On Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:49:30 -0700 (PDT), betsey <twoxo... at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:

OK, I'm at a loss...what's a GIGO?

Garbage in, garbage out.

hunter

Every other time I let it go, John.

OK, I'm at a loss...what's a GIGO?

'To ride a transition to canter get an active walk or trot that feels
ready for a canter, slide your inside seatbone forward and allow the
canter.'

Catja

I doubt if Mark Rashid will ever come to DK and if he ever did, then it
would be to the Copenhagen area, not here in the under populated western
area of Jutland! So I'll have to make do with his book.

Liz (who has been lurking for ages, trying to get over the loss of a beloved
horse in April this year. Time helps heal..... etc. etc.)

You connect, and you become one.

So, some of the basic things that lingered in my mind...

The past is in the past - leave it there and go forward with what you
have now.

Focus on what you want rather than trying to fix what's wrong. Giving
power to the thing that you don't want just keeps it coming back.

Don't wait for the horse to do something wrong and then correct it -
catch the thought and re-direct it.

Softness and lightness are two different things.

Release when the horse softens his mind, rather than when he softens
physically/mechanically.

Meet the brace with softness, and he cannot brace. If he is bracing,
you are bracing.

Redirect rather than resist.

How you breathe, when you breathe, how you coordinate your breath with
your riding.

Coordinating change of direction with footfalls - ask as the foot
leaves the ground, not when it is planted.

Redirect the feet rather than the shoulder when the horse "falls in."

Changing gaits involves a change in rhythm, not in speed or tempo. To
do a transition, put the change in rhythm into your body, add an aid
as backup if needed.

Create the connection, embody the feeling of what you want, and go
together.

I haven't done him justice, but I'm sure Mark would be pleased with
the try. :)

I'm a lawyer by profession, but I've learned a boatload of physics,
chemistry, biology, etc. over the years. The main thing I've learned
is GIGO.



OK, I'm at a loss...what's a GIGO?

You connect, and you become one.

So, some of the basic things that lingered in my mind...

The past is in the past - leave it there and go forward with what you
have now.

Focus on what you want rather than trying to fix what's wrong. Giving
power to the thing that you don't want just keeps it coming back.

Don't wait for the horse to do something wrong and then correct it -
catch the thought and re-direct it.

Softness and lightness are two different things.

Release when the horse softens his mind, rather than when he softens
physically/mechanically.

Meet the brace with softness, and he cannot brace. If he is bracing,
you are bracing.

Redirect rather than resist.

How you breathe, when you breathe, how you coordinate your breath with
your riding.

Coordinating change of direction with footfalls - ask as the foot
leaves the ground, not when it is planted.

Redirect the feet rather than the shoulder when the horse "falls in."

Changing gaits involves a change in rhythm, not in speed or tempo. To
do a transition, put the change in rhythm into your body, add an aid
as backup if needed.

Create the connection, embody the feeling of what you want, and go
together.

I haven't done him justice, but I'm sure Mark would be pleased with
the try. :)

You see, that is actually something I am very much *not* in favour of
and which I cannot admire. Just because you can do it does not mean you
should. A horse needs to be prepared to do upper level movements
correctly - and to do them incorrectly makes no sense at all.

My take on clinicians who ride is that unless the horse is particularly
puzzling, or unless the clinician is looking for a breakthrough with a
new movement, it's usually nothing other than a show of how great the
clinician is. Which is very boring to watch, and rather pointless - if I
didn't think that the instructor was a better rider than me, I wouldn't
be taking lessons from them - I *expect* that the horse will go better
under them.

Catja Pafort wrote:
Ocean of Nuance <lizRMOVzardwo... at (no spam) nc.rr.com> wrote:

(snip)

Equally, Mary Wanless sounds completely bonkers to me - 'make sure that
your flashlights are pointing downwards' - but it works for many riders
and that's what counts.

I've heard Mary Wanless speak, and briefly talked to her. Beyond the
seemingly insane imagery is very sound knowledge. I just wanted a
dictionary.

Wanless explains clearly how upper level riders get there in my opinion
and not just what they are doing.

Would pay whatever she charges to work with her.

Nancy DeMarco wrote:
Ocean of Nuance <lizRMOVzardwo... at (no spam) nc.rr.com> wrote:

I might clinic with someone who doesn't get on but they would have to be
special. Even deKunffy used to get on horses in clinics at an advanced
age. That's where the bar is set.

Why? Who cares if he can get great things from your horse? Doesn't
it make more sense to work with someone who can get great things from
you?

That's why I'm going. :)

Because a key way I have learned is to have my instructor (or clinician)
create the right feeling so I know what I am aiming for.

Learning to ride in the lower levels is learning how to gain the
pyramidal elements before the ride is over. If folks have never
learned what a warmed up horse feels like and the clinician gets it in
less than 10 minutes, that leaves more time to learn how the horse
should feel and how to get it them self after knowing what to shoot for.

It is arguable that one reason why folks don't advance faster or further
is that they have never felt what is right or have never ridden an upper
level school master.

Ocean of Nuance <lizRMOVzardwoman at (no spam) nc.rr.com> wrote:

Equally, Mary Wanless sounds completely bonkers to me - 'make sure that
your flashlights are pointing downwards' - but it works for many riders
and that's what counts.

I've heard Mary Wanless speak, and briefly talked to her. Beyond the
seemingly insane imagery is very sound knowledge. I just wanted a
dictionary.