– I’m going to be blunt about sports bras- not trying to offend anyone, (or exclude either of my male readers.) If you work with horses, or dogs for that matter, you should probably be wearing one. The good news is that they have improved!

Back in the dark ages women were not expected to do anything un-ladylike enough to worry their underwear. Still, they were laced up tight, and elastic hadn’t been invented yet, so I am guessing they were shallow breathers. Early feminists threw away their corsets for a more full lung approach to the world, but I’m not sure how many of them were riders.

Some of us do ride and we can become distracted by a certain contrary wave motion happening in our front torsos. It’s hard to focus on rhythm, and seeking that horse/rider oneness, while some part of your anatomy is jumping up and down, and name-calling in a heckling sort of way.
It was always a challenge, but once I came to dressage, home of the sitting trot, I clearly needed a better solution. Department stores were useless, so I scoured tack catalogs, took my best guess, and placed the order.

That sports bra arrived with not one bit of elastic anywhere. I mounted up and went for a trot. The good news is that there was a graveyard-like stillness on my front torso. The bad news is that nothing else moved either, especially my lungs. Its truss effect also managed to round my shoulders, so now I was riding hunched and clamped and flattened and deflated. But at least the bra was expensive. I went back to buying a size smaller and layering.

That was then, this is now. When I was preparing to start riding my young mare I thought I might buy her a starting present, but I got myself one instead.

I had been getting catalogs from Title Nine and there were pages and pages of sport bras, labeled in ways that were more amusing than offensive. Strength of support is categorized by a barbell symbol. Three barbells should be good for riding. And there is a local store. (Unsolicited opinion, Title Nine does not sponsor me.)

Ever had a ‘fitting’ like this? I am not the sort to volunteer, but someone had to know more than I did. I left my ego at the door and when the clerk said to throw my hands up over my head, I did it with abandon. Not too mono-bosom, not too elastic- I could breathe and move my shoulders. They are less expensive then tack catalog options and returnable forever.

I remember when I finally got a new horse trailer. I left the old trailer with the dealer and flew down the road, checking the rear view in happy disbelief. Trailer technology had really improved in 34 years. My old trailer was like dragging a box of rocks.

I guess this new sport bra experience was kind of like that. Two months later, I am on the brink of zealous. So nice to focus on my horse’s movement, stay cool and breathe, simultaneously!

At the risk of too much information, (but why stop now?), I come from a long line of German women who use bras like pockets. It was common to see women pull hankies, cash, keys- you name it- out of their underwear. It’s a good tradition. Frequently I ride alone and I like to keep my phone handy for safety. These new age sports bras can pack along a smart phone. At the trot. Impressive, isn’t it?

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

– What if an arena ride had the effect of a massage for a horse? Wouldn’t the rider feel great too? That was last week’s post and this week, I’ll share a recipe for that good ride.

Phase 1: Walk on the buckle 10 minutes, no contact, allowing the horse to look around and warm up the joints. No dawdling, this is a forward, swinging walk.

Phase 2: 10 minutes of stretching at the trot and canter, working 20 meter circles, with steady rhythm in transitions. Stay safe, but resist contact a while longer. Every snort or blow gets praise.

Phase 3: Take a walk break again, about 5 minutes, on a long rein. Remember release=reward.

Phase 4: The working phase is about 20 minutes. School at the level of your horse: Slowly pick up contact and start with transitions between gaits. Don’t over drill, give lots of walk breaks so the horse can relax and think about what he is learning.

Phase 5: Cool down and stretch from a light posting trot down to a walk on the buckle- 10 minutes or so.

It’s a simple recipe. I don’t think it has any ingredients that you wouldn’t already have in your cooking repertory. Actually, I borrowed the recipe from Dr. Reiner Klimke- it was his method for riding horses of any age or level. Then I added some spices of my own.

But that’s the point, most riding sounds simple. But simple is not the same thing as easy, and sometimes following the steps doesn’t get the same result for every cook using the same recipe.
“Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements.” -Chef Marcel Boulestin. (Just like riding.)

With that in mind-I will give you a few cooking tips for your ride.

