29/09/2024
Iāve been trying to find ways to describe this style of riding to students, as Iāve always found it very beneficial for the horse, but Iāve found it challenging to apply when teaching. I love the imagery you get when itās described as a scribble! I will definitely be using thisšš¼šš»
RIDE THE HORSE, NOT THE MOVEMENTS
Watching some film of Nuno Oliveira this morning before I head off to ride, and Iām struck by how ārandomā his schooling is.
He flows from movement to movement, often, seemingly, with no specific set pattern.
Thatās because heās not using the horse for the movements, heās using the movements for the horse.
Patterns are for US, to feel whatās needed from ourselves and the horse to get something specific done.
They can also be used to āproofā our training.
Thatās what competition is, essentially.
But whether schooling or showing, patterns can come at the expense of whatās best for the horse.
What use is a āperfectā figure, if the horse has to be held in it the entire time, or does it leaning through a shoulder, or on our hand?
I often tell riders thereās a time and place to be geometrically accurate, using visual markers and static reference points, and thereās a time to ride by feel, where the geometry doesnāt matter, and what weāre feeling for is balance.
This is kind of the next level when it comes to lateral work, where we are USING the lateral work rather than just riding it.
Itās a different type of accuracy, and while it sounds complicated, itās actually very freeing, and a much better way to get into a flow state with the horse, both mentally and physically.
So the next time you go ride, I want you to use up the entirety of your arena, and just āscribble.ā
Feel the flexion, feel the bend, feel your ability to move the shoulders in and out of that, and how that accesses each hind, or how you can slide into a new flexion while keeping equilibrium in the shoulders.
Like Nuno, you might find yourself testing shoulders and hinds just a few steps into the bend, halfpass, then āresettingā away from the bend with shoulder-in.
Youāll start to notice where the patterns of asymmetry are.
Youāll start to notice how the horse feels about certain parts of the arena, and you can flow around that, rather than confront it.
This is training done FOR the horse, step-by-step, moment to moment.
Then you can go back out, and test your new mental and physical balance with a pattern, or with a competition, or by putting your horse on cattle, or on the trail, which will give you even more feedback for your training.
Thus, you have a cycle of balancing, testing, balancing, that spirals forward and upwardsā¦ thatās the definition of progress vs plateau.
This can also be done on the trailā¦
Yesterday, I used counter-shoulder-in and renvers to help a horse who fixates on novel objects and gets very sticky.
Horses have very physical feelings about life, and rebalancing them, and bringing them back into āherd alignmentā is an incredible relief for domestic horses who are often expected to be a āherd of one.ā
Happy scribbling!
