Modified Dismount

I am always reading how to become a better blogger.  I recently read a post (forgive me but I forget where) that said it when blogging you shouldn't say how fat you have become and then post the pictures to prove it.  I thought that was hilarious since I just posted my fat pictures a few posts ago.  It probably is a mistake, but hey whatever I'm human.

Now I am including some video documentation.  It's not just to say hey look how fat my you know what got, I am doing it because I know riders come in all shapes and sizes.  This is a dismount that I started using years ago when I injured my left knee.  

The modified dismount sure has come in handy for my students that have had injuries, are small, or just had trouble dismounting the traditional way for one reason or another.  

Check it out!

Three years and still blogging strong!

Today is the three year anniversary of My Professional Horse Blog. It's been a great couple of years and I've learned a lot about blogging and met a lot of great people. It's fun to look back on my old posts and see how much my writing has evolved.

I am enclosing a link to my very first post I had ever written on this blog. The writing is not my best, but the message is still important. Thank you my loyal readers who have stuck by me throughout time and welcome to my new readers I appreciate you all!

Here is the link to my first post Legs! Muscle Memory. I hope you enjoy it.

Deanna

Riding Instructor - SCAM

I would just like to pass this around. I assure you it is 100% true. This is not one of those stupid forwards, I Deanna Castro am writing this warning myself.

There is a scam going on to con riding instructors out of money. I am sure this can be used in other areas of the horse industry as well, so please read carefully.

The riding school or instructor is contacted by a foreign "wealthy business man" who's son or daughter is staying in the country, while the parents are out of the country. The father would like the son to become a horse trainer, and wants to train three (or whatever number he chooses) days per week. The father sets up lessons for six months, a year, whatever of lessons and wants to "pay in advance".

A check is then sent to the instructor for thousands of dollars more than the agreed upon amount. Guess what happens next? The father asks for the refund of the over paid money. The check is a cashier check so it's as good as cash right? Wrong. It's a fake, and it takes two to three weeks for the check to clear, so the bank does not realize the mistake right away. The cash is given to the instructor when the check is cashed. The bank later notifies the instructor that the check was fake, and the money is owed back to the bank.

In the mean time, the instructor would have paid thousands of dollars to the con artist, and be investigated for fraud, him or herself. What a nightmare!

The moral of the story, if someone contacts you for a product or services and sends a check there are some red flags to look out for:

• Check is sent regular post
• Check has no account number, address, or telephone number
• Routing number does not exist or belongs to a different bank
• Routing number has too many or too little digits
  
• Check is in an amount excess to an agreed upon price
• Check does not have a perforation on at least one side

I would also suggest, calling the institution that issued the check, comparing the check number etc. You can even fax a copy of the check to the bank to be sure it is legitimate. Get the phone number for the institution from the internet, not the check itself because the scam artist could be the one that set up a fake number and answers the phone!

Pass this on to all your contacts in the horse industry.

Deanna

English Equitation - The Back Up

Here is Gabrielle backing her gelding Jesse at the end of their class. The following information can be applied to any class that you may be asked to back the horse, not just an equitation class.

Rider: Equitation
First I’d like to say Gabrielle’s position looks great. Her ear, hip, and heel are in perfect alignment. She has a nice soft bend in her elbow. I would also like to note how calm and relaxed she looks.

I would ask that she elevate her chin slightly, and look ahead instead of down at the horse. At home, it’s fine to glance down with your eyes, but while showing I like to see riders are able to feel the position on the horse rather than have to look and check the position. I would also say to shift her shoulders slightly back. By bringing her shoulders back (approximately one inch) that will help her lift Jesse up off of his forehand. When she brings her shoulders back slightly her hands will be a bit farther apart and be more effective. I like to see a riders hands shoulder width apart.

Horse:
Equitation refers to the rider, and the horse is not being judged per se, but if there is a tie between two equal riders, the one with the more correct horse will be placed above the other. A more correct horse will also showcase the rider better so we need to fix a few minor things with the horse as well.

When you look at Jesse, besides being cute and having a beautiful hair coat, his mouth is gaping because he is resisting his riders cue for the back up. If you look at the front legs of the horse it appears that he has most of his weight on his forehand. He is being heavy on the rider’s hands. This problem is fairly common with a lot of horses.

What I would like to see is the horse shifting his weight back onto his haunches, lifting his shoulders and becoming soft in the mouth as the rider asks him to back. During this process, the horse’s back will lift and his momentum will move backward instead of downward where it is headed in this picture.