First, remember you LOVE to cook. (Okay, this is all analogy, I hate to cook, but I do love to ride.) Attitude is everything for a successful ride, give positive cues and focus on the good parts. If you get into a routine of constantly correcting- that’s nagging, and you’ll be a giant, but dull pain on our horse’s back. So cook/ride with patience and love, nurture your horse and ride with a happy seat.

Use your timer, don’t guess when it’s done- in the oven or in the barn. Barn time is an altered state. Usually we lose time; we blink and hours have passed. Or we go too fast, meaning we rush ahead before our horse is fully warmed up. Go slow, literally look at a watch- 10 minutes is way longer than you think. If you ride to music, you can count songs, but discipline slowness. Let your horse tell you when he is ready.

Be creative. You might need to change things up. I am riding a young horse right now; she is energetic and can lose confidence on a long rein. So I negotiate with her, sometimes I need to cut the work into small bite-sized pieces so my horse can chew them thoroughly.

If it doesn’t turn out, try again. If your horse needs to be bullied into work, its time to reevaluate. Make sure he is sound, and then try a different approach. Resistance only trains resistance.

No substitutions. Forward is the answer. Balance, rhythm, and ultimately obedience, all come from fluid, forward movement.

You are what you eat. Fast food can be fun, but a gourmet meal is art that lifts the horse/rider senses and nourishes the soul. Ride deliciously.

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

– Horses have been a key part of our culture ever since they civilized us centuries ago- in everything from transportation to agriculture to art.

Why do horses do it? Why do they volunteer to be with us? What is in it for them?
This is what I know about horses: They live in the moment, and don’t ponder history, or care much for psycho-babble. They certainly don’t wax philosophical. They like to leave that for us big brains who think too much, but frequently miss the obvious.

The obvious is what we experience watching a horse at liberty. Young horses live in the now, almost exploding with joie de vivre, a carefree celebration of being alive. But I see it in my decrepit grandfather horse as well. His nose sniffs the air, and his improbable legs pound the earth as he gallops off, flashing his tail. Even now, he feels a shadow of his prime, the strength and power that his muscles once held. It might be what humans envy most- that glory that a horse feels in his own body.

And that free feeling is what we strive to feel in the saddle. Horses will perform through intimidation, and sadly there are no shortage of riders who bully their horses into submission, but the joie de vivre is sacrificed.

I know I use this quote way too often: “For what the horse does under compulsion… is done without understanding; and there is no beauty in it either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer.” Xenophon, 430 BC.

What if an arena ride had the effect of a massage for a horse? Wouldn’t the rider feel great too? That was last week’s post and this week, I’ll share a recipe for that good ride.
Phase 1: Walk on the buckle 10 minutes, no contact, allowing the horse to look around and warm up the joints. No dawdling, this is a forward, swinging walk.

Phase 2: 10 minutes of stretching at the trot and canter, working 20 meter circles, with steady rhythm in transitions. Stay safe, but resist contact a while longer. Every snort or blow gets praise.
Phase 3: Take a walk break again, about 5 minutes, on a long rein. Remember release=reward.
Phase 4: The working phase is about 20 minutes. School at the level of your horse: Slowly pick up contact and start with transitions between gaits. Don’t over drill, give lots of walk breaks so the horse can relax and think about what he is learning.

Phase 5: Cool down and stretch from a light posting trot down to a walk on the buckle- 10 minutes or so.

It’s a simple recipe. I don’t think it has any ingredients that you wouldn’t already have in your cooking repertory. Actually, I borrowed the recipe from Dr. Reiner Klimke- it was his method for riding horses of any age or level. Then I added some spices of my own.

But that’s the point, most riding sounds simple. But simple is not the same thing as easy, and sometimes following the steps doesn’t get the same result for every cook using the same recipe.
“Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements.” -Chef Marcel Boulestin. (Just like riding.)

With that in mind-I will give you a few cooking tips for your ride.

First, remember you LOVE to cook. (Okay, this is all analogy, I hate to cook, but I do love to ride.) Attitude is everything for a successful ride, give positive cues and focus on the good parts. If you get into a routine of constantly correcting- that’s nagging, and you’ll be a giant, but dull pain on our horse’s back. So cook/ride with patience and love, nurture your horse and ride with a happy seat.

