Ro Jelbart Coaching and Agistment

17/12/2023

8 Top Tips for Equestrians from Dr. Temple Grandin

04/09/2023

The Power of Forwards

The first year I trained with Philippe Karl the main focus was getting our horses really ‘forwards’. I remember this coming as something of a shock as, a) I thought my horses were forwards and b) well, what about piaffe? There was one particular session riding my friend Nikki’s huge moving warmblood, while she was riding her utterly ridiculous WB x Lusitano, with both of us flying around the arena hysterical with laugher (about 3 strides would get you from one end of the arena to the other) with Philippe shouting, “This still isn’t his best trot!’

In retrospect, what I think he was actually doing in those early clinics was checking that the riders were really, really happy about turning loose and going forwards. Would our brain and bodies allow those horses to fly? Because without this capacity in us, and the desire in our horse to Go, Go, Go, everything else was going to be a struggle.

Ultimately, what Philippe is looking for is impulsion not speed. We may have used the speed to get all of us freed up, but what we are actually seeking is impulsion – a desire to ‘go’ even in the slowest of walks. I sometimes meet riders thumping horses along out of rhythm, on the shoulders, believing this is ‘forward’ when in reality, they’re just out of balance. Impulsion is about a mental release in horse and rider - which you can ‘feel’ even in halt

A majority of the issues I notice for horse and rider combinations are a symptom of a lack of this desire to really go. I saw Leslie Desmond talking about this, describing the main mistake people make when starting a young horse is dampening down their natural desire to go forwards. We want to impose control from very early on, so we try to slow their legs down. We think that by getting ‘stop’ installed we will be safe, but actually having forward readily available is much, much more helpful. When a horse bucks, it’s because his front feet stopped going forwards, when he rears it’s because the hinds got stuck. When he naps, you lost forwards all together.

This is an interesting conundrum. You will be far ‘safer’ with a horse that always and easily moves forwards from the very lightest aids, but the controlling part of our brain finds that hard to believe. I have had my own struggles with this – my Lusitano Des can be extremely, er, fizzy, and the desire in me to dampen him down has sometimes been strong. However, after many years of acting as a test tube for my teaching, it is absolutely clear that allowing him to go – Legs without Hands – is THE best thing for both of us when the proverbial hits the fan. And interestingly, (or not to those of you in the know) , the more I let him go, the calmer he has become. There may be some life lesson in there for us mightn’t there?

The thing with getting a horse to really free up and go is that it’s never going to be possible unless you’re happy to free up too. The leg aids are only a symptom of how you feel about releasing and going. If there is a little bit of you on the inside that doesn’t want to experience all of your horse’s power, then your horse’s response to the leg aid is always going to reflect that. You’re both going to have your mental handbrakes on.

If you know in your heart of hearts that you don’t really, really want your horse to go forwards then it might be worth having a little dig around in that. Could you get someone with a really solid horse to help? I know there are great people like Karl Greenwood who offer ‘cantering’ courses, getting you incrementally upping the speed in considered situations on sensible minded horses. Could you have a go at visualising what it would feel like to gallop down a beach, grinning and laughing, enjoying all of that amazing forwards? Could you get some help from a good therapist to help turn that fear into joy? And importantly, have you got a horse whose level of speed and energy you think you actually enjoy? A good friend of mine bravely decided to sell a horse who’s size and power did not suit her, and in his place has a steed who’s stature and speed bring her only happiness. This has been a most excellent choice to make.

Because once you have ridden a horse who’s mental handbrake is completely off – even in the slowest of walks – it’s something that you will become addicted to.

28/01/2023

Already for tomorrow's fun

17/10/2022

10/10/2022

Här ges tydliga exempel på utbildning i den klassiska ridningens grunder. En utbildning där hästen alltid sätts i centrum.Philippe Karl har verkat som berida...

27/09/2022

26/09/2022

Ahead of the 2022 Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) we caught up with hunter ride judge Lucy Killingbeck to find out what she'll be looking for on the day

