Question for the Readers: fallacies and guest post

A friend of mine in the UK was talking on her facebook wall about how she had put up a video of her riding her horse over his first jump after doing lots of practice up to 2.5-3 ft free-jumping. This first jump she rode him over (after practicing over a few ground poles) was a very low crossrail (6" perhaps?). He refused, and she realized she wasn't riding him right, and then fixed her problem and he jumped it confidently the second time. The horse is a greenie, give him a break right?

Anyway, her problem was a person commented on the video saying "You should always freejump a horse first if you want to jump something new so they know they can do it, no wonder it didn't do it properly."

To which my first thought was: good luck doing that on a cross country course or hunt field that you're trucking across! "Oh, hold on, he's scared of this stone wall with bushes at the base! Let me jump off quickly and try to freejump him over it!"

(My second thought was, "Did you just call her horse 'it'?!")

What would have been better advice, had said rider in the video not realized her mistake, would have been "Check how you're riding him up the fence. Were not riding confidently? Did you stop riding before the fence? Were you riding too defensively? Not enough leg? etc."

That's what my trainer would have told me. And that's what I have heard multiple times from multiple different people. Or even better, don't come across as "I know everything" but make it sound more suggestive, like you might have SOME humility and are open to other thoughts :)

So now I get to my point: I've heard some strange, and sometimes dangerous, advice as far as horse training and horse care goes. Some of them come with good intentions, others misinformation, other just plain cruelty or just plain stupid.

The most infamous one in my book?

"Put you heels down and shoulders back."

I see so many hunter riders (and many others, but it's more prevalent in that style to me) with their heels jammed down so much in the stirrups that their riding is seriously compromised. From what I understand, "heels down" often creates a stiff leg and braced feet against the stirrup, so their leg is swinging and DEFINITELY not tight and solid on the horse, and often causes a leg that slips too far back instead of being a strong support, thus throwing the rider forward and both horse and rider off balance, yada yada yada. "Shoulders back" often creates a braced back and tilted pelvis, causing discomfort for both horse and rider and almost always NO flow between the two. I watch and think, "hmmm, I wonder if I took their stirrups and saddle away, if they would be able to be in that same frame?"

And then I answer myself, "No, they'd fall flat on their arse because they're so stiff and in such an artificial frame that their legs and seat aren't used to actually BEING on the horse."

They're noble and accurate points, really, and are the result of proper equitation. Not a means to the end. A more correct verbiage would be "Toes up and/or sink your weight into your heels. Push your ribcage out and up and keep your back erect." There's a lot more that could be added there, like "soften your back and slightly tilt the pelvis up and grip with your legs like a wet rag," but that can STILL lead to even MORE confusion haha!

So now I ask you, what are some iffy things you've heard from "fellow horsepersons" and trainers? No names please, just the advice. Also, feel free to give some GOOD advice you've heard before!

And a second question, I have the opportunity to have a guest post from Equine Clearance out of the UK on any variety of horse-related topics. I'm not entirely sure myself of what I would like to have put up, so what blanket, tack, clothing, industry, etc. topic would you like to hear about?

Austin Wizard Academy?

One would think I would stop laughing at this sign eventually. I took this picture on the way back from Greta's new barn, and I still chuckle every time I see it, because I cannot help but imagine a small lot with a bunch of people running around in cloaks and scarves and pointy hats on broomsticks playing "muggle Quidditch" and trying to make a feather levitate and watching 'A Very Potter Musical' (yeah, there's a musical).

There's a reason we say "Keep Austin Weird". We got t-shirts, too :)

On Vaulting...

I found out there's a vaulting school here in Austin, that's where this was filmed at. It also got me to thinking about vaulting. Here are my assessment's so far:

It's BEAUTIFUL to watch.

I asked the girl why they didn't wear helmets in vaulting (I have always wanted to know why that was!) and she said that it was because 1) "vaulting is the safest equestrian sport", 2) it throws them off balance. I'm sorry, but I would be scared poopoo-less if I was standing on a cantering horse without some form of protection! I know "Fabio" is probably quite bombproof, as all vaulting horses probably are, but still! At least she wears a helmet when she rides.

Vaulting is supposed to be very good for balance, and it will definitely help you develop a feel of where the horse is underneath you: something great to know when riding!

According to studies by the FEI, vaulting horses tend to be the happiest, and they are definitely crossed trained, including upper level dressage and hunters (often both!) I mean, LOOK at the muscles and expression on those horses! They have to be truly round, otherwise you'll be riding on a hollow wreck! The horse for Team France in the video link below is one I would LOVE to ride!

It's pretty cool and at the same time terrifying to watch. Let us look at, for example, a small child at the top of a human pyramid upon a galloping horse in a very loud and crowded arena (ignore the costumes, they are French). Cool and terrifying!

I am also loving the Daft Punk music they used (think Tron: Legacy, because they helped to compose the soundtrack!)

And I've always wanted to point this out: it looks like an extremely awkward sport. You are constantly groping your teammates!

But really, I don't know much about vaulting. I had little success in gymnastics when I was a child. I still can't do a cartwheel or a backflip! I can barely somersault without feeling like I'm about to crush each of my vertebrae, because I do it too slowly and cautiously!

Vaulting is probably quite mysterious to us saddle-sitters. It confounds us and fascinates us, or just plain makes us want to say, "What are you? CRAZY?"

Thoughts on "the other white meat" of equestrian sports?

Oh, and vaulters: I really admire what you do. That takes guts and some natural talent that only very few have. And, like I said earlier, to see a horse and rider doing something like that is quite beautiful.

Quick, Cheap Horsey Tricks

I've been meaning to do something like this for a long time, and I'm sure a lot of these y'all already know, BUT when I found out about them I had never heard of them being used that way, and it saves money in the long run rather than than buying specialty equine products:

Ivory Dish Soap - great shampoo, even for my white pony. Just use it like you would any other shampoo, and get the original kind.

Desitin cream - I first found out about this stuff when Greta had some dry, flaky skin on her nose. Resident vet tech told me about this stuff, and it worked. It also works to help heal wounds and prevent scarring. Apparently it can also work on areas affected by rain rot or scratches after the crusts have been gently removed, washed with a providine-iodine scrub, and thoroughly dried. It's active ingredient is zinc oxide, so it can be used for all kinds of things, not just diaper rashes!

Listerine - a great mild antiseptic. It can also be used to prevent tail rubbing, with or without equal parts baby oil. Use the original amber-colored kind.

Petroleum jelly - rub it into thick chestnuts for 4 to 5 days, and they will peel right off and be show-ready.

Baling twine - is amazing. I'm sure we all know of its many uses, but did you know it also works well as a sweat-scraper? It works especially well for that in places like down the leg.

Got any interesting stuff? I would kind of like to find a much cheaper liniment alternative to Absorbine's liniment and Show Sheen, as $20 a bottle can get a bit expensive haha.

I would learn just so I could do this...

I will admit it. I am not instrumentally talented. Not that I feel ashamed or have a problem admitting it. I have my own talents in the visual field. But as far keeping more than a basic rhythm... I'm at a loss. Remembering all those different notes and exact sounds? That's more buttons to push than it takes to execute a perfect pirouette ;)

But seriously, I would learn to play a string instrument JUST so I could do this song and this song. And I would learn to play the piano JUST so I could do this song, this song, and this song.

What would you like to learn to do? Who knows, maybe I will pursue such things some day, and maybe you will too!

If ever I DO get to do a musical freestyle, expect to see some of those pieces in there, if it would suit The Pony ;)