Freestyle

Freestyle

First bareback and bridleless ride on River

Posted on October 26, 2014 by horsegirlonajourney

Today, not quite on a whim but definitely in a playful mood, I tied my savvy string around River’s neck and asked her to line up at the mounting block. We’d had fun playing stick-to-me at liberty — in all three gaits in several directions — and it just felt like the next natural step would be to make the stick-to-me more literal.

We both enjoyed it! She put a lot of effort into listening and figuring out what I wanted her to do, and I made sure to appreciate her willingness and to accept some of her suggestions, such as stopping to smell the manure; and in encouraging and supporting her ideas, I caused her to accept all of my ideas, such as walking forward when I asked and then stopping when I exhaled and melted into my seat.

Maybe it’s my efforts to be more playful, to smile and laugh a lot, to “be pleased” as we said in The Clinic. Or maybe it was just that without a rein to obsess about Not Using, I had more focus for my seat and my balance and moving in harmony with her. Either way, I ended up feeling more secure on her naked back than I remember feeling before.

She asked questions when she couldn’t tell what I was asking her to do, and that helped me become more clear in my communication. We practiced walking, turning, and stopping, and went twice around the arena. At that point, figuring that things had gone super duper well, I hopped off.

It’s hard to stop right when my confidence is rising and the joy is bubbling and I want to keeping going and do more more more. Yet, feeling that way is also a pretty good sign that it is time to stop. Ending on a high point allows both of us to take time to lick and chew and look forward to doing it again soon.

And then, of course, we had plenty of time for scratches.

Categories: Freestyle | Tags: parelli natural horsemanship | 2 Comments

3 Ways That Taking a Centaur Selfie Made Me a Better Rider

Posted on August 9, 2014 by horsegirlonajourney

I learned about the Centaur Selfie yesterday on the Bay Area Equestrian Network Facebook page. It’s harder than it looks to get the effect! You have to really reach up and angle the phone just so, to get enough of your face in the picture while also capturing the haunches and — most importantly, I discovered — the tail.

Without the tail, it just looks like there’s a blob behind you. It’s even better if you can get some of the dorsal stripe or the apple-butt dimple or some other shape and texture that really looks horsey.

I expected to end up with a fun picture, but I did not realize the other positive effects this project would have on my riding until after I put the phone away and continued the ride.

Escaped a Mental Rut

I had been a little nervous on my first loop around the ranch, as I’ve not ridden River outside the arena in a while, and I was only using a bareback pad. What if she shied at the pigs again?

River meets piglets

Not only is this a useless thought, perhaps even giving her the idea that she should shy at the pigs, but last year when she did shy at them and I was riding with the bareback pad, I stayed on just fine and she even turned her nose to ask me “are you sure everything’s okay?” And in fact she wasn’t worried about the piglets in the barn before our ride so as an ongoing anxiety this one was extra silly.

As soon as I started trying to align the camera to get the best centaur effect I could, I forgot to think about any “what-if” dangers. This jolt out of the fearful rumination rut lasted the whole rest of the day.

Improved my Seat

In order to get the full effect, I had to sit on my balance point, deepening my seat and holding up my own head. No clenching, no tension, no slight lean forward at the hips, no eyes looking down or at River’s ears.

Both River and I were instantly more comfortable, and I got my confidence back, reminded how it feels to be balanced and light up there.

Put the Play in Playtime

I can get so concentrated (literally, going dense and tight) about working on myself — my body language, my seat, my feel, my focus, my eyes-shoulders-navel-hips-knees-toes alignment — that I forget to play with my horse.

Centaur Selfies

Posing for the centaur selfie required me to move my body, to open my chest for a full breath by raising my arm, and to smile. All of this flooded my whole being with happy endorphins and the joy of horses was compounded by the silly adorableness of OMG CENTAURS SQUEEEEEE! After that, both River and I were able to enjoy walking around the ranch trail, stopping at various places to graze or get a drink of water, just moseying along together in harmony.