Posts Tagged ‘Three Ways’

A lot of dressage riders aren’t clear on the difference between flexion at the jaw and flexion at the poll, and how to ask their horses for each of these positions.

Keep in mind that a dressage horse can flex three ways-to the left, to the right, and “in”.

When a horse flexes to the left or right, he’s flexing at the poll. When he does this, you’ll just see his inside or outside eye or nostril. I call this position +1 or -1 because you’re bringing his head 1 inch to the inside or the outside of where his head would be positioned if his chin was directly in front of the crease in the middle of his chest.

You’ll ask for flexion at the poll to the left or right with an indirect rein aid. To give an indirect rein aid, give a quick turn of the wrist so your thumb points to the center of the circle, your fingernails point up toward your face, and your baby finger points up toward your opposite shoulder. As you turn your wrist this way, bring your hand very close to the withers, but don’t cross over them. As soon as you’ve turned your wrist, return to the “starting position”where your thumb is the highest point of the hand. Be sure you support with your outside rein as you do this so you “catch” his poll rather than bend his entire neck.

When a horse flexes “in”, he flexes at the jaw, and he closes the angle at his throatlatch. You’ll use a completely different rein action to ask your horse to flex “in” than the action you used to ask for flexion to the left or right.

Ask your horse to flex “in” by moving the bit in his mouth. Be sure you only use ONE rein to move the bit. If you alternately saw on his mouth with your left and right hands, he’ll just bring his face closer to his chest.

We often flex the horse’s jaw. In fact, his jaw must be flexed for him to be completely on the bit. BUT, the danger lies in flexing the jaw BEFORE you connect him over his back. If you flex his jaw first, he’s not really connected. His face is just “in”. The danger here is that you can fake yourself out.

You might think he’s correctly on the bit because he feels soft in your hand when his jaw is flexed. But if you go to do something like a transition, you’ll find out that he’s really not connected at all.

During the transition, your dressage horse will raise his head and neck and look hollow because all you have control over is a flexed jaw. He wasn’t honestly on the bit to begin with! You need to ride your horse from back to front. Close your legs and send your horse forward through your outside hand to get his back round. And ONLY after you’ve sent him forward through your outside hand should you flex his jaw as the final ingredient of putting him on the bit.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques? Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence? Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach?

Learn how by going to: http://www.janesavoie.com or http://www.dressagementor.com

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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They say eating chocolate is like a time warp. It lasts only a second on the lips but an ETERNITY on the hips! That’s why some of us stay away from chocolate.

Yet nutritionists now tell us that chocolate is good for us. When we eat good quality dark chocolate we get the benefits of a happy mood, reduced blood pressure, a rich source of minerals, and a boost in the “good” HDL cholesterol. So chocolate, though it can be costly in terms of fat, is also good for us in many ways.

I say the same goes for horses, at least for us horse addicts. Without a doubt, horses can be expensive hay burners who are expensive to feed. And yet, the benefits of being around horses are undeniable. I just came in from feeding my herd of five horses. The temperature was a chilly three below zero, and the wind was howling. I hauled and tossed hay, fixed a little fence, and de-iced the water tank. I FEEL GREAT!

My conclusion? Horses, like chocolate, can be costly but are sooooo are good for you! But don’t take my word for it, take the word of scientists and researchers who have studied exactly how and why horses are good for us.

3 Ways Horses Benefit Humans

You have probably read about the use of horses as therapy for the handicapped. The benefits for people are easy to see in that situation. But horses are great for everyday horse addicts, too. Here are three ways horses benefit us humans.

#1: Horses Assist Physically Disabled Humans

You have probably heard about “hippotherapy,” which is the use of the horse’s natural movement to help physically-disabled people. Researchers at the Washington University Program in Occupational Therapy studied the effects of this kind of therapy on children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, and concluded that it works. Specifically, they proved that the rhythm of the horse’s gait “improves both head and trunk stability and upper extremity function” in these children. See? Horses are good for humans.

OK, but what about if you don’t have a physical challenge. Can you still say that horses, like chocolate, are good for you? Yup. Keep reading.

#2: Horses as Mirrors for Humans

Have you ever gone out to catch your horse in pasture only to have her run from you? After 45 minutes of chasing your horse while soothingly murmuring, “Come here, you little #$**&@!,” did you suddenly realize that you started out in a bad mood? Have you ever busted out laughing after realizing this? Your horse, who sensed your mood immediately (probably before you ever opened the pasture gate), wanted nothing to do with your “bad vibe,” and ran.

If you are a student of the Law of Attraction, then you know that the happier you feel, the better your life works. By showing you that you’ve got a bad vibe going, your horse is doing you a favor. And by persisting in not being caught, even though you are cussing her out (in a soothing tone of voice, of course), your horse really tries to reflect your state of being back to you. That’s a big favor… how many humans do you know would do you this kind of favor while you’re cussing them out?

Many addiction rehab places are now using horses as therapy for this very reason. Members of the program are asked to enter an arena with a halter and catch a loose horse. The horse mirrors the person’s attitude and vibration by walking away, turning his back, or allowing himself to be caught. Many times the person can’t catch the horse at all, and the event becomes a starting point for discussing the person’s way of approaching another being, and so forth.

So horses tell us when we have a lousy vibe in no uncertain terms. I ask you: would you rather have your horse tell you this or pay a shrink to tell you this? I’ll take a view of my horse’s butt speeding off into the sunset any day!

#3: Horse Care and the Cortisol Connection

You have probably heard about the negative effects of cortisol on our physical health. Cortisol is a hormone released in our bodies when we are stressed, and it increases blood sugar and blood pressure. Back in the cave man days, cortisol was what allowed the “fight or flight” reflex to occur, so that we could escape from predators.

