>>>> Even now, if I feel that I am letting weight fall into my stirrups, I correct my balance. Hunter is an edgy, reactive little guy (I love him. I really do love this horse) and it took me a while to figure out that he was made anxious when my leg rested on his side. So now, not only do I not weight my stirrup, I have to let may leg fall in a really relaxed fashion so that I'm not using it to balance on his body.. The whole thing has really helped me to regain my balance in motion. I can't remember what I was doing, maybe just dropping my stirrups for a rest, and some "event" happened out on trail not long ago. He sort of surged forward and then took a few trot steps. I was still right in the middle when we finished. Still stirrup-less.
That's a great example, Nancy, and exactly what I was talking about. Gosh, I rode for 15 years before my injury - I was younger, fitter, and braver those first 15 years too. But, I was never what you'd call a natural rider - I have always been able to learn to do various sports adequately, but I'm a long way from being a "natural athlete" in any sense, but I'm sure I passed as having decent position, and a decent seat...but I know I didn't. Not REALLY. Bracing my ankles was always one of my biggest riding faults, but FINALLY, it's not the issue for me that it once was. I guess that's why I always bring the topic up - if I could get better with that dad-blasted old habit, at my age, little natural ability, and after a debilitating injury, then I know most people can at least improve - if they choose to make it a priority. I give credit to two things for breaking my stirrup-dependence: lessons and treeless saddles. I spent a LOT of time regaining my balance after my accident. I took "physical therapy riding lessons", really working to get over my physical limitations AND my fear issues. And, because of Sina's conformation and comfort, I HAD to move to a treeless saddle. The two factors also made me face up to riding faults that I'd had all these years, but had been able to conveniently ignore when I was younger (and bounced better when I got dumped), and that didn't show up in a rigid saddle. Looking back, I KNOW the treed saddles often allowed me to be ignorantly blissful of my faults, but I'm sure my horses took the brunt of my faults. THEY knew, even if I chose to ignore the faults. I can't stress enough how valuable I think riding bareback - or at least treeless - is for building rider skills. I hope people whose horses aren't suited to treeless saddles will find a safe (and supervised) way to work on their riding balance - even if it's only riding with your feet out of your stirrups in a small, safe area periodically, for short periods - even if you have some one hold your horse on a lunge line while you did it. (Just be safe at first, and use common sense.) Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.14/1171 - Release Date: 12/4/2007 7:31 PM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
