Becoming a thinking rider -learning how to think
Becoming A Thinking Rider – Learning How to Think
By Maribeth Dunlap
February 2009
Over the many years of riding, training, taking instruction, reading and learning, I have learned and have adopted, in my own style, a systematic way of training and a systematic way of thinking. One step in the training process builds upon another. One exercise leads to the next while listening to the needs of the horse, feeling the horse, unlocking resistances and blockages that prevent a steady flow of communication within the horse. You can think of the horse as having a channel or current of energy that flows through his body. When the horse is moving in balance, with energy, straightness, rhythm, and relaxation, then this current flows effortlessly through his body. The horse’s gaits become freer and there is harmony between the horse and rider. You can feel this. This is when you have those days when it is effortless and you might say to yourself, “wow, my horse feels really good today”. But did you ever give it any thought as to why it felt so great?
When there are kinks in the system, resistances that are often created by a lack of balance, energy, straightness, rhythm, and relaxation, then this current gets kinked and stuck and doesn’t flow efficiently through the horse. It is up to you, the rider, to feel this and to correct this – to become a thinking rider. Most riders are not aware of this flow of energy and communication. Some just chalk it up to having a good or bad day. Begin to think about this, analyze it, read and study, ask questions, and teach yourself to begin to think more like a trainer, or a thinking rider. Learn to listen and feel your horse and analyze what you think he might need for that particular exercise or movement. Maybe he feels like he has no desire to move forward, think about it. Is he tight and resistant in his muscles? Is he not through over his topline? Maybe he needs more suppling and loosening work to unlock the current in his topline to allow him to move more freely forward. Try a few suppling exercises like working figures, changes of direction and bend, and/or leg yields. Then analyze to see if these exercises helped your horse. Does he feel better, the same, or worse? If he feels the same, then try another exercise. It might be as simple as allowing him to stretch forwards and downwards on a 20-meter circle with good energy at the rising trot. Try it, and then analyze it. Ask yourself; does my horse feel better after this exercise? Does my horse feel worse after this exercise? Or is there no change? If there is no change or my horse feels worse, I definitely don’t go back and repeat the same exercise because that is not what my horse needed at that moment. So, try another exercise and ask the same questions. This is how you become tuned-in to your horse and learn how to listen and feel your horse. You begin to understand and learn what he needs to progress. You become a thinking rider as you create and learn from your experiences.
So often, riders repeat the same exercises over and over with no change in the horse. They ride endless circles or stay on the track endlessly without any improvement in the horse. They ride sloppy patterns with no plan or intention. There is no connection or communication and when these things are missing, then there is no harmony between the horse and rider. Riding with intention, a purpose, a plan, and a clear goal is necessary when riding and training towards improvement. Riding arena patterns with precision and accuracy will add to the gymnastic value and discipline of your horse. All of these things are necessary in order to progress and improve your horse.
So give it a try. Learn how to think, and in doing so become a rider that also is a trainer. When you begin to think and to train, consider this: every time you sit on a horse, it then becomes your responsibility to improve that horse. In other words, when you get off a horse, that horse should be a little bit better – more balanced, more relaxed, straighter, more through, etc. – but still a little bit better than when you first got on. When you learn to think in this way, you are a thinking rider.
Photo: Maribeth riding Indio
~This article was written by Maribeth in February 2009 – All Rights Reserved - Used With Permission. ~
