Pressure and Balance – Part II

by Alice Trindle

“Only a rider who has a good position may obtain valid results from his horse.  This position will be bettered when the rider’s seat is as one with the horse, his upper torso enlarged yet flexible, his legs well down without being over tightened, while gently adhering to the horse.  The nearer the rider approaches an ideal position, the more he will succeed in difficult exercises without apparent movements or gestures, leaving the observer with an impression of total harmony between horse and rider.”  (From Reflections on Equestrian Art by Nuno Oliveira.)

Oh, to ride as Mr. Oliveira describes, in perfect harmony with my horse, in lightness and connected far beyond the physical realm!  To achieve this picture of oneness is not unique to any one discipline; what does seem to be universal in achieving this connection is the understanding and appropriate use of the rider's aids, along with position and clear, consistent purpose with focus.  In his book, The Handbook of Riding Essentials, François Lemaire de Ruffieu describes these tools to remind and encourage the horse as the natural aids (i.e., seat, legs, hands, voice, eyes, and mind) and the artificial aids (i.e., whip, spur, and longe whip).  As we progress in Part II of examining the use of our aids related to pressure and balance, we will be well served to remember the tremendous responsibility we have in being able to separate our body parts and adjust our body position in order to allow the aids to work in concert with one another.

In Part I of this series we examined some specific definitions of terms such as aids, balance, pressure, rhythm, and timing.  We then focused on how these riding requirements assisted effortless communication, specifically as it relates to balance.  I hope you were able to go online (www.tnthorsemanship.com/articles) to read the entire article!  As a quick review, we discussed how balance was primarily a function of the rider’s upper body, influenced greatly by his seat bones, hips, shoulders, head, and eyes.  Hands, as part of that upper body balance mechanism, can aid the balance of the horse, making a suggestion in the rein for lateral or longitudinal poise.  But the hands should never be used by the rider to achieve the balance or stability of the human!  Hopefully you had a chance to experiment with balance (fore/aft, side to side, on the diagonal, up and down) and identify how your position influenced the movement of your horse.  Once you have experienced the wonderful floating feeling that comes from being in balance with your horse, you will seek it again and again with every ride and every job you may need to accomplish as a horse/rider team. Insert photo "Alice Roping..."

Using Pressure

Now let us look in depth at pressure as it relates to the use of our natural and artificial aids.  Pressure, in my mind's eye, is not seen as pushing.  There is no way that my leg, let alone my body, can hold up the horse.  Rather, I see pressure as a caress, a compression of air, a suggestion that reinforces a request I have first visualized and consequently prepared my posture to allow (remember the “Horseman’s Protocol”).  Pressure in the use of my leg is primarily from below the knee, accomplished by squeezing and releasing the calve muscles and a lifting of toes which causes the heels to go down and legs to lengthen.  As a last resort when the horse is not responding to my pressure suggestion, I will escalate the request by a final use of the heel and touch of the spur or whip, as in a request to go forward or sideways more enthusiastically.

It is important to note that different saddles and different body types of both horse and rider will all affect where the leg naturally drapes over the ribcage of the horse.  Being vertically challenged as I am, with a woman’s thighs, it is a little more difficult for my legs to rest properly while I am riding a large-barreled horse...but not impossible.  Look at Debbie McDonald as she rides Brentina and you will see what I mean!

For most of us, the saddle should place our legs in a position at or behind the girth.  A well-fitting western saddle should have a seat similar to a dressage saddle, and your legs should drape without tension.   If you are pushing on the stirrups, causing your heel to come out of vertical alignment with your hip, then you are missing a great opportunity to feel of, for, and with your horse.  By creating this tension, you will decrease the range of motion throughout your entire body and your seat will disconnect from the back of the horse, making your natural balance aids very difficult to employ.  In addition, a stiff lower leg pushing on the stirrups will not allow you to use the leg as an aid for either balance or pressure.

As I mentioned earlier, pressure is mostly a function of the lower body of the human.  Horses and riders who seem to operate in perfect agreement are able to fix, refine, and adjust with rhythm, using leg position, whip, spur and hands to enhance the horse’s movement forward, backward, sideways, crossing the hindquarters, and into the High School maneuvers.  We want to position our seat bones, hips, shoulders, and focus (balance aids) in concert with the leg and hands (pressure aids) so that we create a wonderful symphony that is rhythmic and is in time to influence the feet.  Some tips that help me to visualize and feel for pressure are:

The River and the Bank

I envision my legs being the banks of the river and the horse as the water flowing between.  The banks of the river simply contain the water, they don't totally control it.  They bulge to allow the bends in the river, with the inside of the bend pressing or caressing the water towards the outside bank, which accepts the energy.  If you push too hard with one bank (i.e., leg) it will cause the water to overflow the opposite river bank (i.e., the horse loses balance and casts his energy, dropping a shoulder or winging out the hip).  My upper body is like a kayaker.  If I use my upper body to try to pressure the boat sideways, I will lose balance and the kayak may squirt out!

