have you ever been to close your eyes on a horse

RayRay

Active Member
Jan 8, 2017
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so I had a lerson at riding school near to where i live now(kind of near) and the insuctor told me to close my eyes to feel what the house was doing and then again to feel what i was doing. i did it but it was little bit nerve racking haha.

have you ever been told to do this
 
Lol - we get to close our eyes while leg yielding alternately left and right to weave through a line of cones - most people end up a looooong way off the line!!

It is a great exercise to get you to learn how much to shift your weight while leg yielding and also how one sided your horse is.
 
Yes. I've done it. My instructor made me do it to "feel" if I was on the correct diagonal. (I used to take sneaky peaks down at the outside shoulder, I couldn't always tell on the school horses!). People mention jumping blindfolded or with eyes closed. I don't fancy that at all. It's human nature to want to see what's going on all around you.
You should be fine in a safe environment with a teacher on hand. Feels a bit weird if you aren't used to it, but it can help you feel the various parts of your horse moving under you.
 
Well, I live in Hampshire, and I'm pretty sure if I closed my eyes on Hogan, when I opened them I'd be in Surrey or a ditch. Tried it on Ramsey on a hack once and ended up in some bushes. In the school however, I did feel the benefit. I realised that I could sense the diagonal, and could also sense when he was tensing at a scary fence post. I think it made me realise I could feel more than I realised.
 
Yes, lots!

I really like using it down the centre line to assess if I'm straight as a rider.
 
I find it necessary to close my eyes when my gut feeling tells me I’m about to get into a situation I know could possibly end badly.
They say that what you can’t see doesn’t hurt (not true by the way)
 

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In the school yes, a lot, to try to improve feel. Out on a hack, once or twice, mostly to try to determine whether something was up like unlevelness or resistance against the bit. Not often out hacking: Ziggy was a whizzy pony and I didn't feel entirely safe with my eyes shut!
 
so I had a lerson at riding school near to where i live now(kind of near) and the insuctor told me to close my eyes to feel what the house was doing and then again to feel what i was doing. i did it but it was little bit nerve racking haha.

have you ever been told to do this
I’ve been told to do it in lessons, not for a long time though. I’ve also gone hacking for short stretches head down beside her neck, glasses off, eyes shut to protect me from brambles and low branches. She had her head down too. We know each other inside out but it’s still unnerving.
 
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