Use your timer, don’t guess when it’s done- in the oven or in the barn. Barn time is an altered state. Usually we lose time; we blink and hours have passed. Or we go too fast, meaning we rush ahead before our horse is fully warmed up. Go slow, literally look at a watch- 10 minutes is way longer than you think. If you ride to music, you can count songs, but discipline slowness. Let your horse tell you when he is ready.

Be creative. You might need to change things up. I am riding a young horse right now; she is energetic and can lose confidence on a long rein. So I negotiate with her, sometimes I need to cut the work into small bite-sized pieces so my horse can chew them thoroughly.

If it doesn’t turn out, try again. If your horse needs to be bullied into work, its time to reevaluate. Make sure he is sound, and then try a different approach. Resistance only trains resistance.
No substitutions. Forward is the answer. Balance, rhythm, and ultimately obedience, all come from fluid, forward movement.

You are what you eat. Fast food can be fun, but a gourmet meal is art that lifts the horse/rider senses and nourishes the soul. Ride deliciously.

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

– One of the first things to know about horses is that they are prey animals. Simply put, that means that other animals eat them, and their natural instinct and only defence is to flee. Prey animals usually have wide set eyes as an early defence system.

Humans are predators, like mountain lions and wolves. Our eyes are set close and we usually eat meat and wear animal skin.

Prey animals tend to have especially sharp senses. Horses are very far-sighted, with a great senses of smell and hearing. Humans are the equivalent of blind, hairless mice in comparison.
Instead, humans were gifted with a sixth sense of existential awareness. In other words, we can think. I’m not sure it was a good trade. Self-awareness can be very positive, but it also runs wild with ego and self-importance.

To say equines and humans don’t think alike is an understatement. Still, science continues to prove that other species aren’t as limited as we originally thought. The circle of life is more multi-dimensional and interdependent than that. We are arrogant (part of our gift) to think that humans are the pinnacle of evolution.

Sometimes the line between predator and prey gets a bit blurred: mice get eaten by cats, who get eaten by coyotes. Beyond that, we each choose to identify differently.

Mahatma Gandhi is respected for his choice to live as prey (non-violent disobedience) rather than a predator. He said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”

Humans may be born predators, but some become prey soon after. Lots of us came to horses because of rough handling as children. We learned firsthand that violent dominance can’t build trust, and we escaped to the barn. Horses were a safe haven where we spoke the language we didn’t hear in our homes.

Donkeys seem to blur that same line differently. They are prey animals like horses, but so brave. They protect property, defend their friends, and historically miners and trappers credited their donkeys for their very survival.

This week’s photo is of Wyatt, a client’s rescue donkey. He didn’t get his scars saving anyone. Wyatt was used in donkey roping. Predators riding horses use electric prods to make the donkeys run and then chase them with ropes. Wyatt has visible scars all over his face and neck, his hind is damaged, and one of his fine long ears has been crushed permanently. He survived, and so does the memory.

But those experiences don’t define him as prey. Wyatt is cautious, but he has the courage to reach out to humans again. His quiet wisdom says that life goes on. Eating lunch with a friend in the sun is good enough.

When I work with animals like Wyatt, I want to apologize for being born a predator. Between compassion and cruelty, it can be hard to tell who is doing the healing, and who is more evolved. With our gift of awareness, we also get to feel shame.

It’s hard to want to identify with a predatory species like humans, in the light of the recent news. Last week there was a horrific shooting spree here in Colorado, leaving too many innocents dead and many more wounded.

As humans continue to converse about assault rifles, Wyatt wants the survivors and mourners to know there is a good life to be had beyond this fresh wound. Scars will remain, but our identity does not need to be altered by the acts of predators.

My heart goes out to those suffering loss from human cruelty here in Colorado and around the world. I wish them the comfort in their sadness and in due time, the courage to rebuild their hearts and lives.

Compassion is a trait not limited to humans. Our domestic animals are most certainly aware when a family member is in pain and many are working overtime just now. With the help of a soft dog nuzzle or the warm breath of a horse, a human can take a moment to breathe. There is a reason animal therapy is so successful.

