our horses' balance to spring from within.
We want 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 minds engaged in responding to what 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 senses tell them.
We want to GUIDE and SHAPE, we do not want to create straight jackets for their bodies and conduct hostile take overs for their minds.
We do not know better then the horse's body, it knows how to protect itself - which is why we must learn to investigate resistances very carefully.
When we block our horse and restrict the body's ability to adjust, the horse is more likely to travel in a manner where he will hit the ground harder and wont absorb and dissipate the, energy, the shock waves throughout his entire body. His joints will have to work harder, his entire structure will suffer.
Blocking the horse's posture and demanding a high degree of activity at the same time is equally detrimental - it places too much stress on the horse's spine, pelvis, stifles, shoulders, joints and tendons and ligaments.
Photo caption: This is a young horse just beginning to lunge and learning to develop a different posture. Saying NO to fixed headsets and gaits...Why? Developing elastic muscles requires our horse's body to open and close, open and close.
Trotting in the same pace and posture for too long with make him stiff.
To keep him suple, alternate short bursts of energy with a slower pace that allows him to stretch forward, down and OUT, and relax.
We do not ask him to perform with great energy for long periods: this will over tire his body and begin damaging him.
We do not work him in a relaxed frame all the time or he will become inattentive, loose and careless.
© Caroline Larrouilh, ProudHorse Connections, 2013
𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀™️ 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝟯 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻-𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/inhandlessonswithmanolo
