Post Date: November 12th, 2009
The best dressage riders have a simple but important gift or skill: They have learned how to use their attention to notice the subtleties of movements between horse and rider. Proper use of this type of awareness makes every transition a little easier, a little more consistent and a little more fluid. Focusing attention well is one of the most important skills that a rider can develop.
While this particular article focuses on Dressage, developing your awareness applies to all disciplines of riding.
To learn how to develop this skill, click on the link below for the full article.
5 Steps to Better Rider Awareness
By Elizabeth Hanson and Andrea McManus
Originally published in Dressage Today, February 2008
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Post Date: November 12th, 2009
On of the most debilitating, bothersome and time-stealing problems in the lives of many riders is low back pain. Unfortunately most preventative and long-term measures are seldom done regularly; riders don’t want to spend time exercising, we want to ride. So we need exercises to better our ride while we prevent the bodily discomforts that plague us – solutions geared to riding.
This article was originally printed in The Gaited Horse, Winter 2005. You can click on the link below to view the entire article.
The Low Down on Low Back Pain By Elizabeth Hanson
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Post Date: September 25th, 2009
The art of riding is truly a marriage between the athletic ability of the rider and the horse. When the two move in tandem, magical moments suddenly appear. It is these moments that we crave!
One of the greatest skills that separates an upper level rider from a beginner is the ability to notice and anticipate the movement of the horse. It is the difference between being reactive and proactive when riding. In EQUESTRIAN PILATES® it is the ability to tap into the mind-body connection and our awareness.
Many riders have a natural ability to assess their horse’s movements either by watching them move or feeling them move while they ride. The rider’s ability to be aware of his/her body is a major determining factor in maximizing EQUESTRIAN PILATES® training and optimizing riding ability.
When riders become more away of their body on and off the horse they see a dramatic improvement in their riding. Why is this true?
This idea is the perfect example that the movement of the horse and rider mirror one another. Our horse’s movement gives us exact feedback if we are riding correctly or not. If our low backs are tight, the horse’s back will be tight and rigid. If we clench our jaw, so will the horse. If we lean to the side, the horse will do the same.
The good news is that while this can sometimes be frustrating it is also fantastic and immediate feedback on what we need to change in our riding. The mind-body connection is an amazing skill that allows us to be proactive riders. It allows us to notice when we are making mistakes and gives us the opportunity to make corrections.
This is why increasing our awareness is a major component of the EQUESTRIAN PILATES® system. Noticing and then remembering the feel of correct positioning allows it to be replicated, keeps us better balanced in the saddle and ultimate helps us communicate better with our horse.
This is when riding becomes really fun! Good luck and let me know how it’s going.
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Post Date: September 25th, 2009
The key ingredients of EQUESTRIAN PILATES® are the essence of great riding. When these ingredients are mastered off the horse they become powerful tools for a great ride.
Strength allows proper use of all systems for movement and protection. A rider needs functional strength to correctly cue the horse and stay balanced in the saddle.
Balance gives the ability to apply strength and flexibility to maintain effective use of the seat, hands and legs while riding. Without proper balance riders often find their seat ineffective.
Flexibility allows strength to be used in proper form and prevents injury. Flexible muscles and joints give the body the ability to move freely and easily both on and off the horse. Flexible, balanced bodies more easily absorb the shock of the horse’s movement allowing the horse and rider to move together in fluid motion.
Awareness teaches the rider how to notice, feel and focus on how their body moves intentionally or unintentionally while they ride.
Once we have mastered these key ingredients in our own bodies we can use these new found abilities to focus on our horse’s flexibility, balance and strength. This is the beginning of a truly great ride, one in which we move in tandem and grace with our horse.
Working with a certified EQUESTRIAN PILATES® teacher can be a great experience as all of us are avid riders and Pilates teachers. We love to spend our time watching riders and figuring out what they need to improve at their sport. Since we understand the demands of riding from our own riding experience, it gives us the cutting edge as trainers to help you get the most from your favorite riding sport.
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Post Date: September 24th, 2009
OCTOBER 09 NEWSLETTER
The EQUESTRIAN PILATES® Monthly Newsletter is a fun way to keep in touch with the latest news.
This is a short except from the October ’09 Newsletter. To receive the newsletter please “join our mailing list”.
This month I am pleased to announce three new e-books available for sale. Below are three sample exercises.
SAMPLE EXERCISES FROM THE THREE NEW E-BOOKS
Basic EQUESTRIAN PILATES® Mat
How to Make Your Horse Happy by Dramatically Improving your Riding – An Off-the-Horse Rider Exercise Program for EVERY Discipline.
Spinal Bridging
Goal – Lengthen and increase the flexibility of your spine by rolling through each vertebra while engaging your abdominal muscles to initiate and control your movement. (After each bridge the spine should feel longer).
Application to Riding – Flexibility, suppleness, and added length in the spine helps prevent a rigid posture and allows you sit up tall while in the saddle. Suppleness, strength and flexibility in the spine also helps you more evenly distribute the stress of absorbing the horse’s motion. Spinal bridging will also help eliminate head bobbing and will balance the seat.
Position Description – Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Movement
- Inhale through the nose.
- Exhale through the mouth as you engage your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.
- Inhale through your nose. As you exhale raise your tailbone toward the ceiling, flattening your lower back. Curl your spine up, one vertebra at a time, ending in a bridge.
