Tag: equipilates merseyside

Eventing Season is imminent, and for the non Eventers; Camps and general more horse activity season is also imminent. 

Are you excited? Or are you now in a flap because neither you or your horse is fit enough?

It’s ok, you’ve got time to get your act together!

Time to make a plan.

Speak with your horse’s physio and your instructor to make a plan for your horse’s fitness.

As for your fitness I guess it depends on what your plans are this summer. 

If you are Eventing I’m sure you want to ride at your best, do you and your horse justice finishing your round strong. Most importantly you want to be fit enough to keep riding for the whole round, this is not just for performance reasons but also for safety reasons. 

If you’re attending weekend camps with multiple lessons per day I’m sure you’d like to be able to ride your best throughout so you get the most enjoyment - and improvement out of them.  

These things are going to take muscular endurance, cardio fitness along with the every day riding requirements of stability and mobility. 

This sounds way more complicated than it is. 

Realistically this can be done in 3-4 workouts per week and they don’t need to be hours long or have you drowning in a pool of sweat, wanting to vomit-unless that’s what you’re into. 

You just need to focus on the basics. 

For Cardio, keep it simple. 20-30 minutes of running, cycling, swimming, dancing whatever you’re most likely to actually stick to. Or you could do shorter HIIT sessions. 

Then add in a resistance workout either bodyweight or with whatever weights you have available. If you’re new to exercise and want something bespoke I suggest you have a coach who specialises in riders help you……I’m one of those!

If you want something lower budget - I’m aware how expensive this whole horse thing is I’m right in there with you; then my Online Programme will cover all you need to get Riding fit for Eventing or whatever else you’re doing and it’s tiny money!

I was reading an interview in Horse & Hound with Annabelle Pidgley-The girl who now owns Charlotte Dujardins horse Pumpkin.

Now, it cannot be disputed that Annabelle has the financing and horse power to help her achieve great things in her Dressage career; Pretty sure she’s going to be in the top rankings one day.

However there is something else she needs and indeed does have that cannot be bought - Hard Graft.

In this interview Annabelle says that to fit riding around school work she gets up at 4am to ride two horses before 7am so that when she comes home she can do her homework or have lessons with her trainers.  Just let that sink in……………4am!! That’s a girl prepared to make things happen.

I see this pattern in lot’s of my clients. They get up early, manage their time well and fit in horses, fitness and often children around demanding careers too. So it certainly isn’t a lack of other things to do on their side!

If you ask them, they’ll tell you it’s hard work;  but if you want something enough you’ll make it happen.

The thing is, I get it. Getting up early (I get up at 5am most days) working to a military schedule to fit it all in and ending the day late and very tired can seem a bit much, however I see people who don’t get up super early or  finish late  to fit in riding or training and they still feel tired and are also unfulfilled because they aren’t achieving any of their goals. 

Which one do you think is generally happier? Obviously, it’s the one’s who get up early and get stuff done working towards their goals!

You see if you really want something and you take steps to make it happen, the sense of achievement and doing the thing you love is what keeps you going.

If you have goals in life it’s up to you to make them happen.

You can say that other people have less to do, less demanding jobs etc but in my experience with my clients they don’t have less to do they just fit more in. They are prepared to sacrifice watching the latest drama series, or the weekend lie in because they know achieving what they set out to will make them happy.

So, it’s totally fine if you’ve read this and thought “yeh I’d rather watch the box set and have the lie in” but if you have other responsibilities too you may have to accept you aren’t going to achieve the big horsey goals too.

However if you read this and thought “hell yeah I’m going to make stuff happen” Firstly, you are my kind of people and secondly I’d love to know what you’re going to be getting up early to achieve?

One of things we strive for as riders is getting our horse to engage his hind end and lift through his back.

If you’re on his back it’s your job to make this as easy as possible for him. 

To allow your horse to lift it’s back you need to be off his back. However it’s not really traditional to ride around standing up in your stirrups for the whole session.

That means your seated position needs to be conducive to him being able to do this with your bum in the saddle.

That is why good alignment with all your joints stacked on top of one another -Shoulder-Hip-Heel (It’s technically ankle bone but it’s not as catchy!)

 If  you are in more of a chair position,  your weight is behind your legs where your bum is and therefore all on your horse's back-gravity is not your friend here as it’s literally pulling your weight down onto your horse's back. 

This makes it much harder for him to lift it.