These days, we get flooded with cortisol just by living life. Studies have shown that our everyday lives are truly that stressful. That’s a bummer because studies show that this hormone breaks down muscle tissue, compromises immunity, and plays a role in many chronic health conditions. Oh yes, it can also make you fat!

The good news? If you personally take care of your horse everyday, meaning you lug bales of hay around or muck out your horse’s pen, you are reducing the levels of cortisol in your body. Scientific studies demonstrate that exercise decreases cortisol in the body produced by stress.

So see? Your horse is truly physically beneficial to your health. It’s a scientific fact!

Horses Just Make Us Happy

At the end of the day, horses just make us happy. There’s really no need to explain it… and in fact explaining it takes away from the joy of it, in some ways. One of the better known aphorisms of the esoteric philosopher Gurdjieff may explain it best:

“Practice love on animals first; they react better and more sensitively.”

The human world is often complicated and fraught with multiple conflicting motivations. Horses are deeply sensitive and yet very direct. When I practice love on horses (or dogs or cats) I am immediately rewarded. I am made happy. I am blessed with inner peace.

So whether there is wind or ice or snow or sleet, I’ll be out there with my horses, throwing hay over the fence (and having it blown right back at me), de-icing water tanks, and generally having a great time. It costs a bundle to care for my horses, but they ARE truly good and good for me. You agree?

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Stephanie Yeh is a zen cowgirl obsessed about horses, healing, natural remedies, herbs, magic, MLM, and more. Check out natural horse care tips, ways to fund your horse obsession, natural health products, and more on her blog ( http://zencowgirl.blogspot.com ). Get her free ebook for wacky humans and horses, and order XanGo mangosteen products on her website ( http://www.mangosteengood.com ).

Author: Stephanie H. Yeh
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Does your horse have a weak topline?

Some horses just have conformation that promotes a weak topline. Whether your horse is swaybacked or loses his topline when he isn’t in training, a weak topline is never pretty. Luckily, there are three simple ways that you can help any horse build a stronger, better-looking topline.

#1: Build Your Horse’s Topline with Backing

When your horse walks backwards, he has to engage the muscles in his back and hindquarters, especially if he lowers his head while backing. Teaching your horse to back with his head down is a valuable time investment for two reasons:

1. It increases his topline

2. It puts him in a relaxed state because horses relax when their heads are low

At first, your horse may only want to back with his head up high. You may have to spend some time in the beginning teaching him to back with his head down low. Sometimes holding a treat down low can encourage your horse to drop his head.

I sometimes break the exercise into two pieces: dropping the head and backing. To teach my horse to lower his head, I crouch down low and gently tug on the lead rope. Most horses are curious enough to drop their heads and see what I’m doing. I reward that action with a treat. Next, I get teach him to lower his head while I’m standing up, again using a treat as a reward. Finally, I teach him to keep his head low while backing.

This may take several days, as some horses actually don’t know how to engage the correct muscles to back with their head low. At first, one of my horses could only take a step or two backward with his head in the correct position. It took several days before he could engage the correct muscles and back 10 steps or more.

Once your horse has learned to back with his head dropped, back him every day for 100 steps. This exercise will build the muscles in his topline, including his neck, back, and hindquarters. The results are actually surprisingly quick. You should see a difference in 2 weeks or so.

#2: Feed Your Horse on the Ground and Use Ground Toys

If you feed your horse in hanging bucket or manger, this may be contributing to his poor topline. To build a strong topline, horses need to stretch the muscles and ligaments in their topline. Feeding them on the ground will definitely help. In addition, consider using a ground toy that dispenses feed. There are a lot of options on the market, including the Nose-It, the Likit Snak-A-Ball, and the Amazing Graze toy.

These toys all roll around on the ground, which encourages your horse to keep his head down for long periods of time, thus stretching his topline muscles. When these muscles are stretched, they develop mass more easily.

I’ve used all three of the toys mentioned above, plus a few others that are no longer on the market. They work well because the slow dispensing of feed keeps your horse interested for longer than a non-food toy. It also keeps him engaged for longer than his normal hay or grain allotment.

One additional benefit is that having your horse stretch his topline is that this prevents his withers from “getting stuck,” which is the case in a lot of horses that are “built downhill.” They are not actually built that way, but their withers are stuck so they look downhill. Once their withers are released, they will have a more balanced-looking topline.

#3: Feed Raw Coconut Oil

This works well for horses who are fat all over except over their topline. For some reason, the calories from raw coconut oil go to a horse’s topline. Most horses that have this problem of being fat but having no topline have a Shao Yin personality type. These horses can be absolute pudges, yet look swaybacked and ewe-necked. So it’s coconut oil to the rescue. If you have this kind of horse, here are the three resources you need:

• Get raw coconut oil at your health food store or online
• Learn more about Shao Yin and other horse personality types at the Horse Harmony website
• Type your horse’s personality online for free at the Horse Harmony Test website if you are not sure about his type

For those of you out there with topline-challenged horses, I hope these recommendations help. They have certainly helped my two horses who have this issue, even during the winter, when they are not in training. Hope these tips help your horse, too!

Stephanie Yeh is a zen cowgirl obsessed about horses, healing, natural remedies, herbs, magic, MLM, and more. Check out natural horse care tips, ways to fund your horse obsession, natural health products, and more on her blog ( http://zencowgirl.blogspot.com ) and order XanGo mangosteen products on her website ( http://www.mangosteengood.com ).

Author: Stephanie H. Yeh
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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