That's very different from people who spend most of the time they are on a horse sat in an unbalanced way with no core strength and taking no responsibility for their posture or balance - I object to calling people like that riders, they're just a burden to the horse. I appreciate we've all gone through it as beginners, but there's no excuse for people who've been riding for years. Regardless of level or discipline riders owe it to the horse to ride as well as they can, that's why I won't subject my cob to lazy unbalanced riders.
She means me of course. Ha ha as Ale would say.
I think it very unfortunate that carthorse's authoritative position on so many issues has deterred some knowledgeable previous NR members from using this Forum and may deter less able people and older people from starting to ride.
One trainer who described to me in detail her competition horse's ability to adjust was a show jumper Kathleen who suffered a stroke disabling her left side.
A combination of the horse adjusting and an unbalanced person making adjustments enable many of us to go on riding.
Indeed I would forecast that by the time carthorse is 80 years old even she wil need to adjust. Very few people reach 75 without damage through wear and tear (degeneration) to their lower spine or hips.
We adjust the left to right imbalance largely by using our head position as counter balance. A human head and the horse head weigh a significant amount. That is why a crooked person like me can still ride and trot bareback.
But we cannot make ourselves not crooked. We cannot adjust or equalise the angle at which a damaged hip may open -
If our left leg doesnt work it becomes lighter than the right leg (due to muscle wastage) we can use a stick (as in side saddle).
I ride largrely through feel. Something I learned on the lunge week after week. Even my new share has already (mysteriously) learned that if I relax my fingers and open my thighs, it is a signal we shall trot. Recently she cantered just on my saying the word.
I cannot claim that I never use leg to ride. We need to twist in and out of trees with overhanging branches and the four legs of the horse at that point may not be on a straight line, we need to ride the whole length of the horse. A French male RI told me never to duck (except on a very narrow track) but always to steer the horse - this makes for safer hacking as the horse is listening to the rider and you are in meticulous control of the placing of the feet, something learned in endless hours of pole work in walk.
What I am saying is that thanks to NR I learned to ride - and I am still riding 15 years later and still delighted. It would be nice if during the next year some one else past retirement age came to NR and was encouraged to ride without being told that the condition of their spine or hips rules it out.
An old person may need to find the shape and height of horse that suits their own body shape. For instance I know I could never ride Mary P's Ben. But no person on NR who ever invited me to visit or ride their horse ever complained. Two RIs actually had me ride their own personnal horses and I shared one of them.
Carthorse may not like a sack of potatos rider like me but on Horse and Hound forum we are in good company, and much loved by the horses we ride.