24/09/2022

The horse is good, but the rider is in passive collapse, supported by the high saddle cantle and the knees up into the thigh blocks. The saddle encourages the rider’s passivity, and the horse suffers.
Supported by the same type of saddle, muscular collapse can look like descent, but the horse suffers the same way. The two riders on the outline don’t carry themselves; they arch the lumbar vertebrae and let their vertebral structure support their body instead of the muscles. The riders expose their vertebral column to nucleus pulposus or other problems, but this is their choice. The horse does not have a choice. In motion, the rider’s weight is multiplied by two to three folds. The horse prefers a light seat, which is related to the tensegrity holding up the rider’s body.
To perform acrobatic moves, gymnasts lift their bodies through tension. Their body’s tensegrity allows them to be lined up to minimize the effects of gravity. Perhaps, having been trained as a gymnast helped. I have observed that adjusting the tone of my gluteus maximus, upper thighs, and psoas muscles helped to tune my whole physique to the horse’s tensegrity properly. I found the support of the high cantle disturbing as it alters the adjustment of my body tone to the horse’s tensegrity. However, when I trained Margit Otto Crepin, she liked to ride my horse Atoll II. Margit rode in my Samba but preferred the Rumba. This was before her Olympic career, but Margit was already a very good rider. I wondered why she found greater comfort in a saddle offering more support. Later on, I learned that humans have different fascia tension or looseness levels, and I understood why Margit and other good riders preferred a slightly deeper seat.
Problems start when the saddle casts the rider in an artificial posture and support that hampers the rider’s ability to adjust the body tone to the horse’s tensegrity. We are no longer at the age of stimulus-response, stretching, and relaxation. I certainly hope that today, no one still believes that the rider’s legs contract muscles that engage the horse’s hind legs. For centuries, the horse has willingly figured, between the lines, the meaning of our gestures and formulas. By repetition, the horse cans relate the relation between the contact of our legs and the engagement of the hind legs, but the complex body coordination that the horse has to orchestrate to swing the hind leg efficiently forward is more likely to be disturbed by increased pressure of our legs.
From the twist of the long bones to the spiral motion through the body and the storage and reuse of elastic energy, a large part of the horse’s motion is out of our control. The partnership is about selecting the cadence, refining the balance, and creating conditions likely to guide the horse’s mental processing toward efficiently orchestrating the horse’s physique. Our understanding of the gaits and performances’ athletic demands allows us to follow the horse’s processing and provide insights when the horse’s mind and physical intelligence start to process in the wrong direction.
The complex interaction of forces between the horse and the rider demands a tone of our physique that refines our perception. Biotensegrity cannot be altered by a saddle adding shifts and thickening our perception. The practical application of biotensegrity relies on our understanding of the horse’s body function and forces interaction but commences with the accuracy of our perceptions. We don’t need to be stiff, but the antidote to contraction is not relaxation.
“The work of your eyes is done. Go now and do the heart-work on the images imprisoned within you. “ (Rilke). Don’t let the shamans direct your though and limit your potential. Don’t let the saddle darken the images in your heart. Choose a saddle giving you the support you need, not the swellings the makers sell.
Jean Luc, Science of Motion.

24/09/2022

🐍 Snake Bite in Horses 🐍

👉One of our clients and her horse had a run in with a Tiger snake recently on a trail ride.

👉Please click the link below to read about her experience, the treatment that was administered and the recovery of her horse Lucy! 🐴
bit.ly/snakebitegveh

21/09/2022

We would like to welcome you to the Tellington TTouch® Method Virtual Learning Center. Here, you will find educational "How-To" streaming video lessons featu...

20/09/2022

My babies love too be handled

17/09/2022

15/09/2022

PERFECTIONNEMENT DRESSAGE
Pour particuliers ou professionnels.

➡️ Du niveau club au grand prix.
➡️ Formule à la carte pour vous et votre cheval, séance hebdomadaire, mensuelle, séjour week-end ou semaine, tout est possible.
➡️Travail en séances individuelles ou a 2 sur demande.
➡️ Travail monté ou a pied.
➡️ Nous vous apporterons notre expérience et notre expertise pour vous faire évoluer dans les meilleures conditions, dans un cadre de travail idéal.
➡️ Ces stages s'adressent également aux couples cavaliers/chevaux d'autres disciplines, cso, cce..
➡️ Studios sur place entièrement équipés pour deux personnes (Animaux acceptés)

Profitez de votre séjour pour découvrir Saumur, son château, la Loire, ses caves, ses sites troglodytes... et également l'école nationale d'équitation qui est toute proche.

Tarifs à partir de 150€/ jour ( hébergement cavalier/cheval + séance de travail en fonction du niveau)

Contactez nous pour plus d'informations:
http://www.saumur-dressage.fr/

30/08/2022

26/08/2022

Neutral

from "Biomechanical Riding and Dressage," by Nancy Nicholson, Ph.D

26/08/2022

Hind legs

BioMechanical Riding and Dressage: A Rider's Atlas by Nancy Nicholson, Ph.D

26/08/2022

Great posture where are your torch lights

from "Biomechanical Riding and Dressage," by Nancy Nicholson, Ph.D

25/08/2022

How's your horse's outlook?

Does he look outwards and forwards when you ride, or does he look downwards?

The physical and mental welfare of horses suffers when they are ridden with their necks too round (hyperflexed), with their nasal plane behind a vertical line to the ground ('behind the vertical' or 'behind the bit').

Research shows that horses ridden in hyperflexion have restricted breathing and vision. A horse at liberty would never carry himself in this way for more than a very brief period.

When you next ride, make sure that your horse is not looking downwards. If he is, allow or encourage him to look outwards and forwards!

Learn more about your horse’s neck at https://www.horsesinsideout.com/post/how-your-horse-s-outline-affects-his-way-of-going

22/08/2022

Yes

17/08/2022

15/08/2022