DbarH Horsemanship Training

Medicine Lodge Valley, Dillon, Montana

Body Connecting

The body connecting system will aid in connecting your whole body in becoming one with your horse and will give the horse precise minuet signals of what you would like the horse to do. It will diminish the need to use to much rein and leg once you have begun to use your you torso, shoulders and pelvis. This will in turn travel to your arms and hands, and down through your legs to the feet.

The first exercise is while sitting or standing with body straight. Pooch out all the the stomach muscles and those around. What does this really feel like? In an answer that every human must experience would be an example of going to the bathroom. It takes the muscles from all around the body and goes outward.

An incorrect pooching would be to have the stomach muscles go out ward, but the muscles in the back would follow the direction of the stomach muscles, thus causing the back to hollow and the pelvis to tip. And develop in an incorrect manor.

While doing the body connecting what do you feel that has changed? Starting at the shoulders. What have they done? When bearing down correctly the shoulders and the muscles will "sink" down away from the head.

As most people have heard is to keep shoulders back. If you just put you shoulders back your muscles tighten everywhere and chances are you will go into a more shrugged position. The shoulders become locked instead of flexible. The lower back tenses causing the pelvis to lock.

If your shoulders are tipped forward the connecting will aid in straightening out and allow you to straighten without tensing or becoming a board.

Next what does your ribs area feel like? Do they feel like they are spread outward and slightly downward feeling? This would be a good thing

Now your abdomen area is where the most difference will be noticed at first. The feeling should be that you are covering more of the horse than before. Melting into and around the saddle. This will make your balance much better.

Past the abdomen area go down your thighs. At first you may or may not notice the muscles get less tense yet have greater communication with the horse.

If you were taught to have heels down by getting heels down forcefully which is a big no no then retrain your self with the connecting plus the spiral exercise. Just putting your heels down tenses your whole body with less mobility. With the aid of the bearing down the feeling will go all the way to the feet and your muscles will naturally lower your heel just below level.

Experiment with different pooching senses. Hiss to get the hardest bearing down. On a scale of 1(weakest) to 10(hardest) ride with a 5.

Closing your eyes while getting the feel of the connecting and what the muscles start to do may assist you in understanding what you need to do when riding.

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