02/18/2025
Wanna hear a secret about why riding is so hard?
First, an experiment. Gather a few of your friends who also ride. Maybe drink some wine and eat cheese and laugh about how much blood, sweat, tears, and dollars have been shed over 1200 lb accident factories.
And then drop a pen in the floor and have each person pick it up. Make it deliberate. What muscles are used? What technique? Was the core engaged? Is the core the abs in front, the wrap around back, or some lost point in the depths of wine and cheese? Were the hips flexible? Did the lower leg contract to hide asymmetries? Was the pen set gently back on the counter, dropped just before connection, or heavily deposited back to its original position?
I guarantee that each personās body will have a unique way of getting the job done.
And that, my friends, is why riding is so f$& hard. Someoneās half halt is a tilt of their hips vs a lifting their chest vs a pull like hell and hope for the best.
Someoneās ālightā leg aid is the next personās strangling.
And someoneās working trot is someone elseās careening around full tilt.
So keep being frustrated, confused, asking questions, and letting the horse teach you. Because we all pick up pens differently.
Credit: Cassidy Oeltjen
