lindu.blogg.se

Hello darlings! :) I have been writing on my "Riders seat" essay today and thought about bringing up some starting points here for you guys to read. Its not much for today, but when I have more time i will continuing guiding you through it all and why it is so important to have a strong and basic possition in the saddle.

First of all are horses not made for carrying humans, meaning that the horses balance and stable point is moving when we put a rider on it. Just imagine yourself getting 20kg backpack strapped on you. You have to start moving in another way and "refix" you balance point to not fall over. (and this should also be made in a correct way that isnt damaging your muscles, joints and skeleton an all that important parts of the body that ceeps you walking..) This means that the rider have to help the horse to find its new balance point again.

You have probably heard it before, but I'm gonna say it again, The horse is a mirror picture of the rider.
With a good seat you have much more control  and can give aids with precicion, you can feel what is right and wrong and can easily fix problems because you are ready. I like this setting: "If the rider cant controll himself, how can he then control the horse?".

 

A rider that has good seat has all of theese qualities:
- Softness and flexibility
- Balance
- Control of the bodyparts
- Are smooth in the muscles and joints
- Have feeling for the movement in the horse

and can be able to relax and be still in the saddle without disturbing the horse.

 

One person that have achieved all this things and is called The Master of dressage is Nuno Oliveira.
"Nuno Oliveira (1925–1989) is widely acknowledged as a master of the art of dressage.His teachings have inspired riders and trainers all over the world to adopt the 'baroque' or 'classical' style of working with the horse; an art which goes back hundreds of years and encompasses the fundamentals which most 'modern' disciplines can be traced back to.! (taken from wikipedia)

I was googeling about this man and found a really good side with alots of wise words written down by his students who was riding for him. Here is some settings that I find suiting for this chapter:

"The hand should be a filter, not a plug or an open faucet."
N.Oliveira (1998, 30).

"If you continuously act with your legs, you don't give the horse a chance to go completely on his own. And you could squander an advantage resulting in a lack of sensitivity and a waste of aids."
N.Oliveira (1998, 31).

"The legs have to give and take, just like the hands."
N.Oliveira (1998, 33).

"Don't lose sight of the fact that hip and legs drive the horse forward and the hands merely channel this power by gentle rein aids."
N.Oliveira (1998, 33).

"Use hands and legs sparingly, and maintain balance through the seat."
N.Oliveira (1998, 33).

Im ending this with showing you a video of him from youtube, (sorry that I cant put it here on the blog, you have to make a click ;) )

http://youtu.be/eMLUWeJZwwo

Goðan nótt! // Linda