Cerice Berndsen Horse & Rider Biomechanics

01/03/2022

05/27/2021

Boarding spot available at a fabulous facility!

10/08/2020

Somehow this out of focus screenshot has ended up looking like a water color painting and I love it! This moment is the smallest glimpse into what we are building up to as a team. Relaxed, uphill, reaching into the contact.

We both have an uphill battle with body issues but we love working together towards healing.

It’s a unique challenge to train a horse that is so much like you. I often find myself looking in a mirror with him. He is teaching me to be kinder to myself through my patience with him and his needs. 💕

07/25/2020

Siegie’s new from arrived. I am absolutely delighted! Also a huge thanks to his fairy godmother of tack Katharine Stancliff of Stancliff Saddle Fitting for hooking us up with a new sweet copper bit from Stübben NA

06/13/2020

06/09/2020

There are so many great reasons and ways to use cavaletti and small jumps. All horses need dressage, and all horses benefit from cross training.

06/08/2020

💕

06/05/2020

Falkland takes a nap while Leslie and I talk about where she feels the most muscle engagement from the resistance bands.

The bands are used to help riders find feelings in their bodies that create a more effective position to have a more positive influence over the horse.

06/03/2020

Sound on 🎵🎧 A brief glimpse at how a rider biomechanics lesson can help improve steering, straightness and contact in sitting trot on the circle.

Feel free to ask questions!


Location: Halen Hill Farm LLC

06/03/2020

If you would like to learn how to to ride effectively with a soft forward contact, I can help!

06/01/2020

Before photo (left) taken June 6, 2019.
After photo taken August 10, 2019.
Consistently good work produces positive improvement.

05/31/2020

***Sound on 🎵🎧🧏🏻‍♀️***
Sitting Trot: Here’s a peek into a recent lesson where we worked on sitting trot.
I’m using three specific phrases that have meaning for Merideth. Why? Because those three phrases are linked in her brain to very specific feelings and the brain can only keep track of three to four things at any time.

Bands: see comments for additional pictures...
The idea is to resist the arms forward and the hips back while maintaining a neutral spine. This exercise can be done on or off horse. (Please excuse my Corona-hair)

Hippity-hop: this refers to the kids toy that they sit on and hop forward with to make believe they’re riding a horse. (Image borrowed from Valley Vet Supply)

One piece- I don’t have an image for this one but it refers to a feeling of Merideth’s legs being one piece after a resistance exercise.

Cool huh? 🤓🐴🏇 🧠

05/29/2020

Are you sitting in the center of the horse? 🤔🤔🤔

Body awareness isn’t always accurate.
This is from a first lesson with an already experienced rider.

In the top photo they are sitting off to the left, best illustrated by the purple line which is over the center seam of their breeches. In the bottom photo I have had them stand up and move their entire pelvis to the right, thus putting the center of their pelvis over the center of the saddle.

You’ll notice that there is still a significant difference in the areas highlighted by the red lines. There is also a very noticeable diagonal set of lines in the rider’s shirt. That is the result of several other factors that will take time to address further down the road.

05/29/2020

💯percent yes!!!

Get a little and QUIT. Tomorrow, do it again.

In six months, it will be easier for the horse.

In a year it will be even easier.

If you are incapable of being patient, find a patient trainer to help you avoid doing bad stuff to your horse---

05/28/2020

Different horses present different challenges.

Meredith is doing a fantastic job of retraining her sensitive powerhouse of an OTTB mare. In this lesson we were working on keeping enough power in Merideth’s core to stay stable enough to match the forces coming from her horse.

As they transition to canter, you can clearly see that this mare has raced. She tends to explode into canter like she’s coming out of the starting gate. 💥😅

We are using strong visualizations to help Merideth stay strong and stable without being disrupted by the power in this transition. This allows her mare to immediately relax and for Meredith to start influencing the canter in a really nice way.

05/25/2020

Fun fact: different horses require different amounts of effort to ride well.
The more powerful the horse, the harder you have to work to look like you’re not working hard. 😅

The max heart rate of 177 from my ride on my pinto horse was on a cooler day with lower humidity (much older pic). The max heart rate of 150 on the chestnut horse was on a hot and humid afternoon.

If you have someone in your life that insists that riding is easy and that you “just sit there” go ahead and show them this post.

05/25/2020

A good tip for improving canter is to think about emphasizing the first step of the stride when the horse is loading their outside hind leg. This allows the horse to come up in front of you more and be better influenced by your seat.


Thanks to Halen Hill Farm LLC for a fantastic day!