The way to soft hands is through your back. Picture your upper back as a solid plank and your arms and hands as filled with feathers just hanging off that plank. Your elbows are bent and hands hold reins enough so as not to let them slip-ride your half halts from that solid plank or from one side of the plank if you need a right or left side adjustment. Meanwhile your arms and hands just float in position.Remember, ride from your back, not your hands .
from Pam
Imagine your horses whole chest as a big smily face-direct that smile where you want your horse to go. This will help you steer the shoulders not the head and neck. You will see you will pull on your horses face much less and be less concerned with his head-and the reward is, that his head and neck will be where you want it, not where you put it-so Smile!
As if I have x-ray vision, I picture the horse’s heart within his body. The spot, whether anatomically correct or not, is his center of gravity, and I put my own heart/center of gravity above it. Picturing his heart I feel my own, which adds connectedness between us.
Sent in by Carol
Ok, you are going to visit someone at their house. You walk up to the door and just lean on that door bell, just press press press, use the door knocker over and over. What sort of greeting do you think you will get when your friend opens the door? The same greeting you will get from your horse when you give an aid over and over again, like using your leg leg leg, spur spur spur, or driving your seat into him over and over.
Ring the bell and wait a stride or two. If noone answers, then give it again more concretely.
This is a suggestion with an Eastern Philosophy bent.
Think of where the top of your head is-the spot on a new born baby that is still so soft and vulnerable that you can’t touch it. The spot is soft because the skull has not fully closed up there yet.
Picture that spot on yourself . Picture that spot facing the sky. Picture that spot opening up to let in the sun’s golden light. This enables you to be straight in your body but also to relax and be a part of the light around you.
This is a meditation technique that is used in tai chi and various other eastern practices. It is very simple but effective.
Roger Poitras, instructor-Brookline Vermont
Picture a string attatched to the top of your head and it is being pulled straight up. This makes your spine nice and straight and allows space between the vertibraes-so your back is straight yet soft and following.
idea by Jessica and River
This struck me the other day-I was riding along trying not to look at my horse. I was using wide open vision and feeling where the foot falls were and all that good stuff. I also noticed the little black half moon (THE BOTTOM OF MY HELMET VISOR !) in my peripheral vision. How could I ever have not noticed that before? You can not see it when you are looking down at your horses mane! Look up between your horses ears, and there it is -the little black shape above your nose! Keep that shape in your vision and you are looking ahead!
Picture your horse as an arrow. The bit is the very tip of the arrow. You are sitting on the long part of the arrow and the reins are the sides of the arrowhead. The idea is that you drive your horse toward the bit and keep him on the bit. This really helps keep him forward and on the bit.
Sent in by Sue L.
To sit the trot, imagine you are sitting on one of those big bouncy, exercise balls . As your horse moves you just stay on the ball. Allow all your bones to jiggle up and down with the motion.
(By the way having one of those balls in your house really helps to get the feel-and its great for balance exercises and exercises in general)
by Pam Swing
