WILLIAM MICKLEM - HELP NOT HINDER Part 3

Step one to great hands

Many of us will spend hours, days and weeks looking for the perfect horse, while others will spend years trying to breed the right horse.the right partner to fulfil our equestrian ambitions. There is a connection here with trying to find the right human partner for our life.the search for that girl or boy friend that has all those qualities that our heart desires, including stables, the holiday home by the sea and less than ten body piercings! However most of us should probably focus less on finding a good partner and more on being a good partner. for human or horse. This has been a life changing strategy for many and is certainly a core requirement for being a good rider. A good rider has to be a good partner for their horsea help not a hindranceand this requires some honest recognition of our strengths and weaknesses if we are to improve.

GO WITH

So how does this apply to giving aids? I have explained before why good feel is vital for giving successful aids or helps. We obviously need to feel what is going on to know what help is required. However there is one inescapable prerequisite for both good feel and the use of effective aids..and that prerequisite is to go with the movement of your horse. So horse and rider then blend together and move in harmony like ballroom dance partners. Then feel and close, easy communication is possible.

The legs have to go with the movement of the horses sides, the hands with the movement of the horses mouth and, if you are sitting in the saddle, the seat with the movement of the horses back. Then it is within this movement that the aids are given. I talk about going with the movement rather than following the movement because by definition to follow is to go behind, and when you think of it as going with you will find it will make a real difference, especially to your rein contact.

THE MISSING LINK

Why are you saying this? I am often asked, is it not obvious about the need to go with the horse? I answer that in theory it may well be, but in practise I believe it is the most common missing link that prevents training progress.in particular with regard to the hands. Hands and rein contacts that do not go with the horse are a huge limiting factor for thousands of riders, both to giving effective aids and to successful riding .as well as being the prime cause of numerous mouth resistances.

There are some who will say this does not apply to them, as they ride either without reins or without a rein contact, but these are not routes for the majority of riders. It is probably accurate to say that riding without reins should be put in the advanced category of exercises and is not without risk! While riding with reins but without a normal rein contact sadly often means the use of strong bits, leverage, pressure points and other tack that is certainly should not be in the normal rider manual. In addition in pure dressage a rein contact to a bit is mandatory, so we have to learn how to develop a soft rein contact that goes with the horse.

STEP 1 TO GREAT HANDS GET BALANCED

Of course the hands cannot go with the horse unless the rider has a consistent, easy balance, whether it is in rising trot, as with a light seat, or solidly on your seat as with pure dressagewhich is why this has to be the initial priority in training a rider and is step 1 to great hands.hands that allow the natural movement of the horses head.

With help from a good coach even novice riders can fairly quickly establish a balanced rising trot so this is in the range of possibility for most riders. A good rising trot is simply fantastic to open the door to your horse using the back and then, surprise, surprise, the sitting trot is suddenly so much easier. However a good rising trot requires that you keep the majority of the weight through the leg and that you just kiss the saddle as you lower the seat. The upper body has to be slightly inclined forward otherwise it is not possible to keep a consistent balance with the leg in the normal position.

HOW TO CHECK YOUR BALANCE

To check your rising trot balance change the diagonal several times, by staying up out of the saddle an extra beat rather than sitting for the extra beat. If you can do this easily with no real effort or movement then you are probably well balanced, but otherwise you need to make a change. The tendency is to put too much weight in the saddle on the down beat, and increase the leg contact at the same time, followed by taking the leg away as the seat rises. This constant changing of weight means that the rider is not going with the horse and does not have the easy balance from which to have a good allowing rein contact. So get in balance and keep your weight the same both when rising and lowering the seat. With the right ingredients you can then put any horse between the aids in rising trot and it is a win win situation.

AN ALLOWING HAND

It is disingenuous for any coach to talk about using rein aids, or putting a horse between the aids or on the bit (not a term I like), without emphasising that first we must go with the movement and have an allowing hand. Then within the rein contact we can give rein aids and allow the response from the horse.

The wonderful result for us all is that as our allowing hand improves, you will usually find there is an obvious improvement both in the way the horse responds to aids and to the size of aid required. In other words not only will you be able to get a quicker response but also you can get this response with fewer aids and smaller aids. This may sound too good to be true, but this is one time when the result will match the message and you can live the philosophy of maximum result from minimum effort.

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

Having taken up the minimum rein contact, the key is to remind yourself that the rein belongs to the horse not to you. (The minimum rein contact is the weight of the rein, so it doesnt loop, and a tiny bit more, so the contact is maintained even with small mistakes in your allowing.) Different riders and different horses will like very slightly different rein contacts but you will rarely go wrong with trying to find an allowing contact that is consistent but close to the minimum possible weight in the hand. Then as you go with the natural movement the great bonus is that you will find that no horse is able to lean on your hand. Yes this is true. Just think about itif you dont give your horse a hand to lean against they have nothing to lean on. It takes two to tango! Then you work at getting a good response from the aids and its very happy days. William

www.WilliamMicklem.com

NEXT TIME the final two steps to great hands, two great exercises to get you there and a key lesson from one of the worlds greatest coaches, Jack Le Goff.

WILLIAM MICKLEM - HELP NOT HINDER Part 3

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