The Fix:
Once the rider has fixed her position, she should lift the horse’s head and ask him to back. I know, I am always preaching head down, but first we need to lift those shoulders, and then we can lower the head. In the above photo, the horse has his head down where it belongs so it would almost appear correct, but the rest of his body is not in the right frame.

A horse may know each time he is asked to back the rider wants the head down, so he uses his head down position as an opportunity to fight the back up. The goal should be the moment you ask the horse to back up; he backs without any fight involved. This way you can also maintain that beautiful position in the saddle.

When you lift the horse up, his weight will rock back onto his haunches. As you lift the horse, gently pull and release with both hands to back him off of the bit. When the horse is backing correctly, you will feel him underneath you. What I mean by that is you can feel the front of the horse is very light, and the back of the horse is moving under you and backing.

Once you have the horse lifting his shoulders, work the head back down into a lower position. The horse may revert to his old habits, if he does, just lift up the shoulders again. You will probably have to move your hands out of your comfort zone, but remember, you are training at home not being judged in an equitation class. To recap, bring the horse's shoulders up and his head down, keep practicing until you can do both at the same time.

The final step will be to back the horse in this collected position with your hands quiet and steady in the desired position.

The Back Up Cue:
Once you have fixed the problem, your back up cue will be simple. To cue the horse to back, hold the horse back with your reins by bending your elbows. When you feel a shift of weight backward, start to see saw your hands gently back and forth backing the horse off of the bit. At the same time, gently squeeze and release your legs to help the horse move his hind quarters backwards, as he lifts his shoulder and rounds his back maintain soft contact with his mouth.

Trouble Shooting Tip:
If your horse refuses to maintain backward momentum, you may be using too much leg. Too much leg would result in your horse becoming confused and thinking you want him to stop or to move forward.

Tune in next time for English Equitation, Part Two.

Thanks Gabrielle and Jesse!

Deanna

English Equitation

Reader Question:

I've seen so many different people's equitation, and I've been told to sit in so many different positions that I don't know what the correct way to ride English looks like. What do I have to feel and look for when I'm riding English?

Gabrielle

My Answer:

Hi Gabrielle,

Thanks for the question. Here are some suggestions on English Equitation I hope I can help clear a few things up for you.

Equitation – Refers to the position of the rider. In an equitation class, the rider is judged as opposed to the horse. One caveat, if the horse is collected it will always make the rider look better.

Posture
The proper way to sit is with your ear, hip, and heel in a straight line. I take a longe whip and hold it up next to my students vertically to allow them to see their own line and make adjustments accordingly. I make a straight line with the whip, and the student should adjust that the ear, hip, and heel is in alignment.

Your chin should be straight ahead, not up in the air or tipped down. Sit up straight do not lean back or tip forward. Keep your shoulders up and back. Not too far of course, just make yourself have the posture your Grandmother always told you to have.

Legs and Toes
I really don't like when I hear an instructor say that the rider needs to keep their toes straight ahead. Toes need to be slightly turned out. If the toes are not slightly turned out the calves will not have contact with the horse. Your toes should not be crunched in your boots and don’t forget to keep those heels down.

Reins, Hands, and Horse's Mouth
You do not want to palm the reins. The reins should be in your fingers with your thumbs on the sides of the reins, remember to keep your fingers closed on the reins. Do not squeeze the reins. You should have contact with the horse's mouth, but not holding him back allow him to move forward. Any pressure you feel on the reins is your horse's mouth.

You should be able to feel the horse's mouth as you ride. Do not be stiff in any part of your body. You should "flow" with the horse. Meaning, ride with his stride not against it. Your hands should be out in front of you, but keep a soft bend in your elbows. Don't let your elbows stick out, keep them close to your sides, but not touching them.

Check Stirrup Length
Sit in the saddle and allow your legs to hang down on the horse's sides, with your feet out of the irons. The bottom of the iron should be at the level of your anklebone. If your stirrups are too short, posting will be difficult. If your stirrups are too long, you will not be able to put the proper amount of weight in the irons. The amount of weight that belongs in the irons is the weight of your leg nothing more, nothing less.

Work on your position first, then your horse will be able to ride in frame with his head and neck level, his nose should not be nosing out, behind the vertical or behind the bit (when the horse draws his head toward his chest to avoid contact with the bit), and have his back round, his strides should be collected and ground covering.

This is the brief explanation, even though it is very long and involved. I hope this helps!

Deanna

Gabrielle has also e-mailed me some great pictures of her and her gelding Jesse to critique. Over the next week I will be posting the pictures with some further explanation and some exercises that can be done to make corrections and adjustments.

Stay tuned!