- In the bridge position, inhale through your nose and reach with the knees to lengthen the spine.
- Exhale through your mouth as you curl back down, one vertebra at a time, returning to neutral spine position.
- Repeat 7 more times.
Notice – Pay close attention to whether or not your spine easily peels off the mat one vertebra at a time or if it feels more like a huge chunk moving at once. Focus on engaging your abdominal muscles and pelvic floor allowing your lower back to relax. Notice how your spine lengths and releases tension. Do not to allow yourself to sink into one hip or the other for support – this means you are overusing one side to support your body weight and under using the opposite. If this happens, engage your stomach muscles to even out your hips. Relax your gluts and your leg muscles and focus on your strength coming from your core and pelvic floor.
Intermediate EQUESTRIAN PILATES® Mat
How to Make Your Horse Happy by Dramatically Improving your Riding – An Off-the-Horse Rider Exercise Program for EVERY Discipline.
Ribcage Arms with Weights
Goal -“ Learn to move your arms while engaging your core, serratus anterior, and latissimus dorsi ‘œlats’ and maintaining neutral spine (not arching or flattening your back). This exercise also stretches the latissimus dorsi and strengthens the abdominal obliques and teaches you to feel arm movement from your back musculature rather than initiating strength and movement from the arm muscles. These muscles are very important for proper saddle posture as they provide added strength to support the upper torso while using the arms.
Application to Riding – Achieving the goals of this exercise can prevent a domino effect of compensation patterns throughout your body while on horseback. Typically overuse of the arms leads to hanging onto the reins, tips your weight too far forward in the saddle and then causes you to grip with your knees and inner thighs to maintain your balance. Initiating strength from the core and back before using your arms teaches you how to slide your shoulders down the back away from the ears, prevents slouching, and makes it easier to sit up tall in the saddle while remaining relaxed.
Position Description - Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a three-pound weight in each hand.
Movement
- Inhale through your nose.
- Exhale through your mouth as you reach your arms long by your sides with your hands reaching toward your feet. Engage your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles and keep your shoulders down.
- Inhale through your nose.
- Exhale through your mouth as you raise both arms towards your head and up towards the ceiling. Keep your lower ribs on the floor. Keep reaching your arms long.
- Inhale through your nose.
- Exhale through your mouth as you bring your arms as far overhead as possible while keeping your ribs down. If your ribs ‘œpop’ off the mat you have gone too far.
- Inhale through your nose.
- Exhale through your mouth as you bring your arms back to your sides and reach your hands towards your feet. Feel the shoulder blades pulling down the back.
- Repeat 8 times.
Notice – As in the beginning version of the exercise, focus on using your serratus anterior and lats to move your arms back and forth. You should feel this movement from the sides of your body, just below your armpits, and from your upper back, particularly in the shoulder blades. Adding weights makes it more likely to recruit the pecs and arms as these muscles are more commonly used for this type of work. Try to minimize the movement of these muscles. Instead focus on the muscles of the shoulder girdle.
Note about adding weights – “ It is very tempting to want to try more than 3 pound weights. Adding weights makes it more likely to recruit the muscles of the arms as these muscles are more commonly used for this type of work. Do not use more than 3-pound weights until you can minimize the use of the pectoral and arm muscles and maximize the use of the serratus anterior and latissimus.
Advanced EQUESTRIAN PILATES® Mat
How to Make Your Horse Happy by Dramatically Improving your Riding – An Off-the-Horse Rider Exercise Program for EVERY Discipline.
Goal – To stretch the upper and lower back.
Application to Riding “ Keeping the lower back stretched makes it easier for the rider to sit up tall in the saddle. The constant jarring motion of the horse can cause the lower back to get tight making it extremely important to stretch daily. This exercise is another way to teach your body how to work from your abdominal muscles.
Position Description – “ Sit on the floor with your legs slightly wider than hip width apart with a ball in between both of your legs at about your knees. If you can’t sit in neutral spine (i.e. shoulder over hip without rounding your back) bend your legs and press your heels into the floor. Your arms should be shoulder width apart, straight ahead at shoulder height with your hands holding either side of the ball.
Movement
- Inhale in through your nose and sit up as tall as you can from the base of your spine. Flex your feet and reach through your heels to engage your leg muscles.
- As you exhale out through your mouth round your back to a ‘œC’ curve as you pull your belly button in towards your spine and round your neck and head forward as you push the ball forward, towards and, if possible, past your toes. You should feel as if your upper body, the waist and above is reaching forward, and the lower body, the waist and below is reaching and scooping back. By the end of the movement your whole back is in the shape of a ‘œC’ with your arms reaching forward, towards your toes. Keep holding onto the sides of the ball.
- Inhale in through your nose.
- As you exhale through your mouth stack your spine back up bone by bone starting at the sacrum and finishing at the neck as you pull the ball back in. You will finish by sitting tall in your starting position with you arms extended in front of you, your shoulders relaxed and dropped and using your hands to hold onto both sides of the ball.
- Repeat 7 times.
Notice – “ As you reach forward feel as if you are rounding over a ball. Try to curve your upper back and feel as if your lower back is also rounded and pushing backwards. Don’t start the movement from your head; it should trail the body. When re-stacking your spine your head should be the last thing to rise.
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