This message is from: GAIL RUSSELL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Just wanted to say how valuable photos of riding can be. Several pictures >were taken of myself & Tommes in Turlock, and I noticed something... I'm >always looking down! A good rider I know always looks like her eyes have a "death grip" on the distance ahead of the horse....you can tell some instructor has yelled at her over and over...eyes up! I also notice >that my grip on the reins is too tight, limiting his motion. Some one recently told me to put my shoulder blades in line with the cantle. It seems to do two things. One....it puts your elbows at your sides....and allows the give the horse needs on the reins. It also keeps you from hunching over...and helps keep the chin up as well. Another thing to think about is riding the back end of the horse...not the front. I've noticed that Decaffe throws me forward...off his long back muscles...right before he takes off after his stable mate on the trail. If I insist on sitting back...and connecting myself to those back legs...he is less able to make one of his "power grabs." An article in some free mag I found suggested attaching reins to bicycle handlebars....and you discover that you keep tension on one rein more than the other. Sounds like something to try on SOFT ground...but might be interesting. A bicycle is much less forgiving than a horse about uneven tension! My experience is that riding lessons with my current instructor haven't been all that helpful. Better to get the intermittent tips...use videos and pictures (or mirrors!) and then practice like crazy. Good luck....this is a long slow process....and I know I am only at the beginning. Gail Gail Russell Forestville CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
