Upper body

[Miriam]

Has anyone got any ideas how I can relax my upper body whilst riding?

[Bay Mare]

A swift whisky or two before you start out :D

[Miriam]

Can only hit the hard stuff called water at the moment :mad:

[galadriel]

Open your shoulders. Breathe :) Lift your chest. Breathe.

[Grace O'Malley]

It's hard to stay lifted and relaxed at the same time. The shoulders and arms get tense, and it becomes a real conscious effort to allow the arms to follow the natural motion of the horse's head. I'm trying to:
1) work on that core strength, so lifting comes from the abdomen and back, and the shoulders can stay out of it.
2) deep breathing. Inhale all the way into the abdomen, exhale a full four counts.
Yesterday I was even closing my eyes for brief periods as we walked down the road (very quiet road, a horse I really trust, and instructor ahead of me!) and just tried to zen out and become one with his movement.

We'll see ;)

Hope this helps

Grace

[Miriam]

Closing my eyes on a hack anywhere is a real no go as the least little thing can make Rhi jump :( She's not a total wimp but she does have her moments and you have to always be one step ahead of her .

[Dales_Lover]

Breathe.

Wiggle your arms from your shoulders down.

Play heads, shoulders, knees and toes.

Relax.

[clipclop]

I really think the shoulders are the secret to a relaxed upper body. Try really tensing your shoulders up towards your neck and then relaxing them.

Remember how relaxed the shoulders are after you have tensed then and try to keep that relaxed feeling in your shoulders.

Remember also however not to slouch. It will help if you can also remember to keep your elbows at the side of your body.

Some riders ride like apes with their elbows sticking out like ape arms.

[Miriam]

Ooooops :o Sorry should have made this a bit clearer its for when I'm in canter. The others I will put into practice when I'm in walk so that I can try and keep it in canter. But I would like something that I can do in canter

[Lenvale]

Message deleted

[Miriam]

Its worth a try

[makebelieve]

Originally posted by Bay Mare
A swift whisky or two before you start out :D ...Drunk driving :p.

Could you try doing small exercises before you get on your horse?

[Grace O'Malley]

Originally posted by Miriam
Closing my eyes on a hack anywhere is a real no go as the least little thing can make Rhi jump :( She's not a total wimp but she does have her moments and you have to always be one step ahead of her .

I know, it's always best to expect the unexpected, and the eye closing isn't something I'd try with most horses expect possibly on a lead line. Mr. M is an amazing creature. Barking dogs, flapping geese, every kind of construction equipment, kids running, even a bobcat on the trail... The most reaction he's ever shown was when someone on a house construction we were passing dropped something heavy with a loud crash. *I* jumped; he picked his head up and looked around, but didn't alter his pace at all. Once I shouted at a dog that was chasing us, and my shouting upset him (evidently he thought it was directed at him) :( I felt terrible. I wish he was mine. I wish he was a stallion so we could breed many more like him.

Sorry to ramble. And sorry that I have no great suggestions for relaxing arms and shoulders at the canter--just sympathy :) Practice, I think, is probably the only way to increase the comfort level, and hence relaxation. I haven't been cantering much lately, just up the odd hill in a half seat. I do have to conciously remember to keep my hands forward and not interfere.

Good luck!

Grace

[Esther.D]

Open your shoulders

I find the easiest way to do this is to ride with one hand and have the other hanging straight down by your side. It is almost impossible to tense into the fetal position if you are doing that - I did this at the weekend with Rupert and it made me much more relaxed and stable even when he bucked :rolleyes: I just moved with it and felt so much more balanced. However we are in the middle of nowhere, 3 miles off road...it may not be so suitable in the middle of the town! ;) Worth trying in the paddock though - it took determination but if you can keep those reins loose and only one hand on them it really stops you clinging and curling up - I was sick of tensing up into a ball and decided to be hard on myself and insist that I rode the whole way like this:

[Miriam]

Scary though Esther but thanks will try and give it a go (blubbing at the mere thought ):eek:

[OlavS]

I often ride with only one hand on the reins then out hacking (only at walk ;) ) To me it's just an easier way of relaxing instead of letting the reins go loose and turn into a sack of spuds.

As for relaxing when cantering, there's nothing like dropping the stirrups (only in the school though). I find the more I relaxed the better balance I get, and the more secure seat and feel I get. The leg aids become much finer with more response, making me relaxe more etc. I try to turn it into a positive spiral, and any tension and unbalance is ironed out through fine tuning the balance and position as the tension goes. :)

[Jenks]

My instructor had me post a trot with one hand on the reins and the inside arm straight out beside me with eyes closed before I could canter. It certainly helped me relax for the canter. If I could do that, I could anything! I'm just getting into cantering, but had to share the closed eyes one handed thing. ;0)