Effortless Riding?

…only a well tuned rider can repond to the slightest signal from a horse.

Have you ever experienced the pure exasperation you feel when trying to explain something entirely elemental to you? The little tug of annoyance and or confusion that someone doesn’t know how something you love doing can be fun?

That, my fellow bloggers is how an equestrian rider or horseback rider feels when someone asks how you can be tired or sore after training because, after all “your just sitting there.”  The assumption that horseback riding requires no energy or strength is one misconception commonly perceived by those outside the riding world. However, I’m sure many riders would agree with me that after an hour in the saddle those preconceptions would be swept away.

Horseback riding requires muscle strength, control, and most of all – patience. After all, horseback riding isn’t like learning a sport or driving a car, your not alone in your efforts and your not totally in control of an object. When your riding your constantly requesting for a horse’s co-operation, continuously working to build trust and always learning . A well trained horse will respond to even the slightest of movements from a rider, but only a well tuned rider learns to read the slightest movements of their horse.

It is often said that great athletes are great because they know their own limitations, and know when they can run harder or jump higher.  A good rider knows when their horse is tired and sore,when they can’t be pushed farther and when there simply expressing their sense of humor.

It is easy to understand the misconception of riding however, when you witness performances so flawless it appears there is no effort wasted by the rider. Yet behind that flawless sliding stop is a rider attempting to give all the right signals, behind that perfect jump is a rider straining to clear that top rail.

So the next time your watching someone ride, experience or beginning watch carefully. Where are their heels? Are they down, so that their horse can respond to the tightened muscle in the leg? Or up, so that all the horse feels is a limp leg flapping against his side? Are they sitting properly? So that the slightest shifting of weight can result in a flying lead change? Or unbalanced so that the riders seat is sending contradicting signals to the riders wishes?

There is no such thing as effortless ride, even if you’ve ridden the same Western show pattern - what feels like - nineteen hundred times, because each time you ride you are still requesting co -operation. Each time you ride, the horse has to decide whether or not to listen you. Each time you ride there is a possibility the horse will not listen, and there lies the effort.

Simply Ranting,

Rose