Cash at the movies

[glenatron]

A bit of video of my session with Cash on Sunday:

I hate to see myself ride on video- I always see stuff I could be doing so much better. That's why it's worth doing, though, I guess.

We had our excellent chiro out on Tuesday and she picked up a few things that needed sorting. He certainly looks like he's moving more nicely now- his back is straighter and his back end isn't quite so tucked under - but I think he might have bruised a sole when we were trotting him up because he seems a bit ouchy on his feet today, which got him out of work. He has some boots on order, but helpful eBay gave the delivery guys the wrong postcode so I need to talk to the couriers tomorrow and sort them out with the correct address. Hopefully it's just a bit of footiness ( what it looks like ) because he needs to be sound for the clinic next weekend so he can be friends with penella22 during her adventure here...

Comments

[fleefloodle.livejournal.com]

I have a sudden urge to go and play about doing groundwork with Willow...

Watching yourself on video is always a strange experience, but I think we tend to be more critical of ourselves than we would be of others.

He is an adorable little fellow!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

He's just so easy to work with compared with Zorro. I mean Zorro has the finesse now, but sometimes it's a bit like having a block of concrete on your rope, you always have to put a lot in before anything happens. Or at least you did for years, he's better now.

Cash is much more there from the very start, he just really really wants to do everything right.

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Cash is so nicely soft on the ground. I like that he picks up easily on the reverse cues. I think you've got the potential to get him as light as Mocha.

I also like the way he's moving for you under saddle. Yep, moves like a greenie, but that's a good thing. He's definitely still getting himself together, but what's good is that he's soft in the body. Lots of potential there.

Seeing video of you ride is also very helpful. I didn't realize the degree to which you're having to fight your conformation--long legs and long body. You're also looking like an old-timey Saddle Seat guy racking on a horse with your shoulder and head slump! ;->

Watch that, it's what's throwing you off balance. I fight the same thing myself, and to get around it requires a focus on strengthening your core muscles off of the horse. Lots of Pilates-type mat work is good, as is yoga or stuff like that. Anything to strengthen the core helps with that slump.

Fix that and I think you'll find everything else comes together. What's really good is that you are keeping yourself soft rather than rigid and tight, which is translating over quite well to Cash. I don't think he'd do well with rigid and tight. An image from G is something I always try to keep in mind--keep the abs tight and the back soft. You're doing a good job of keeping that going. You've got a good back; it's your upper body that's messing you up. Strengthen the core, neck and shoulders and you'll really be rocking!

[penella22.livejournal.com]

:D Nice to see him in video, see his gaits and everything. Looks calm and relaxed here and I am mui impressed with how he handles that... that... bucketloader? Fork lift? Big construction thingie!!

I think we're going to have some fun times at the clinic. :)

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I know how to sit right on a horse, but I forget to do it when I'm thinking about everything else because even still it is not second nature and being a man I'm not terribly good at thinking at more than one thing at once. If I was thinking that I would see myself on video later I would probably have sat up better, though. I'm my own worst critic when it comes to video.

In general one of my leg position and my upper body position is about right, this time around it seems to be my leg position...

You are right about core strength, I'm working on that currently because I've noticed a definite deficit in that area.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I think it will be awesome. He's such a lovely little guy.

[linasfyre.livejournal.com]

Cash looks like he has a super sproing-y movement, (my mare has a sproingy movement too) and looks like a very willing dude.

Im tall also, and it can be terribly difficult to keep everything "correct"
FOr instance, IRL I tend to slump a lot. Otherwise Im 11 feet overtop of everyone else :S so this does NOT benefit my riding position.

One thing that has helped me is to keep in mind that my head has to be UP, the nape of my neck has to be straight in line with my spine. And HEAD UP.
Wish my head wasn't so heavy.

Nice vid :D

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Well, leg position will go away when you're working a greenie, and to some extent upper body as well. You do what you need to and sometimes it ain't pretty. However, core strength improvement will help you not to need to explicitly think about it; at least that's what I found.

Indoor work with mirrors is a good substitute for video. I don't have the opportunity for people to regularly video me but I do have a couple of mirrors and a quick look usually gets me right back where I need to be. That, plus if G is in the arena working a horse or giving someone else a lesson, he's not shy about saying something if I'm slouching. We also have the same helmet and it can be heavyish, but that's not really a good excuse.

The upper body piece is hard for a lot of people! Note my last post with Miss M where I talked about having to work at uncurling. For me, though, slouching leads to neck and shoulder pain afterward, especially with Miss Mocha's big, jarring trot. A big incentive to do it right. And for you, if you keep it up, you'll have neck and shoulder pain too unless you fight the slouch.

Like I said, the good piece is that you're keeping it soft and Cash is showing that by being nice and relaxed. But improving your core strength is key for someone like you with a long upper body; not just for improving your seat and making upper body control more automatic, but it will spare you a certain amount of aches and pains as you age.

(and you would be absolutely nauseated by my son. Same body conformation as you, only a bit heavier, but he automatically sits up straight and balanced and always has, from the moment he first sat on a horse, perfect shoulder-hip-heel line. Sadly he doesn't ride much, but he has that natural seat position and doesn't have to think about it. The not-so-little poop.).

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

The thing is I have been having lunge lessons with one of the best people around for the last few years and I know exactly what I should be doing. Then I get to thinking of something else and I'm suddenly all over the shop. Then I video myself and think O_O and realise I need to be more mindful in my riding.

The simple case is that I spend most of my time in an office hunched over a keyboard and that does mean that I practice my shoulders coming together and forward more than I practice coming back and apart, which is what I should be doing.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Sadly until I have finished making my fortune I don't think I'll be able to afford to routinely ride somewhere with an indoor, mirrors or otherwise...

I realise ( seeing this video has really got me thinking ) that I am spending too much of the rest of my life hunched up, using my keyboard in particular, and so I'm going to see what I can do to change the way I do that. If riding is a constant struggle with the habits I form the other 22 hours of the day, it's going to make things harder than they need to be, and as the riding is really the priority, the other things need to change.

[linasfyre.livejournal.com]

oh gosh no kidding, I am also in an office job! Does NOT help the position.
I try to "keep my position" while DRIVING, but then I just end up looking very awkward in my VW. lol

I have the same thing, I know what I should look like and when I tell myself "okay lets pretend we are at a shoW!" everything is pretty good...but then something will happen like mareface will go out through her shoulder or something like that and then bam chaos ensues and everything comes apart.

Working on it. :D

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

And of course, it is during chaos that good posture makes the biggest difference.

So annoying.

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely! For me, finding a place with an indoor was a priority because otherwise it's so wet that I could only ride about four months out of the year (and, also, given my work schedule, I wouldn't be able to ride except for weekends). Also the prices here are such that if you look around, you can find an indoor for close to what it would be without.

And you are absolutely right that you need to look at what you do when you aren't riding. The good news is that changing your habits so that you don't slump over the computer or when you're driving (two of my own biggies), it ends up being better for your back, neck and shoulders overall. WIN.

Try sitting on an exercise ball if you can, see what that does for keyboarding. Also helps improve balance for riding.....

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

In parts of the UK where one visits old buildings from time to time, it can be quite hard on the cranium however...