A Small Change Makes a HUGE Difference

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, a enter spooking, recently and had a massive breakthrough about something I already knew.  One of those things I know, have used or done in the past, but that somehow, someway fell out of my day to day riding.  Megan’s blog post was one of several about a recently attended Mary Wanless clinic.  The series really gives a great in depth on MW and some of her methodology, but one little snippet struck me and I realized that this might be the missing component I have been searching for all winter.

See, Jet has been going great.  Relaxed, balanced, and better about matching my energy.  I’ve managed to figure out how to get him off his forehand into a better balance but still keep the relaxation.  He is nicely aligned, does beautiful transitions, and works in a lovely Training-First Level outline.  But.  As we work towards showing First this year and schooling Second, I have felt like there was something missing.  I thought I had it licked with Forward but Not Faster.  And things were better but still not quite right.  I kept working the program of poll high, stretchable, in self carriage, and waited for inspiration to strike.

When I read Megan’s post one small section caught my eye.  “Elite riders draw the horse’s back underneath them by using suction with their seat and thigh.”  She gives a nice little explanation of how to use opposing forces to achieve this, but honestly, this is something I already know how to do, I had just forgotten all about it.  Riding, the endless puzzle where you sometimes forget some of the various puzzle pieces!  Anyway, I had a feeling as soon as I read about drawing the horse’s back up, that this was what we had been missing.  I went through the biomechanics in a mental rehearsal a few times and off to the barn I shot.  And yup, it was the missing piece.  I did my standard ride but just by pushing my heels out slightly and using my thighs as levers to slightly pick up Jet’s back I got a whole different level of cadence and connection.  Everything was effortless.  The power was amazing and the energy was so much easier to maintain.  Magic.

We have now done several rides like this and the change from this one small adjustment is just astonishing.  Just like the picture below, by having that slight feeling of always suctioning the horse’s back, the bridge is more rounded and the energy can flow easily.  Have you ever had a riding breakthrough like this? Please share!