do you ever sit still and shut your eyes ...

[laura]

.... it's amazing how much more you feel even at halt

anyone else ever do this on their horse ?

Sometimes when Taz has escaped into the barn and is stood munching from the stack of hay I "hop" ( or sometimes scramble if like today I got on the "wrong" side) on bareback and just sit.

It reminds me of the first time I ever sat on a horse aged about 5 when the farmer left me sitting on his rather large horse ( taller than the cows) in the byre with all the animals munching hay and gently steaming ...... wonderful memory.


But when I do it now I somtimes shut my eyes and just relax ...... feeling the muscles move even from just her munching the hay and moving her head slightly.

I sometimes look to see if I have got it right as to whether she has moved her head to look right or left .... whether she has her head up or down ..... and can feel when she takes another mouthful of hay.

It makes me aware of even how such small movements move me and how I use my muscles to balance . I then play around with posture and relative engaging different muscles to see what effects it has even when Taz is just stood still.

I even got to thinking today that in some ways it might even be more beneficial that walking ...... because when walking we can anticipate the moves and the impetus creates rythym .... when the movement ( even tiny bits) are erratic then we have to react much more with feel ?


Does this make sense to anyone ... or am I just wittering

[mags]

I fall off if I shut my eyes lol. No balance

[Trouble]

I have, yes, though not at the moment the way Snip is behaving! But yeah I often do....and have had lessons where over half of it the instructor makes me shut my eyes.

[wabuska]

I often close my eyes on hacks. Generally on the way home on a very quiet track. I don't even know why, but it's so relaxing.

[jennyb]

Yes, I shut my eyes in walk lots, really helps with feel and balance I find

[laura]

I have, yes, though not at the moment the way Snip is behaving!

yes you do kinda have to believe that unless ww3 erputs ned will stay reasonably steady ... given Taz's love of food think I am rather safe there ) Mind you a few years ago , or when she was having her ovary problems, I would not have considered it !

( and of course would not advise anyone else do do it completely on their own, no hat, no bridle etc in a barn like I did ) ..... young people especially take note this is not a brill idea unless someone else holding on to horse

[wozzer]

Makes perfect sense to me, thought everyone did it, Laura.

Here we are doing dressage with our eyes shut PMSL

(sorry - couldn't resist!!)

[laura]

wow wozzer I bow down before an expert ;D ;D ;D

[graymare]

yes, helps to feel her movement, how I'm sitting -weighted left or right etc etc.

Also highlights how awful my balance !

[pinkpony]

lol! I love to ride with shut eyes, but there was this one time when we rode under a tree.....

[laura]

I love to ride with shut eyes, but there was this one time when we rode under a tree.....

PMSLMAO

well at least there is not the risk of that sitting in the barn ;D

[pinkpony]

Well it was bound to happen, we were out hacking through the woods at the time, what did I expect? lol..

[laura]

mmmmmmmmmmm well as long as you risk assessed it and accepted the risk percentage ;D ;D ;D .......

[pinkpony]

I did just that! same as I risk assessed riding out in the woods with stirrups that were far to long (I couldnt alter them, they were weird ones) in a saddle I had not had much eperience with (a very nice treeless) then down a very very steep bank (not my idea) and fell off in a bramble patch, right on my arse! OW!! And I was digusted with my self for that one,esp as I was wearing my IH huddy, thank god no one saw me, they wouldnt think I was very *intelligent* for doing that eh?

[laura]

;D we all have our less "intelligent " days