These are the notes I have taken while studying rider biomechanics, which I thought I would share with you. While I have gone through and completed some editing, please be aware they are just notes that I have jotted down as I am studying, and are not intended to be a complete transcript of everything the lesson covers. I highly recommend, for further information either booking a lesson with me, or to order your own dvd's go to www.colleenkelly.net I hope you can gain something from them!
· Posture and how it affects balance, balance can mean left and right, forward and back, up and down.
· Dressage terms you might find on your test; On the forehand vs engaged, eg is the surfboard nose down/ nose up, it is not a miracle! Lost balance / out of balance/ Timing. Left behind the movement/ in front of the movement – in jumping this is vital!
· Loads levers and forces Eg carrying a bale of hay; do you carry it out in front of you? Or in close?
Science goes by rule and these rules are the same no matter where you go
One of Colleen’s sayings “eventing is dressage on caffeine, western is dressage on valium, endurance is dressage on advil”
Dressage riders, we know what goes wrong both for the horse and the rider, because it is written on our score sheets all the time!
For the horse
1. Irregular
2. Not enough impulsion (it should be powerful, not slouching along like you have had five gin and tonics, but more like the guards at Buckingham palace)
3. Not on the bit
4. On the forehand - more weight on the front feet
5. Not straight – ears level, does his nose dribble over one knee or in between?
6. Falling in
7. Flexion and bend- most people have too much flexion and not enough bend
8. Tail swishing – this is a FAULT! And is easy to fix!
Health of the horse.
Health- do you know how to check the digital pulse? Do you do it regularly so you would recognise a change? – According to Jennifer Stewart Monash University, 50% horses have laminitis (osteoporosis) –2000 horses were studied, 49% had laminitis, Professor Pinjaa of the University of Queensland, found that it is caused by acidity in the stomach. Colleen Kelly never feeds grain for this reason. She also recommends chaffing your hay, which will not only aid digestion, meaning you will get more caloric value out of your feed, but you will also have a much lower chance of colic. Colic is often caused by balls of undigested hay caught in the gut. (my own recent experience - I have a very old pony “Misty” who recently had her teeth done. She was given to us at a very old age, for my four year old son to be led around on. The dentist said I was lucky she had not died of colic because her teeth had never been done in her entire life. He said that the most likely reason I had never had any colic with her was the fact that I have never fed her hay, and, I should make sure I never feed her hay or she will get colic as she cannot chew it up)
Make sure you understand the rules! Take the time to read them. Did you know if you fall off after the last salute, you cannot be penalised, just make sure you are mounted as you leave the arena!
For the rider
1. Looking down
2. Legs
3. Hands
4. Slouching
5. Butt not in the saddle
6. Heels up
7. Upper body
8. One stirrup lower
9. Rein contact
10. Equipment and “other”
Hands will affect number 1-7 for the horse. 50% of the mark is freedom and regularity! Therefore your hands must be correct, they should be moving, not static, in walk and canter! If your hands are static in walk and canter, your horse will not be able to move freely and you will certainly affect their ability to maintain regularity (rhythm).
Straight trains – hands – first carriage – seat – second carriage – feet – third carriage
Legs are responsible for 1 through 8 of the horse! “aids must be invisible” he should be self impulsive, you should not be pushing along every stride.
Legs can be responsible for on the bit “from a lively hock action . . .”
Fei rules state “inside leg MUST be forward”, it can be as forward as you like, you could not be marked down even if your leg was more forward than the shoulder line. Relates to not enough bend.
Falling in - more weight in inside stirrup.
Tail swish - jab, jab, jab, … learn to keep your legs still.
“Heel must be lowest point” – cant be when you are kicking!
Looking down - 1- 8 “body must be verticle”. If you look down, your shoulders do not have the same freedom of movement, and, your horse is unable to bend and flex with the same freedom. Looking up vs looking down (just your eyes alone) makes an 11kg difference on the front feet! Colleen has experimented with this exercise on a set of bathroom scales. Sitting on a saddle stand with each foot on a bathroom scale, you can measure the difference in weight. A great idea is to get a pair of half painted glasses. It will stop you looking down, and will stop head tilt round corners! It actually creates an horizon for you to look at and control your ears level/ hat level etc. Try and be aware, as you go around a corner, if the peak of your hat stays level with the horizon? A lot of people will tilt their heads as they turn, have a look at some photos of riders, and see if you can see the difference! Then try it for your self, go on a circle, ride around with you inside ear closer to your shoulder, then outside, then middle. Can you feel the difference?
Slouching – puts the horse on the forehand, will make it more difficult for him to turn, harder to get on the bit, also if there is wither pressure then tail will swish – check your saddle fit. Lift your breastbone, bring your shoulder blades together and keep your nose above your earrings.
Butt in the saddle – Is your belt level to ground? If your butt is not in the saddle, your weight is more forward.
The horses fitness will affect performance. You should be able to feel ribs but not see them.
Heels up will affect 1 – 8
Upper body probably the most important for creating regular paces, at NO TIME should one seat bone be heavier than the other.
A weight aid, is seatbones level, but one foot heavier, eg sit and squash a marshmellow but keeping the seatbone the same. It is not leaning in or out. If you can develop this skill, your horse will find it a lot easier to be balanced and maintain rhythm around a corner, through change of rein etc.
One stirrup lower – will cause 1-8
What is the number one thing the judge looks for? REGULARITY!