Deanna

Parts of The Western Saddle - Interactive

I always notice there are many great examples of the Parts of The English Saddle, but not as many examples of Parts of the Western Saddle.

This weekend my Dear Husband took me to the barn to take pictures so I could do a post on the Parts of The Western Saddle. I was under strict orders that I keep my pregnant belly to the side of the horse.

Perry got so excited because she thought I was going to finally ride her. We put the saddle on the horse, took the pictures, and then un-tacked her and put her back into the stall. I should have taken a picture of the bewilderment on her face, it was really sad. She looked at me like "Why won't you get on me and ride? Don't you like me anymore?" It won't be long more until I'm back in the saddle again, but until then this is as close as I can get.

To test your knowledge just point your mouse at different spots on the saddle to find the names for each part.

Enjoy!

Deanna

Cantle, Cheyenne Roll, Concho, Fender, Fork, Horn, Latigo, Latigo Keeper, Pommel, Rear Jockey, Rear Rigging Ring, Seat Jockey, Skirt, stirrup, Stirrup Hobble

"The Power Of The one Rein Stop"

Deannaisms

I am sure you will notice, there are many things a riding instructor will say over and over to many students. Most riders make the same mistakes, it's natural and part of learning. The following quotes are my usual sayings:

"Release, Release, Release. If you don't release that horse will ignore you."

"Sit tall, and keep your heel down especially when you use your leg."

"Don't blame the horse. If your horse won't do what you are asking it is because he found a hole in your riding. He is doing you a favor and giving you an opportunity to learn."

"Enjoy the journey to becoming a better rider and give yourself a break."

"It takes one year to train a horse, and five years to train a rider. If that rider doesn't ride five days a week, it could take longer. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Some riders have natural talent, some have heart, some have both. No amount of natural talent will help a rider become great if he doesn't have heart. It's up to you to determine your ability."

"It looks easy when I ride? It is now. I am still working you just can't see it. I spent many long hours riding many horses sweating our butts off, or freezing our butts off, taking notes, journaling, thinking and rethinking learning how to ride. Always saying to myself, what am I doing wrong? You can reap those benefits too if you refuse to give up! All you need is lots more wet saddle pads and the determination to learn."

"Learning to ride correct isn't easy. Did I ever tell you it was easy?"

"Nothing worth having is ever easy. You will never truly appreciate something that came without a price."

"Legs! Use your legs!"

On turning: "Look, leg, hand, in that order."

"The kick is not the cue, the touch is the cue. The kick is punishment, so don't cue your horse with a kick to walk, jog, trot, lope, or turn."

"I'd stop saying the same thing if you made the correction!" I say this after a rider says "I know, you always say that!" Then we both laugh.

"As soon as you fix one problem, the horse will find another weakness of yours. Don't be discouraged, enjoy the challenge. When the day comes that he can't find any of your weak areas you will probably get bored."

I hope this gives all you riders out there some inspiration. Remember, if you are doing your best then you are doing a great job. Keep it up!

Deanna

Balance Exercise For Rider

This month I will be focusing on balance for riders.

A balanced rider = a balanced horse.

A helpful balancing exercise is, riding without stirrups.
Just kick your feet out of your stirrups and don't hang on to your horse’s mouth and ride!

While you are riding the horse without your stirrups:

• Sit up straight.
• Shoulders back, heels down, calves in contact with your horse's sides.
• Don't forget to breathe!
  

Note: Just because you don't have your feet in the stirrups, does not mean you just relax and let your feet dangle.

Start out at the walk, and then when that is comfortable, work with your feet out of the stirrups at the jog, trot, and lope or canter.

By taking your feet out of the stirrups, you will train yourself to sit properly. You will improve your balance, and move with your horse. Eventually, you may even prefer riding without stirrups to riding with stirrups.

Happy Balancing!

Deanna

The Professional Horse Program

Now you can participate in Deanna Castro's Professional Horse Program regardless of your location.

Through this program you will:

• Learn to Improve the Communication Between You and Your Horse
• The Trinity of Horseback Riding Balance, Timing, and Feel
• Advanced training techniques for groundwork, manners, and longeing
• Choosing the Right Equipment for your horse and training needs
• Horse Psychology
• And much more!
  

For those of you fortunate enough to be located in or near The Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, you will be able to train and ride at The Riding Academy.

Services available through The Professional Horse Program:

Horse Training
Riding Lessons
Instructor Training Program - Professional Horse Certification

• Private
• Semi-Private
• Group
  

Clinics - Coming Soon!

Video Lessons
30 to 45 minute video includes critique and plan of action.

Thank you for your interest in The Professional Horse Program.

For more information email inquiries to info@deannacastro.com