This weekend at Infinity Farm, we are having a clinic working on fine tuning positive communication skills into kind leadership that doesn’t involve intimidation. The clinic benefits Ruby Ranch Horse Rescue and the goal of evolving past the limiting labels of predator and prey, to a more evolved horse/human partnership.

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

- A “change of rein” is a change in the direction of travel in an arena. For instance, if you are travelling clockwise in the arena, you must make a change of rein to end up travelling counter clockwise. A “change of diagonal” is a rider’s change from posting on one diagonal—that is, rising at the trot when the horse’s outside foreleg swings forward and sitting when the outside forefoot hits the ground—to posting on the opposite diagonal when travelling the other direction. Regarding the change of diagonal for hunter-seat equitation riders, if you go to http://www.newrider.com/Library/Riding_Tips/changerein.html, you’ll find some numbered diagrams that will help you understand the following explanation:

Fig.1 — Across the Long Diagonal -– If you are already posting the trot and the change of rein calls for a posting trot with a lengthening of stride, you don’t change the diagonal in the center of the ring (which would be X in a dressage arena), but should wait until you reach the end of the line and change diagonals just before you bend the horse in the new direction (Note: The rider of the black horse would change diagonals at M, while the rider of the brown horse, travelling the other direction, would change diagonals at K). If, however, the test does not call for a lengthening of stride, but simply asks you to change rein across the diagonal, then you can change your diagonal at X or can wait until the end of the line and change your diagonal just before you bend the horse. Changing the diagonal at X is considered the more elementary of the two choices, allowing the rider to change diagonals, then change the bend; whereas changing at the end of the line combines getting a new diagonal and changing the bend at the same time.

Fig. 3 — A Half-Turn and a Half-Turn in Reverse — The top diagram shows a half turn, which is a half-circle, then a return to the track on a diagonal line. In this case, the rider stays on the same diagonal throughout the half-circle and the diagonal line, then changes diagonals as he bends the horse back onto the track on the long side of the arena. In the bottom diagram, the horse is performing a half turn in reverse, in which it leaves the track on a diagonal line, then performs a half-circle to return to the track. In this case, the rider stays on the original diagonal until the end of the diagonal line, then changes diagonals as he changes the bend to commence the half-circle.

Fig. 6 — Serpentine — These are three good examples of serpentines, except that they are all based on an odd number of loops, which would make you end up travelling the same direction that you started. In order to change rein through a serpentine, you must have an even number of loops—2,4, etc. The rider’s change of diagonal occurs as his shoulder crosses the centerline of the ring—about where the black horse is shown in the second of the three diagrams.

Fig. 9 — Change of rein through a circle — The change of rein through a circle involves making a two-loop serpentine in the middle of a circle. In this case, the rider changes diagonals as he changes the bend from the first loop of the serpentine to the second loop.

Figs. 12 & 13 — Although the turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, and leg yield are sometimes used in equitation classes, the change of diagonals does not apply. The turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches are performed at the walk, and the leg yield back to the track is performed at the sitting trot.

Anna Jane White-Mullin has been a “Big R” judge in hunters, hunter seat equitation, and jumpers for more than 30 years. Her latest book, The Complete Guide to Hunter Seat Training, Showing, and Judging, was recently endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Pony Clubs (USPC). Visit Anna at:
http://blog.annamullin.com/
http://annamullin.com/horseinfo
http://annamullin.com/horse-videos

- As many of you know, I’ve recently been caring for an elderly friend, who was “at death’s door” about two weeks ago, but who has made a miraculous recovery. I was thinking about the various aspects of her care, and it brought to mind how the success of any endeavor — whether it involves a human or a horse — has to do with vigilance. It is the constant attention to all aspects that can make a critical difference:

Planning – You need to know what your goal is and consistently work toward it. This involves a broad plan that is broken down into logical steps. If circumstances cause the plan to change, you have to quickly orient yourself to the new situation.