Exercises to Help Stretch, Flex, and Strengthen

I have mentioned the importance of suppleness in both horse and rider, but to efficiently use the leg it is particularly important that you condition your core area for strength, your hip flexors down the front of the thigh for stretching, and the ankles for flexibility.  Exercises on board that I really appreciate are: 1) draw your knee up without touching the saddle, then push the heel down to stretch the whole leg down; 2) next, draw both knees up, and then push down; 3) draw your heel up towards the buttocks – one, the other, then both; 4) ankle twirls going clockwise, then counter-clockwise, and finally one twirling forward and one backward at the same time.

Light Toes rather than Heels Down

Try this experiment while sitting upright on your horse: first, close your eyes and try pushing your heels down.  Next, relax, sit up straight, and think about lightly lifting your toes up.  Do this several times and try to identify how each affects your other body parts.  I find that when I push my heels down, other parts of my anatomy get tight.  But when I lighten my toes, I get the same effect of the heels going down and I seem to relax into the back of the horse.

Loose Ankles and Feel Stirrups as Ground

I once had someone say to me, “At any time during the ride, could you remove the horse to find yourself standing balanced on the ground?”  I try to visualize the stirrups as if they were the ground.  I don’t walk around pushing my heels into the ground, nor do I walk on my toes continually.  Gravity does a fine job of keeping me grounded!  If I can see in my mind’s eye that same feeling of gravity, I will stay balanced in the stirrups with a long leg prepared to slightly use pressure to influence the movement.

Sailor's Hands

I haven’t spoken too much about pressure as it relates to your hands, but it is important to remember that in most cases, it is the leg working together with the hands, in balance, that makes for a very harmonious picture.  So what do I picture in regard to pressure--or resist-hold-caress and release-relax-give--with the hands?  Try this…picture yourself as a sailor and your horse as the sailboat.  As the wind comes up behind the stern of the boat, the sailor needs to put some pressure or resistance or feel on the lines that go to the sails.  It is not a pull, but rather a caress or hold.  With slight changes accomplished by giving more on one line than the other, the sailor can make a suggestion through his hands to the sail that influences where the energy of the wind ultimately carries the boat.  There is a balance to be struck between being a ‘natural’ sailor that operates entirely on a loose line and allows the boat to go mindlessly wherever the wind takes it, and the sailor who wants to dominate the wind and thereby uses (or attempts to use) physical force to manhandle the lines.  As an ‘aspiring sailor,’ I am trying to find that place where I have enough pressure on the lines to feel of, for, and then with the boat to direct the energy of the wind. Insert photo "Enca Canter..."

In practicing your horsemanship this month, pay particular attention to the use of your pressure aids through the leg and hands.  Remembering that pressure, as we have defined it, is a compression of air, a caress, and is not seen as a ‘pushing’ device.  As you apply pressure to request the basic movements (see Applying Pressure with Movement and the “Rest of the Story” online at: www.tnthorsemanship.com/articles Beyond the Basics article for August 2007), pay particular attention to how little you need to ask of your horse to get a wonderful response.  Do less to get more!  Note how your seat, legs, and hands are beginning to work in concert with one another to achieve effortless communication between horse and rider.  You now have all the instruments of the symphony orchestra.  It is time to combine to create a concert of beautiful music, with you conducting.  In Part III, we will utilize balance and pressure in combination with basic movements to achieve "the dance."     

Useful Reading & Video Materials:

Riding Essentials by François Lemaire de Ruffieu

Video/DVD: Classical Dressage – The Philosophy of Ease

(Series of 3) Series 1 = The School of Aids by Philippe Karl

Advanced Dressage by Anthony Crossley

Reflections on Equestrian Art by Nuno Oliveira

Eclectic Horseman Magazine – Series of articles by Wendy Murdock, plus access to many great books and videos, including "Ride Like a Natural" series of DVDs from Wendy Murdock; www.eclectic-horseman.com