It was possible, I thought, that such distractedness arose from some evolutionary necessity. But I could not figure out how such fractured focus would have served us in the wild. In any case, it never fails amazing me how often during a 20-meter circle we riders drift off purpose. It seems like a small, clear task [...]
There are many reasons for the breath to be free while riding. One is that you stay connected to your parasympathic nervous system – that is where calm lives – so not only will you stay in a good place emotionally, but your horse will sense this and stay calm too. Another is that breathing keeps [...]
If riding were easy it wouldn’t be an Olympic sport. Two brains, two personalities, a million moving parts, and gravity – where do you begin to bring it all together so both horse and rider can enjoy balance and comfort? The answer is: your hips. Apart from the fact that that is where your body meets [...]
When you have learned off your horse how your hips and mid-section coordinate you transfer this learning, this improvement, right into the saddle. Do you ever feel stiff and uncoordinated in your riding? Maybe you know what you want your body to do, but you can’t get it to do it. You may be told [...]
Each month, Jec Ballou provides WARHorses with simple, fun advice and exercises to developed improved performance and riding enjoyment with our horses. Between posts, Jec will share video tips, exercises that show us exactly how to best perform a specific movement. Today we feature two videos from Jec’s book “101 Western Dressage Exercises for Horse and [...]