Care – This encompasses proper nutrition, everyday attention to cleanliness, the correct approach to wound care, etc. Whether it be horse or human you are working with, it is important to be as well-informed as possible. This involves getting advice from experts and doing some research on your own. Where the issue of care is involved, you must be very observant, monitoring even the smallest changes that indicate progress or a relapse.

Finances – Every decision must be made with a realistic view of the available financing. You always want to be thinking ahead to what things may cost and how you can have the needed amount of money available when the time comes.

Compassion – As the saying goes, “No one cares what you know until they know that you care.” You can have the most beautiful barn, the finest tack, and the most expensive horses in the world, but you won’t get far in this sport unless you can communicate your compassion to the horse. Once the horse knows from your quiet guidance that it can trust you, it will willingly give you all that it has to offer in performance.

Having noted these things, let me say that the life or death of my friend was in God’s hands, not mine; but I can honestly say that I did all that I could to help her, and now a woman who was on a respirator with a feeding tube down her throat two weeks ago is riding a stationary bike in physical therapy. Whether caring for a horse or a human, vigilance can make all the difference in success or failure.

Anna Jane White-Mullin has been a “Big R” judge in hunters, hunter seat equitation, and jumpers for more than 30 years. Her latest book, The Complete Guide to Hunter Seat Training, Showing, and Judging, was recently endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Pony Clubs (USPC). Visit Anna at:
http://blog.annamullin.com/
http://annamullin.com/horseinfo
http://annamullin.com/horse-videos

- It is wise to teach your horse to land on a certain lead after each fence that is last in a line of fences and over any other fence that immediately precedes a turn. By landing on the correct lead, the rider avoids the flying change of lead altogether, which makes the round smoother, gives the rider more time to think about the upcoming fence, and avoids any penalties that might be incurred by a poor lead change.

It is best to teach the horse to land on a desired lead by working over a single fence placed in the middle of an imagined figure-eight pattern. The fence should be in an open area so that the horse can jump the fence and circle to either the left or right without running into anything.

First, you can work only one side of the pattern–for example, jump the fence on a circle to the right several times, giving the horse the aids to land on the right lead:

- right indirect rein
- left leg in behind-the-girth position

These are the same aids as those used for the right lead canter depart. There are two additional aids that you can also use to help the horse understand what lead you want:

The rider’s eyes looking slightly toward the direction of the desired lead both of the rider’s hands shifted slightly toward the direction of the desired lead, so that the outside hand acts as a mild neck rein and the inside hand acts as a mild leading rein.

Once the horse responds correctly to the aids by landing on the right lead a few times, give the animal a break as a reward and let what it has learned “sink in.” Then, try jumping the same fence and asking the horse to land on the left lead.

- left indirect rein
- right leg in behind-the-girth position

Also, remember to:

- look slightly toward the left
- shift both of your hands slightly toward the left

When the horse has got the hang of it, you can work a figure-eight pattern over the fence, first landing on the right lead, then landing on the left lead, etc. Be sure to apply your aids subtly, for you’ll be penalized if the judge sees you slinging your upper body around in the air or yanking on your horse’s mouth to get the lead. The aids should be subtle, with most of the work being done by your lower leg, rather than your upper body or hands.

Anna Jane White-Mullin has been a “Big R” judge in hunters, hunter seat equitation, and jumpers for more than 30 years. Her latest book, The Complete Guide to Hunter Seat Training, Showing, and Judging, was recently endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Pony Clubs (USPC). Visit Anna at:
http://blog.annamullin.com/
http://annamullin.com/horseinfo
http://annamullin.com/horse-videos

- Where I live in the South, there has been an oppressive heat wave for many days, and other parts of the country are also experiencing high temperatures. The challenge is to make your training enjoyable, productive, and safe during hot weather. First, try to ride early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the highest temperatures of the day. The morning hours are preferable because you have the benefit of the cooler night air preceding them, so the air feels fresher and, in the case of the South, less humid.

