Recently I’ve been riding Piper, a talented and patient off-the-track-Thoroughbred mare, in lessons with Lindsay Cooper at Kismet Sporthorses. Today Piper and I did counter-canter loops for the first time which was great big fun. In order to control my pelvis, it first starts with my shoulders. By keeping my shoulders down and back, my elbows at my sides (think T. rex arms), and my torso tall, I can then influence my pelvis by moving with the horse. Today we worked on my position, and bringing my inside shoulder back as I rise in rising trot, and by bringing my inside shoulder back as the horse’s withers come up (toward me) in canter.
In the counter canter loop, my inside shoulder came back-back-back-back in rhythm with the true lead canter, and in the counter canter phase my inside shoulder came forward-forward-forward while we were “bending” along the arc of the counter loop. This allowed my pelvis to follow Piper, and not to block her, so Piper was able to maintain her canter in balance.
With Piper, we want her to gain strength and build muscle, and while she is working on that we want her frame to be allowed to be a bit longer or “stretchier.” But we ride with the idea that she is going toward carrying weight on her hind legs. So even while she is stretching to the bit, we want to have the idea and the feeling that she is shifting her weight from her front end to her hindquarters. Even when a horse is in very collected canter, for example in a canter pirouette, we want to know that in the contact we could stretch the horse toward the bit. So we ride the greener horses this way, but with the idea that they begin to shift weight to the hindquarters.
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