Basic Training - The Rider

Riding looks easy, but it isn't. It can be an extremely athletic sport using a lot of muscles you didn't know you had, requiring a very precise set of actions & rhythms. Have you ever watched a jockey ride a race? They perch up there in the most awkward position imaginable & have to guide the horse at the same time. Barrel racers & ropers look as if they're part of their ponies as they race around the ring during a rodeo. Dressage looks as if the rider is just sitting in a chair, yet they guide their horses through intricate moves that are often set to music. And all of them make it look effortless, the mark of a real pro.

Even putzing about on a horse is harder than it looks. Put a non-rider on a horse for a short ride & they'll complain about stiff leg muscles for days. Their crotch has been stretched wide & inner leg muscles have instinctively worked to keep them in place. Any back problems are exacerbated by the constant bobbing of the horse's stride & that's if they don't get dumped. Falls from a horse are usually awkward & painful since they're done at speed starting with your butt at least five feet in the air.

A rider doesn't just sit on a horse, but grips with their inner thighs, NOT the knees or their seat will be loose & they'll get rubbed. (I wish I had a nickel for every time I've been corrected on that!) Rubs are painful & dangerous. Inner thighs & crotches can actually wind up with weeping sores. It's one of those things not typically mentioned about the Calvary during the American Civil War, but it happened frequently on their long, forced rides. Obviously your muscles can't constantly grip, so your posture must be correct to force your leg & pelvis structure into gripping for you with a properly fitting saddle & protective clothing to help. Then, & only then, can a person spend hours in the saddle each day, otherwise they'd be walking just to get some relief.

A rider doesn't steer with just the reins, but also with leg pressure & balance. In many ways, riding a horse is similar to riding a bike, but one that reacts with intelligence & sometimes it has a mind of its own. So, a horseman watches, feels, & generally pays attention to the horse & where it is stepping at all times. With practice, much of that becomes a subconscious habit. It can be a matter of life & death. No, I'm not overstating the case, but we'll save that for another post, "Horse Wrecks".

A horseman's relationship with his mount is much like that between a parent & their child. The horseman must be in charge, but also has to protect & respect the horse. You can't take them into situations they're not prepared for or ask too much of them. You need to work out how certain things are done & always do them the same way. Horses learn well by repetition & are comfortable with it. They like rituals as much or more than people. Teaching Chad has been a learning experience for both of us. Eventually, he figured out how to move properly, which was comfortable for both of us, & I figured out the best way to ask him. I'd like to tell you when that is, but I can't.

It's a truism that if you start riding as a kid you have an automatic advantage over someone who starts later in life. Kids have an entirely different balance than an adult since they're top heavy & much lighter. A posture that works when you're little will often just lead to grief in an older person. Think about how awkward many teens get as they go through a growth spurt. They wind up stumbling over their own feet at times, so it's important to learn the correct techniques early on.

One of my biggest challenges as an adult rider is that I'm a 'natural'. I started riding while still in diapers & was taught properly early on by professionals, starting with Mom. I quit showing, thus learning the technical points, in my early teens, but my body still remembers those early lessons. I'm in fairly good shape & somewhat athletic, so I don't consciously know what I'm doing much of the time even though I usually ride well. For instance, I post on the correct diagonal while trotting, but I couldn't begin to tell you how or why. It just feels right, but when something is wrong, I have no clue how to correct it.

My wife didn't learn to ride as a teenager & isn't as athletic. She has to consciously think about her riding & wound up learning so well that she teaches people professionally. She has a fantastic eye for horses, riders, & form. She'll occasionally correct my riding, but often has to go into long explanations to do it. I have neither the consciousness of what I do nor the vocabulary for some of the finer points that I goof up & need to learn now that I'm showing again with Chad.

Why should you care? Well, anyone who does something for hours on end better do it correctly or they're going to wear themselves out & get hurt. That includes all those people riding for days to save the world in epic fantasies. It would be a hell of a thing for the hero to arrive at the villain's castle only to have his crotch so sore he couldn't walk, wouldn't it? Actually, that might be a fun twist, but it doesn't bode well for the rest of the party or the world.