It is often said by people who do not ride that horsemanship is more a recreational pastime then an athletic sport because they believe that the horse does all the work and the rider just sits in the saddle and gets carried along for the ride. Sadly enough, all too often this is true and the horse is indeed used as a beast of burden to pack around the “dead weight” of a person merely looking for a quick feel-good experience with little or no appreciation for the real needs of the horse.
However, in an ideal situation within the world of quality horsemanship and horse training, both the horse and the rider are developed as physically fit athletes who work together in harmony from a foundation of mutual respect and trust that is honed into athletic performance with two bodies working together as one in flexibility, balance, stamina and strength.
The first question to be asked when wondering just how physically fit and athletic an equestrian realistically needs to be is whether or not the rider is a trainer of young and/or problem horses, or whether the rider is just enjoying the advantages of riding a horse that has already been well started under saddle.
Even horses who have had the best breeding for conformation and temperament, and who have been blessed with a truly good start under saddle by a gifted trainer, will still require that his or her owner/rider, at the very least, be supple, flexible and balanced in how they sit in the saddle and communicate their intent to the horse. It’s not uncommon to hear statements like, “I’m not sure what’s happened to my horse, she went so well when I first bought her but now she has all kinds of problems.” What’s happening in cases like this is that the person simply does not have the skill or the athletic ability to give the horse the support he needs from the body language “aids” or communication from the rider.
A horse has two distinct “waves of motion” that a rider must be athletically able to work with and assist in being the best balanced waves they can be. Any rider needs to develop the flexibility and balance, especially in the pelvis, hips and lower back in order to be able to comfortably ride both the forward impulsive wave of energy that travels from back to front in a horse and the lateral or diagonal/serpentine wave of energy that swings through the barrel of the horse from side to side. We are either riding with these waves of motion in harmony that feels like “smooth sailing” or we are working against these waves and both the horse and rider experience the frustration and discomfort of “rough seas.”
Having read the last paragraph there are undoubtedly some of you saying, “but some horses have a smoother and easier wave to ride then others,” and this is true. However when it comes to working with instead of against the movement of the horse, it is the people who consider themselves “horse trainers” who really need to realize that in order to realistically and ethically do our duty with the horses we need to be accountable for our physical fitness and athletic ability. We need to be able to train any and all kinds of horses, no matter how rough the ride, so that they learn to carry themselves in a balanced manner for their owners/riders.
When a rider purchases an already well trained horse the idea is that all the “buttons” have been established and the horse has learned to “give” to the aids of the rider’s seat, legs and bridle. In a perfect world this horse will not require a rider to exercise strength and stamina, but as I already mentioned, this horse will still need a balanced and flexible rider in order to effectively do his or her job without being hindered by “sloppy baggage” in the saddle. On the other hand, when it comes to training young or problem horses to give to the aids the trainer will often need to also be able to demonstrate strength and stamina in order to be able to shape the horse. This strength and stamina is not needed to “win the wars”--not at all--because we don’t want to go to battle with our horses.
The strength and stamina so often required of horse trainers is because we must use or seat, legs and all of our upper body strength to shape the muscle mass of a horse just like a massage therapist, physiotherapeutic or equine chiropractor. Simply put, good horse training is about shaping the body of the horse, like a sculptor working with animated clay. Some horses are so strong, stiff and resistant that it takes a great deal of muscle and endurance to be able to manipulate their bodies into the shapes that cause them to feel so good that they like the shapes we manipulate them into and they want to learn to carry themselves with balanced, self carriage.
In other words, if your horse is already going great when you buy it then you probably just need balance and flexibility, but if your horse has issues or needs to be better trained, or simply get started under saddle, then it takes an athlete to train an athlete. I often find that people who are out of shape but are trying to train their own horses tend to make lots of excuses and blame their horses for “being stupid” or just “not getting it.”
A true trainer is going to be the one who does both the introductory ground work with the horses, and also does the work in the saddle for the first 20-30 rides on a young horse, and should definitely be an athlete. Without good flexibility and balance the rider will inevitably be more of a hindrance then a help to the horse because they will be gripping with their knees and heels which interferes with the swinging movement of the barrel and shoulders of the horse. Within just a few minutes of a “rough ride” anyone with less then great balance will also be hanging onto the reins for dear life, causing loss of balance, sore backs and often bruised gums on the horse. More often then not, a horse who has issues with being caught and bridled, and/or is not willing to stand quietly for saddling is telling us that he or she does not enjoy how the rides have been going.
For young horses or older “problem” horses the rider often needs shoulder, back and arm strength and stamina for being able to ride with our arms wide open and out to the side with what are called “open reins” for blocking unwanted turns from wiggly horses. This riding in the position of the cross will often need to be endured at the trot, rising and falling while posting with the movement of the horse, for up to 30-45 minutes while also using strong groin and thigh muscles for bending massage from the inside leg of the rider to create bend throughout the body of the horse. I’m thoroughly convinced that why so few horses truly learn to “give” to the leg is because so few trainers have developed the strength and stamina to get the job done when starting the young horse under saddle. And when we don’t have the athletic ability to do our job with the integrity of strength and stamina then we cheat and resort to gimmicks for the quick fix affect and the horses pay the price in terms of comfort and performance potential.
In closing, next month I will outline with photos and detailed explanations a handful of physiotherapeutic exercises designed specifically for the rider to improve flexibility and balance, and the following month we’ll take a look at strength and stamina conditioning. Meanwhile, all the best to you and yours for healthy and happy trails and remember, ask not what your horse can do for you, ask what you can do for your horse.