If your joints are neatly stacked, the weight is held more down your thighs and you are supporting your own weight. This gives your horse the freedom to lift his back. 

Once you have mastered this you need to be able to support him at the front end, as very often I see the energy be created in the back but then throw the horse forward onto the forehand at the front.

You also need to be able to support him at the front end. So as you’ve encouraged the lift from the back you need to be able to absorb and maintain that in your core through to your hands. 

I know this sounds like nonsense but I’ll try my best to explain how this is done!

A stable but breathing core, with relaxed but stable hands.

Your hands need to be up and in front of you with enough stability between them and your torso that you can keep that energy up at the front rather  than sending it to the floor-i.e forehand.

If your horse starts to drop his head, don’t be pulled forward with him, stay straight and stable letting him explore the position. If you are stable enough to be there to support him when he get’s there he’ll find the right spot eventually. If you go with him and therefore drop him you’re back on the forehand. 

Energy up from behind and forward through his ears!

Yep I’m still talking in mythic riddles i know! 

Honestly, it is kind of hard to explain as I think you need to be able to feel it so here’s my tips.

• Good Alignment-Stack your Shoulder, Hip and Ankle Bone in a line.
• As you work around the arena imagine lifting your horses bum with your bum, like theres a sucker on it. Lift it up!
• Then send that energy through your middle into your hands-which is why they need to be up and in front of you, not down by his withers. Send that energy forward!
• Keep breathing throughout, this both stabilises you and stops you becoming tense.

The thing with this sort of stuff is it does work -I promise! However you have to have the body control and stability to be able to hold it, if you don’t have the seat or shoulder stability to hold your position it’s going to be much harder.

If that’s what you’re struggling with that’s where you’ll need to start. 

Work on stabilising your seat -Glutes, Hips, Legs and Core alongside your Back and Shoulders.

This is what we work on in my 121 Training, my classes and Online Programme, so if you want some help I’m sure I’ve got an option to suit you.

Often I hear riders say they can’t exercise off horse because they can’t perform the movements; they can’t squat, lunge etc pain free so they avoid it.

The thing is, rider or not you should be able to perform basic movement patterns pain free. They are the foundations of your everyday movement and a key component of being able to keep moving and of course riding well into old age.

Your bodies ability to move through different planes of motion also helps to prevent injuries.

So, it’s vital you work towards performing some basic movement patterns for:

• Ease of everyday movements from yard work, to house work, picking up small children etc.
• Management or prevention of pain.
• Longevity of movement.
• Injury prevention

That’s a few good reasons and we haven’t even got to how it will improve your riding.

If a body moves well off horse it is more likely to be in control and absorb force on horse. As well as the aforementioned injury prevention. If riding has created pain issues in your back, knees etc I know already that not riding is not an option so instead of suffering why not do something to help the problem.

I know if this is resonating with you you’re already saying “that’s a great idea but how can I do the off horse exercises if they are painful.”

Say, you can’t Squat, you can try breaking the movement down. Really focus on your positioning of feet and knees then make it a half squat. Or I like to try Bench Squats -sitting on a bench and standing up from there-it’s basically biomechanically correct getting up off the sofa! Or I do Gym Ball or Trx Squats to help you take some weight/pressure away from the knees and encourage you to use your Glutes more.

There’s more options than that if neither of those work for you, I break movement patterns down in various ways in order to bring back movement patterns. The same system can be used for a Lunge, Hip Hinge or Shoulder Activation.

If this is something you want to tackle this year to improve both your overall life performance as well as your riding performance my tips are:

• Break the movement down-make it smaller or adapt it.
• Strengthen the surrounding muscle groups of painful areas
• Don’t give up!

If you’re struggling with movement and pain issues working with a professional can really help you get a strategy to overcome it-points at self as a large hint……..

Often when people do tricky exercises they stop breathing.

Ever wonder why so many horses get tense between the white boards that were fine in the warm up? 

How many riders say they don’t breathe during their dressage test? 

Perhaps there’s a link there!

If you’re not breathing your tense within your body. 

Tensing muscles really tight isn’t what you’re after. Tension isn’t stability. Stability is relaxed muscular integrity. That is muscles that are still soft, able to move and absorb movement whist still remaining in control.

In order to ride stable without tension you need to be able to breathe whilst activating the muscles required to create that stability.

So if you’re struggling with it on horse try mastering it off horse. 

