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| Flaxen mane and forelock = awesome grass stains. This one went all the way down his mane, starting from here. |
At the end of the lesson, she had me get on him for a few
minutes of “slow work” at the walk and trot.
She studied my position closely, and pointed out that my right hip was
always positioned back. I was not aware
of it, but was also not surprised, since that is the much more dominant side of
my body after the accident. She had me
bring it forward into alignment with my left hip, which felt out of alignment
to me, but I worked hard at keeping it forward.
I’m going to have to re-train my body to use both sides equally just as
I am retraining Connor’s body, only I have barbells instead of side reins with
which to do it. (And to further prove
the parallel between riding and Crossfit, in every barbell lift I have a
tendency to have my right foot more underneath or slightly behind me as I catch
and the weight comes down, and my left shoulder more forward, inactive and out
from under the weight. Go figure!)
He felt much better, and I left the lesson feeling like we’re both headed on the right track. I am
riding him in a hyper-aware state right now, constantly analyzing the feel of
the contact in both arms and the position of my body in the saddle. It feels like “riding on eggshells,” but it
also feels like improvement.
She’s asked me to bump up my barn days to four days a week,
which I knew I had to do and don’t mind, during which I will be lunging for
most of each ride and doing some more slow work under saddle during the last ten minutes, mostly
to work on a bit of the new feel, but also I think to keep me content. It felt so strange to swing a leg over my
pony for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, and that strange feeling made me realize
how much I’ve missed it. Ground work is
fun and necessary, but not enough!
Tonight I try the Stackhouse on him – looks like it will be
too narrow so I am quite nervous. Wish
me luck!
If you ever see a copy of Centered Riding by Sally Swift read it. It helps with body position and gives good mental pictures. Mom was fortunate enough to have two lessons with her before she passed. Sally really reminds people to look at how they operate outside of the barn, like your Crossfit or how you sit at your desk or in your car. If you can be aware of making your position equal during those times it helps while in the saddle.
ReplyDeleteI agree that ground work is fun, but sometimes you just need to be in the saddle.
I will keep my fingers crossed about the Stackhouse.
In all that free time and with all that spare money we equestrians have, you might check out pilates. It's helped me a lot with recognizing and correcting body imbalances. Another excellent riding tool: having a barn buddy who is a physical therapist. While not available to everyone, these folks are VERY perceptive and useful.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the saddle! I hope it fits. :)