Straightening from Behind By Joni Bentley
Bodywork practitioners know that the human body is naturally crooked. Unfortunately, bodywork therapy is not yet part of our traditional riding establishments.
We’re all unique and different – horses and riders both. And we need to work with that in mind. Imposing a picture-perfect ideal position on riders and their horses doesn’t create what we’re hoping for. Instead, it only adds an extra layer of crookedness on top of the existing wonky foundation.
• Does your horse tend to drag his right hind? Left hind?
• Does he lean on one shoulder?
• Do you feel like you’ve hit a brick wall when you try to turn?
• Does your horse always jump to the right side of the fence - or is it the left side?
• Does your saddle slip out to one side?
• Does your horse hollow his back, refusing to round up and take contact?
Those are all symptoms of one-sidedness. And if you don’t address them, sooner or later they lead to soundness problems – for your horse and for you.
On the other hand, when you understand how every rider and every horse has their own physical quirks, and you learn to see and feel those quirks and work with them, it becomes surprisingly easy to address issues that riders (and their horses) have struggled with for years.
One layer of crookedness on top of another.
The first level of crookedness in the rider comes from your right - or left-handedness.This orientation and way of working spreads a misalignment throughout your whole body, developing over the course of years. It can’t be voluntarily switched off or relaxed. And it’s a root cause of problems in horsemanship.
Just as you’re right - or left-handed, so your horse is a right - or left-hind driver, preferring one side over another. That’s your horse’s first level of crookedness.
The second layer of crookedness begins when you try to impose a desired outline onto your body, attempting to meet a picture-perfect ideal image of how you should look.
This new layer of crookedness is laid on top of your already-crooked foundation. And both layers - the layer of your one-sidedness, plus the layer created when you attempt to adhere to an ideal image - are imposed on top of your horse’s one-sidedness.
It’s no wonder people experience schooling and soundness problems in their horses!
Crookedness in the horse is traditionally tackled through lateral work. This is great if the rider is supple and schooled enough to absorb rather than block the horse’s movement. But most riders haven’t been taught how to feel what’s happening in their own bodies, never mind in their horses’. And the rider must lead by example, performing in his body what he expects of his horse.
Before: Here on the left rein Annie [the horse] is swinging Christian and her quarters to the right to avoid stretching out her right ribs. In doing so, she affects Christian’s position, pushing him out to the right. This makes Christian’s position very awkward to control, especially as he rises with the trot. He feels as if there’s too much weight in the right stirrup, leaving the left empty and unbalanced.
Christian discovered that the diagonal between his right shoulder and left leg was stiff and contracted. Annie’s habitual way of moving exacerbates the weakness in Christian’s right shoulder/left leg diagonal, disempowering his position even further.
As the lesson progressed, I learned to feel Annie’s rhythm and direct her force through her ribs into the right shoulder to counterbalance her crookedness.
In just one lesson, I could really feel the change as she started bringing her left hind under.
Before finishing up the lesson, Joni taught me an exercise that I can do whilst out hacking.
Now I can relate back to what I learned in the dismounted exercises, and I simply use the same directions mounted.
It’s fascinating how I can tell now when I’m sitting centrally, and how Annie’s ribcage and hind legs are working underneath me.
The time I've spent doing the dismounted work has been invaluable in the simplicity and clarity of achieving my aims while riding.
With a few more lessons, Christian will improve his contact and leg position which will give him more finesse and skill to power Annie forwards, over her back, onto the bit.
Watching the video was a revelation. I could see the problems with my position. Before, I had to take it on trust from verbal directions that I didn’t always understand and couldn’t visualise.
Now I know how to be aware when Annie pushes my hips over to the right. I can feel how that weakens my position.
Your opportunity to try Correction in Movement
Now, no matter where you live, you have the opportunity to try Correction in Movement for yourself. Because I’m launching a brand new DVD Correction in Motion training programme on the 1st July.
This is unlike any other home-study programme you may have looked at or tried.
It starts with 2 DVDs packed full of clearly-demonstrated, easy-to-follow exercises for you and your horse.
The first DVD shows how you can straighten and re-align yourself. (These are the dismounted exercises that Christian found so helpful.) The second DVD illustrates mounted work you’ll use to bring yourself and your horse into alignment together.
And the programme includes a one-on-one consultation with me. Based on a videotape feedback, we’ll talk on Skype or by phone. You get a personal assessment of your specific challenges and how to customise the exercises to get the results you want. Total cost £55
There will be 12 lessons over 12 months available. So you can:
Try the first lesson, see if it’s for you.
Do the course in your own time.
Follow the 12 month course.
It’s up to you how quickly you progress and it works well if you already have a teacher. They will be delighted by your progress!!
I will be assessing each rider personally and therefore places will be limited.
For more details go to www.jonibentley.co.uk. No internet. Phone me for a chat on 07771 811561
7th August Writtle College Lordships Road Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex CM13RR
21st August Willow Farm Hanslett's Lane Ospringe, Faversham, ME13
18th September Brinsbury College North Heath Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 1D
Go to my website now for a free workbook and online video www.jonibentley.co.uk
If you would like to host a workshop at your yard please contact us on 07771 811561. If you can’t make the workshops due to location or finances I will be starting a home study training course in June.
How it works:
Each month from June, I will be releasing a lesson captured on 2 DVDs. The content is equivalent to a typically one day workshop. You then practise the lesson mounted and dismounted in your own time and when you feel ready you send me a video/DVD of yourself and then we review the lesson on the phone. The inclusive price is £55 specially designed for hard credit crunch times!