Whenever you’re exercising focus on form with breathing-can you execute your Pilates or Yoga moves well whilst breathing softly? 

Can you time a core activation with an out breath during a heavy lift?

Perhaps you have to really concentrate at first but the more you practice the more second nature it becomes. 

Then you can transfer that to on horse exercises. 

Make an out breath every time you make a transition……..then do a schooling session involving lots of transitions.

It will soon become second nature to breathe whilst you ride!

There’s a nerve in your body that is linked to almost every part of you-the vagus nerve! It’s the longest Cranial Nerve starting from the base of your brain travelling through the throat, ears, face right through your all of your organs -think heart, lungs, stomach etc. 

This means it has a huge impact on so many functions of your body. 

One of the most important things I think for Equestrians is Gut Instinct. As mentioned above, the nervous system really is connected to your gut. It’s why you can feel sick with nerves.

With Horses as we can’t directly speak to them our Gut Instinct can tell us so much about what is the right answer for our horse. We just have to learn to listen. Check out Dr Susan Fay if you want to learn more about that.

In relation to your own performance as the Vagus nerve affects so much of your body it can have a huge impact.

As the Vagus Nerve is part of your Stress Response learning to manage it can be crucial in your life with horses. Horses aren’t stressful are they??

This time of year can be stressful too. You may have so many other things on you try and rush through your horse stuff too. Then they don’t go to plan because your horse picks up on this and it escalates.

This is when the Vagus Nerve is on high alert and we’re in flight mode. Our horse senses this and more than likely decides he should be in flight mode too. You’re stressed, he’s stressed…….

Sound familiar?

Just breathe.

Sounds simple but being able to focus on your breath, to tune out the busyness of your brain and be fully present with your horse can change your interactions as well as your training sessions. So often we can be creating tension in ourselves and our horse just because we aren’t breathing. Make this your first step. 

As the Vagus Nerve is connected to your ears, listening to soothing music or something like ASMR can lower your stress levels transferring that soothing effect through your ears to your whole body. This is why I like to listen to music when I’m with my horses, if I’m relaxed my ponies are more likely to be relaxed.

Movement can lower your stress levels. That’s why often we find a focused schooling session can make you feel on top of the world, but if your brain isn’t there other forms of movement can help you. A walk somewhere quiet, yoga or whatever helps you zone out can help you calm your Vagus Nerve and take you out of fight or flight mode. 

The more we can be aware of how our bodies are responding to their environments and how this effects our performance and our horse the more we can focus on improving that and  improving the partnership with our horse.

I have a feeling this is going to be something I’ll be focusing on in 2022.

One of the key things in riding is coordination and quick reactions. 

The whole inside leg, outside rein, steer, change gait all whilst being on top of an animal with a mind of it’s own and your body’s reaction to all of that; it’s a lot huh!

Your reaction time isn’t just relevant for the oh sh!t moment’s, it’s the whole ride with your body adjusting and adapting to the horse underneath you. A quick reacting rider can prevent a horse falling in or out, they can react to an unbalanced horse and help him out or deal with any change in tempo.

One thing that is super interesting about children that do lots of different sporting activities whilst they are young, is that as adults they find it easier to pick up new sporting activities even if they’ve never done them before. So those kids that did football, hockey, tennis, skied etc. then go to the gym as adults and take up something technical like Olympic lifting and they are more likely to pick it up quicker than someone who only did one sport.

This is because the nervous system is primed to respond to lot’s of different patterns, not just one pattern of movement.

Which tells us that in order to improve our coordination on horse we do not necessarily need to make it riding specific. 

So, just have fun with it!

If you want to start adapting to movement underneath you, sitting on a gym ball is a good place to start. You can just sit with feet on the floor then once you’ve got that you can try lifting your feet. 

If you want to try improving your coordination, you can start simply with throwing and catching a ball-you could do that on the gym ball if you fancy a bit more of a challenge.

You could try a funky shaped reaction ball, that when you bounce it fires off in a random direction.

You could also do exactly what the kids do. Try a different sport! Kick a Football, try a dance class whatever you like. 

In order to be a better Equestrian Athlete you need to be a better all round Athlete.

PS. Keep an eye out for an exciting upcoming partnership with Stephanie Dootson Veterinary Physiotherapy starting out with an Advent Challenge designed to improve both you and your horses performance across 24 days with help and support along the way.