Riding – Prevention of Pulling on the Horse’s Mouth

In schooling horses, pulling on their mouth is unnecessary and causes them anxiety and eventually physical damage. The discomfort and stress to the rider is also enormous, unnecessary, but well deserved. The rider should hold the reins but not his horse. Nature made the horse to balance perfectly on his four legs. The rider’s duties do not include lending the horse a “fifth leg,” the reins, to lean on. In fact, classical horsemanship cherishes the ideal of a horse in self-carriage. While that concept includes several ideas, depending on the horse’s gymnastic development, it always includes the notion of a horse moving free from the rider’s encumbrances on the reins. In fact, the reins may do a number of things but not these three: they should not inhibit the horse’s liberty to use his limbs freely; they should not attempt to shape the horse’s neck and posture; and they should not steer separately.

The reins in the rider’s hands are tools and, as with all tools, can be put to good or bad use. Pulling on the reins, even in transitions, is a misuse of the reins. It is possible to think of dressage as desiring the elimination of pulling hands and any painful contact in general. Thus, strong contact through the reins, whether constant or occasional, is counterproductive to the goals of dressage.

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Introduction to the different modern saddles for your horse

The saddle is a much more recent invention than the bridle, and stirrups are the most recent invention of all. Elaborate versions of the bridle can be traced to the fifth century B.C., but it wasn’t until the fourth century A.D. that a saddle was built on a leather-covered wooden frame. One hundred years later the first stirrup was attached. Originally, there was only one stirrup, not because men rode sidesaddle, but because they saw its usefulness only for mounting and dismounting. They quickly discovered, however, that a stirrup helped the rider balance, and if one stirrup was good, two would be even better. The cavalry liked them because stirrups made it more difficult for an enemy to dislodge a soldier from his horse. The new invention took root, and since the fifth century A.D., all cross saddles have been designed to accommodate two stirrups, one on each side. As with bridles and bits, saddles have a long and colorful history.

1) Dressage—The dressage has the deepest seat of all modern saddles. That means the seat is considerably lower than the pommel (front) and the cande (rear). The stirrup leathers are inset a Utile further toward the cantle than they are on other saddles, positioning the riders legs well back under the hips. A dressage saddle often has very long billets, allowing the girth to buckle by the rider’s foot rather than up under the thigh. This overall design gives the rider a very secure feeling and allows excellent communication with the horse.

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How to handle most common accidents that occur in horse riding

Handling a Dislodged Tooth
Most of the time when a tooth has been knocked out, it can be replanted and retained for life, especially if the tooth has been properly handled. One critical factor in achieving a successful replant is the care and handling of a dislodged tooth.

The best way to store a tooth is to immerse it in a pH-balanced buffered cell-preserving solution, such as Hank’s or Viaspan® (used for transplant organ storage). Hank’s solution (under the trade name Save-a-Tooth®) may be purchased over the counter at many drugstores. With the use of a proper storage and carrying container, there is an excellent chance of having a dislodged tooth successfully replanted.

Vision and Corrective Lenses
Your vision, just like the strength in your arms and legs, is an important part of your overall performance, and the demands on your vision during sporting activities are rigorous. To ride your best, you must know what’s behind you, beside you, and in front of you at all times, and this takes a variety of visual skills. If your natural vision inhibits your athletic performance, ask your doctor about corrective lenses.

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Horse-Riding: Transitions from Working Canter to Working Trot

Correct ground work is indispensable for later advanced work. Therefore, working fluent, balanced, elastic, calm, and obedient transitions from working canter to working trot is part of the foundation training. The horse can perform these transitions with relative ease. For the rider, the most important concept to understand is that every transition must be prepared. Preparation through half-halts enables the horse to respond calmly to the transitional aids.

Here are some guidelines offered with the customary word of caution not to regard them as recipes. Invest all schooling of a horse with feelings. Understand the tasks intellectually and then feel for their proper physical application when riding.

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Horse-Riding: the Logic of the Correct Seat

Unless the rider sits correctly, the horse will move with pain or discomfort. A deep, adhesive, balanced seat that correctly partners the horse’s movement is indispensable for the rider who wants to help rather than destroy his horse. The absence of any discomfort for the horse signals that mutual cooperation between horse and rider can possibly begin. Through a good seat, we can gain the horse’s trust in us as a partner and his attention to our wishes. Only a correctly seated rider can apply the aids effectively. By the combination of becoming a harmonious weight and by communicating properly, we may achieve the desired athletic development in our horse.

Relaxation allows horse and rider to harmonize, finding pleasure in moving through space in cooperative unity. With appropriate strength in specific muscle groups, the rider can use his aids to communicate with his horse.

Balancing the rider in the saddle is the first and paramount step for him on the way to controlling the horse. As long as the rider fears falling off, or even just losing his balance, relaxation cannot be expected. When losing balance, we instinctively tighten and grip with many sets of muscles, hoping that by strength, we can prevent falling off. Lungeing by an expert provides the rider with the hours in the saddle that give a sense of safety through improved balance. At first, the rider should hold the front of the saddle or a gripper strap and not the reins. The rider will gradually become independent of the need to hold on to anything to secure his balance. Once the rider has stopped losing his balance and slipping in the saddle while riding the basic gaits, he can begin exercises that involve moving various parts of his body independently.

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