Don Griffin Performance Horses

11/05/2023

11/04/2023

The Seat Explained

The seat has two meanings.
One is the specific area of contact that extends from the lumbar
back down to the knee, in other words, whatever moves from the lumbar area down to the
knee is the rider's seat.
But in a broader sense, the rider's seat is everything because its influence is entire, from the top of the head, which should be the highest point, of course, to the bottom of his heel.

The seat should be a cohesive unit that comes to the horse as a communication medium and as a transformation medium, one that is communicating cohesively and as a unit rather than in bits and pieces. I would like to say that even when a teacher gives specific directions to the rider to do something with his arms and with his legs, those directions
influence the rest of the rider. Because the rider is one person, he must communicate as one unit, one seat.

Riders should have balanced, deep, adhesive seats that allow them to make independent aids. Riders who remain adhesive to the saddle and their horses do so because they
understood and they learned that when the horse impacts on the ground the two points of
absorption are in the lumbar back and ankle. Riders who stiffen the ankle paralyse the toe
outward or downward, or push themselves away from the saddle to some degree. Riders
who cannot absorb the horse's movement in the lumbar back will, of course, pop loose of
the saddle and part from it.

Correct riding is done with the abdominal muscles, not with the back.
The rider's lumbar back should always remain relaxed. It should act as a hinge that allows
the pelvic structure to float forward with the horse's motion. The lumbar back allows the rider to remain isometrically toned - not tense -- in his torso while letting the buttocks and thighs remain adhesive to the saddle. The buttocks, the pelvic structure, should not slide on the surface of the saddle. Nor should the buttocks wipe or buff the saddle but rather "stick to it to allow the pelvic structure to surf the “wave" produced by the motion of the horse's back.

In contrast to the loose and supple use of the lumbar back, the torso above it should be
turned into one isometrically toned "cabinet." The rider's “cabinet" is a complex isometric unit.
For its formation, the rider should circle with the points of his shoulder back and down until
both shoulder blades are flat in the trapezius muscle of the back. This action will stabilise the posture of the torso. It will allow the front of the rider to lift the rib cage high, out of the abdominal cavity. It will broaden the chest, straighten the shoulders, stretch the front of the rider, and give him the feeling that the lowest ribs have been lifted, and the waist is more slender.
The rider's upper arms should then hang from his shoulders perpendicular to the
ground. This, importantly, stabilises the arms, hence the hands of the rider because in this
position the upper arms and elbows hang weightlessly. The earth's centre of gravity places
them. The direction of the upper arms and elbows will point to the rider's seat bones, and past them, to the ground. The stability provided by this upper-arm position is at the heart of riding - from the seat to the bridle, rather than wrongly, riding with the hands. For the vertical position of the upper arms is, indeed, responsible for the transferring of the seat's effects to the bridle.

Extract from Dressage Principles Illuminated by Charles de Knuffy p.140

Image:
To understand how to use your lower back to develop an adhesive seat, sit at the edge of a chair, and place
your feet on the floor in line with, and under your hips.
Thrust your pelvis forward so that you lift the back legs of
the chair off the ground. Then rock the chair forward and
backward to various different tilting angles and at different
rhythms without dropping the chair's back legs to the floor.
As you ride the walk, trot, and canter, this action simulates
the movement of an adhesive seat by emulating the pelvic
activity necessary to follow the horse's movement.

08/16/2023

I admire Ron, at 69yo. And still competing at that level.

08/16/2023

“If a horse trainer thinks about what’s best for the horse, he’s a horseman. If he thinks about what’s best for him, he’s not a great horseman. The horse should be first.” ~Don Murphy

08/16/2023

The more I work with the 3yo stud on the right the more I think he might need to stay a stud. If you know me that means alot because I think 90% of studs should have been gelded.

Sam Griffin did an excellent job halter breaking with the one of the left. He just doesn't have what I want in a stud. I will probably getting ready to ride these two next week.

07/25/2023

3 yo stud learning to stand tied

06/23/2023

06/15/2023

Come out and give!!
From 11:30-4:30

04/10/2023

Three daughters of CD With A Bug, one out of a Kit Dual mare, one out of a Playin By the Bay mare, and one out of a Travalena mare.

04/10/2023

Chowchilla Peppy filly out of daughter of CD With A Bug

10/10/2022

Welcome to the equestrian life 😂
credits: Cavaliere Couture

10/10/2022

Gone from having to be roped to coming up for scratches in a few sessions.

10/08/2022

10/07/2022

Grey c**t by CD With A Bug x Miss City 007 learning that ropes are ok. This c**t is available, PM for more information.

10/07/2022

Sam worked "Beach Bug" in the round pen. This c**t is gonna make something. Doc Olena, CD Olena and Freckles Pl***oy on his papers. CD With A Bug x IMSASSYATTHEBEACH

10/07/2022

Sam working Diamond in the round pen before I work with her on the rope. CD With A Bug x Starlight On A Trip.

10/07/2022

We can totally agree with that!
credits: Tumblr

10/04/2022

Let the halter breaking begin.

09/27/2022

Sharing to read later

09/26/2022

This c**t is gonna be a good one.

05/10/2022

Yearling stud c**ts don't know it but they are being prepared to be handled and halter. Lol

05/03/2022

Yearling Filly, first day in the round pen. I prefer to work'em in the round pen and teach them to turn and face BEFORE I halter break. Don't always get that opportunity. I think she is going to get it quickly. We were in there about 10 minutes, and she was turning, and started to follow. Would have been faster but she really wanted to be with her pasture mates.

05/02/2022

One is learning that being tied is a time to relax, the other is praying that the work is over.