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FootFalls Clinic #1 |
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| FootFalls is
all about balance, starting with that of the human riding the horse. The
rider's balance starts with their balance on the ground. Krista introduced the idea of balance by encouraging riders to become strong enough to hold themselves in a symmetrical position. |
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Who would be the more balanced rider? |
| Next, riders looked at how their horses move. Each horse was led between 2 poles down a section of clean sand, leaving a record of where they place each foot. |
Carrie leads Beamer down the clean track. |
Dave leads training horse Indy down the clean track. |
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FootFalls Tell the
Tale |
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Each horse left a very distinct pattern.
What you see when watching their movement leaves prints in the sand. |
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Improving Balance in the Horse: Straddling the Pole There are many reasons why a horse is
moving unevenly, even without a rider. More than anything else, horses respond to their riders. If we sit crooked on our horses, they will do their best to hold us up there and move as easily as they can which may mean using some muscles more than others, creating an irregular gait. Moving 'incorrectly' can get to be a habit for both the horse and the rider. It's our responsibility as riders to be the best we can be for our horses. Learning to stand over, then walk down, a pole on the ground helps the horse learn the feel of balanced movement. Once they become accustomed to the feel of balanced movement, the really like it, and will work to stay in balance. |
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| Misty's pattern in the sand showed that her right hind steps into her left front, in spite of knowing how to straddle the pole and doing it rather willingly. As she gets better and better at walking with the pole between her feet, both with and without her rider, her balance will improve. Improvement will show up in a more even FootFall pattern. All this will allow the horse to work more in balance with more responsiveness to cues and more graceful and willing movement. | ||
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The Bamboo Stick Manolo uses a piece of bamboo as an
extension of his arm to help the horse become aware of foot placement.
It's long enough to reach the off-side of the horse on a line, flexible
enough for the horse to feel it, and light enough to be easy to maneuver.
As always, timing is everything. He's passed this information on to
Krista. |
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Krista taps lightly on the foot that needs to move, until Cinquena realizes that she needs to move it, and where.
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Krista advises as Pat works with Marlin, and Cristie on Sally and Jo on Misty practice.
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You can tell a lot
by watching the swing of the (pony) tale. If the tale drops vertically
from the croup, and swings evenly from side to side, the horse is moving
evenly.
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Ta-Da!
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Under Saddle |
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Sally's looking a little
upset about it all. It will be several months until she's diagnosed
with degenerative point disease, causing her considerable pain.
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Beamer just skitters
along.
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Indy has been there
and done that.
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Pockets was pretty certain that the poles were going to eat him alive. Then, once he got going, he made a lovely, square stop. One of the advantages of working with a very green horse is that they have very little experience working out of balance! Although this is certainly no quick fix, improvements were visible! |
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| Moments | |||
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Starting the day with
a little explanation
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Auditors
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Scott's perspective on the day: from between Joe's ears | ||
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Dave takes it all
in
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Carrie and Beamer
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Jo and Misty
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Robin and Cinquena
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Sherry and Pockets
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| Pat and Marlin | Cristie and Sally |
| Krista@FromStartToFoundation.com |
831-588-6214
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1425
San Marcos Rd. Paso Robles, CA 93446
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