Project 5) Your Body Speaks


There is a pony girl pic on our members profile page, and it is of Kim Logue, who is practicing teaching an UNMOUNTED riding lesson today, and will talk to us about the gaits of a horse.
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I am a the rookie addition to the team of riding instructors at Myrddin, and, my specialty there is beginners (gesture). but usually, the classes involve actual HORSES, so today, i am forced to resort (in leui of equine assistance) to more than body language and will incorporate some body percussion into my presentation on how a horse moves.

Fellow Toastmasters, and Honoured Guests, rest assured, I will also cover the basic rider position...

The position in which the rider sits on the horse is governed by several factors, the first one being the actions needed of the rider to control the horse correctly. Communicating with their equine partner, the rider must establish a position based on BALANCE. The rider’s physical shape, and the shape and size of the horse are also contributing factors to how they establish their seat, and position on horseback. While remembering BALANCE, rather than trying to grip. Symmetry is also really important.

Here is an illustration of a stationery position, where the laws of stationary balance apply. I will also model it for you... straight line thing.

At the halt, the rider should demonstrate this correct and balanced position. Although a perfectly square halt is not always possible for beginners, attention should be paid to straightness. Thinking of the horse having four corners can help riders produce better halts.
For a rider, the laws of balance really kick in and apply in motion, will apply once the horse begins to move in the three basic paces: walk trot and canter.

1. I want to explain to you that the walk is a four time movement with each horse leg moving individually in a clear one-two-three-four beat being heard. A rider must move with the horse’s natural rhythm without any pumping of the body when riding this slow gait. Each of the horse’s feet come down as they are lifted right fore, left hind, left fore, right hind, while the horse travels at about 5 to 7 km per hour. The rider should demonstrate the correct contact with the horse’s mouth, and an experienced rider should be able to influence a horse’s stride, longer and more forward through use of their legs. Talk about the halt four step transition? Talk about the whoa whoa whoa thing?

2. stomp, clap, up, down: Trot is a two time or two beat pace with the horse’s legs moving in diagonal pairs. Like this (Demo Trot) Moving faster than the walk, right forefoot and left hind foot at same time with the horse stepping from one diagonal to the otherWhen the horse trots he can travel from 10-14 km, or I also read 6 miles per hour. The horse's head does not usually bob up and down as it does in the walk.
Riders can ride a sitting or posting trot. In a rising trot, the rider sits and rises in time (beat) to the up and down movement. . Riders should be in the sitting phase of the posting trot when the outside front leg hits the ground. This is because when the horse’s inside hind leg and outside front leg are in their supporting phase, the horse is able to support our weight easier.

3. My winter favorite horse pace, is the rhythmical swinging gait with three distinct beats, called the canter. I think it is usually about 10 miles an hour. I always find it easy to remember how it works, because it all starts with the rider’s position for the transition. You put your outside leg back behind the girth as part of the signal to canter, and this engages the horse’s outside hind leg. And then the other hind and the opposite fore leg move in unison, hitting the ground for the second beat, and then the inside fore hits the ground last. While cantering, the horse is either on the left or right lead. In this demonstration, I am a horse on the left lead and with the left front leg hitting the ground in front of, not before, the right leg. When turning in a circle to the right, the horse should be on the right lead, and when turning to the left, should be on the left lead. In the canter, there is a moment of suspension, when all the feet are off the ground at the same time. When cantering, a rider should sit up tall in the saddle keeping your center of gravity over the horse's center of gravity, with your seat deep and relaxed. following the movement of the horses back.


Doesn't that sound fun? Thank you for letting me practice explaining the gaits of the horse, without a horse. Isn't it something you always wanted to know? I wanted to conclude by handing out a flyer for I've been working on for introductory riding lessons. The point is that the address is on there, and tours of the barn are free. So come and visit me!