How do you know if a horse is tracking up in canter?
Freedom to show natural paces . think of a clydie on concrete, 2 beat trot, 3 beat canter. (four-time music though, moment of suspension is another beat)
Regularity - walk 92 – 95 bpm
- canter 95 – 100
- trot 150 – 155
Tempo speed rythm regularity bpm cadence
Paces - speed / regularity - your ability to stay in time to the music
PISR - what a PISR!
Paces (regularity and freedom) – impulsion (music) – submission (hand position) Rider.
The ten commandments (article 418)
1. Remember that all the movements should be obtained with invisible aids- use bells! If it rings, it cant be invisible!
2. Without apparent effort of the rider – kicking and pulling is not “without apparent effort”, in showjumping remember you’re not jumping the fence, the horse is J (one of my personal major issues, trying to launch my horse over the fence)
3. The rider should be well balanced, elastic, sitting DEEP IN THE CENTRE OF THE SADDLE, smoothly joining the rhythm of the horse with his loins and hips supple- think of the clock, your pelvis is a clock face, front is twelve, back is six, left is nine, right is three. Don’t sit on your pubic bone! Women always end up on the 12 when nervous or something goes wrong! You can see deep in the centre of the saddle, is the humans tailbone and the horses tailbone in a straight line?
4. Thighs and legs steady and well stretched downwards. (120 degrees) if your knee is over the front of the saddle pad, will lose one mark. Look at the photos of the top five riders in the world, and you will see they all have the same angle at the knee. A lot of the time people have their stirrups too long, and leg too straight! To get correct stirrup length,
- Take feet out of stirrups,
- Let legs hang as long as possible
- Look up
- Stirrups should be just underneath the ankle nobble
5. The heels must be the lowest point, heels down keeps you on! Look at a photo of a saddle bronc rider! Look at Andrew Hoy over a jump, his heels are always the lowest point. Why don’t you turn your toes out? Because you will fall off!
Make sure you watch the heel when you are turning, making sure the heel is still lowest point, (inside) and hat brim is still level! Should your legs be "Shoulder hip heel" or "inside leg on girth"?
Remember the outside rein “allows the bend”, if your comment is “not enough bend” remember the outside rein is MEANT TO GIVE. Try to use the image of lengthening the outside, rather than shortening the inside as you go around a corner.
Dressage is about making the outside line going from ear to hip 4 foot, stretch to 4 foot two, not making the inside ear to hip line go from four foot to three foot eight!
6. The upper part of the body should be free and erect on the vertical.
DON’T HIDE YOUR BELLY BUTTON! Looking down puts the horse on the forehand. Ride with your nose above your ear.
Leaning sideways - your horses browband is likely to be identical to your helmet! Is your helmet straight? Do you have one ear higher than the other? Look at photos of classical riders, see the hat brim is vertical even on a canter pirouette. Test this with, which earring is closer to the ground?
Leaning back- you will shorten the stride, and will not result in poll high, but third or fourth vertebrae high.
When you are standing with your arms by your sides your fingernails should point out, not forward. How do you stand? If you had torches under your arms, would the beams cross over in front? Would one be higher than the other?
Inside rein to belly button can tip a horse over, “disengaging”, and too much flexion. If you are trying to do a one rein stop, the right way is to put your hand behind your thigh. Put a sticker on the hip joint, and bring your hand to it. Four point safety stop, first -hand must be behind the thigh, two -look up, three - feet forward, four – half halt with outside rein. It must on AND off, or the horse will rear! It will stop a horse! Please don't forget the "look up" part either!
How do you know if your spine is correct? The front of your bra (or imaginary bra for the boys) should be about an inch higher in front than in back, make sure your belt is level front to back, and your nose is higher than your earrings. Imagine you were carrying someone on your shoulders, you have to have a neutral spine, not a flat spine.
Which shoulder is higher? When you look around, do your earrings stay level?
Imagine you have a white bow on your bra, lift that! Imagine you had gold buttons on your jacket like the Spanish riding school, can you see them all? Are they equal distances apart all the way down?
How can you test rule number 6? Look at the clothes! Buttons, collars, sleeves, bottom of shirt, belt, are they even left and right? Front to back?
7. The hands should be carried steady, low and close together. Again, look at the best riders, and see the straight line from elbow all the way to the horses mouth.
8. The thumbs must be the highest point of the hand. If not, you will be putting more weight on the forehand, and constricting the horse’s ability to use his front legs.
9. The elbows should be close to the body, enabling the rider to follow the movements of the horse smoothly and freely (move your hand!). The line between the shoulder and elbow should be vertical, however, the elbow should open and close in walk and canter, allowing the hand to move back and forwards with his head nod.
10. There should always be the impression of harmonious co-operation between horse and rider. (is the horse happy?)
What are the best exercises I can do to improve my riding?
Learn to stand with your feet forward. Stand in your stirrups (straight not bent knee) then raise one leg, lower it, raise other leg, lower it, raise both legs. It is easier than you think, IF your stirrups are straight, if your heel is the lowest point and your leg is underneath you correctly.
Get a small trampoline and a dressage whip, hold it so the tip touches the trampoline and you hold the top, then rise up and down to 155 BPM and keep the whip steadily touching on the trampoline.
If you feel you would benefit from a lesson based on these principles please contact me via my website www.postureseatbalance.com.au If you would like to take the course, go to www.colleenkelly.net
No comments:
Post a Comment