When you’ve finished riding, let the horse walk on a loose rein for a few minutes to cool down. Then give it a quick bath, use a sweat scraper to remove excess water, and, if the animal is still hot to the touch, walk it until it is no longer producing steam and its body temperature feels normal under your hand. You can then let the animal graze on a lead line until its coat is dry. If the horse is put into the stall wet, it usually has a hard time drying out, so it begins to roll in the shavings or straw to dry its coat. This makes a big mess and can result in the horse getting “cast” in the stall—that is, as it rolls, its feet get stuck against a wall. In this case, the horse sometimes can’t get its feet off the wall without assistance.

There has been a lot of debate about the temperature of water given to a horse after work—both water that is drunk by the horse and water that is used to bath the animal. There are times when very cold water is used on key places on a horse to bring its temperature down, for instance, during the cross country day of a three-day event. However, horses are not usually reaching extreme temperatures after a routine workout, so in general I would say to bathe a horse in tepid water after a workout.

At a show, I usually leave buckets of water in the sunlight so that the water heats naturally. Even though a hose may be available, it won’t necessarily have anything but cold water to offer, and there is always the chance that you’ll have a hot horse needing a bath at the same time that many other people do, so the buckets are a smart insurance policy.

I think the temperature of the water is also an issue of trust. You don’t want the water to be cold enough that it makes the horse dance around in evasion. If that is the case, the animal begins to realize that you are not a kind person, and it remains overly alert to see what else you might do that is thoughtless. That is a terrible relationship that spills over into everything else you do with the horse, both mounted and unmounted. No matter what the temperature of the air, the bath water should be comfortable and put the animal at ease.

As for drinking water following a bath, either tepid or cool water is fine, but as a rule of thumb, let the horse have no more than half of the typical five-gallon bucket at first, then walk the horse in a large circle (some people walk all the way around the barn), allowing it to take a sip every time it approaches the bucket until it is no longer interested in drinking. The key thing here is to keep the horse moving as it is cooling down. A slow cool-down is always the smartest thing. Once the horse’s body temperature is cool to the touch, you can let the animal graze. This is a nice reward for a horse that has finished a work session and allows the coat to completely dry.

Anna Jane White-Mullin has been a “Big R” judge in hunters, hunter seat equitation, and jumpers for more than 30 years. Her latest book, The Complete Guide to Hunter Seat Training, Showing, and Judging, was recently endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Pony Clubs (USPC). Visit Anna at:
http://blog.annamullin.com/
http://annamullin.com/horseinfo
http://annamullin.com/horse-videos

- To be an excellent rider, you must combine an academic and athletic approach to the sport. It is one thing to know the distance between two fences, but it is quite another to feel whether the horse is covering that distance in even strides.

The most beautiful rounds are the ones in which the horse seems to naturally meet each take-off spot, with the strides between the fences appearing to be even. To accomplish this, you must feel whether your horse is covering the ground in normal 12-foot strides, or is covering the ground in shorter or longer strides than the norm. The ability to feel the length of the horse’s stride comes with practice, although some people pick up this concept easily, while others struggle all their lives to attain a “feel for the horse.” (This ability is related to the ability to see the proper take-off spot—that is, to know what adjustment must be made on the approach to the fence to place the horse’s front feet at the correct place for take-off.)

For each horse that you ride, you need to find the pace and frame that results in a 12-foot stride on course, for this is the standard upon which all courses are constructed. A short-strided horse will need greater pace and/or a longer frame to meet the norm, while a long-strided horse will need less pace and/or a shorter frame. You can determine the adjustment you’ll need by negotiating a line of fences set 60 feet apart, which should be ridden in four strides for a horse. (Pony strides vary according to the size of the pony.)

Approach the fences at the pace that you believe puts the horse on a 12-foot stride, then see how the distance works out between the fences. Of course, you’ll need a decent take-off spot to the first fence to be able to gauge the length of the horse’s stride between the fences, for if you’re too deep to the first fence, you’ll have to hustle down the line to make up for the impulsion lost at the beginning of the line. If you concentrate on feeling the length of the horse’s stride and knowing where you are in the line—that is, knowing if you’re going between the fences in the correct four, even strides, or are adding, deleting, or travelling down the line in strides of varying lengths—then you’ll soon know what a 12-foot strides feels like on that particular horse. Knowing this, try to replicate the feel of an even 12-foot stride every time during the beginning circle on course.

From the beginning of the course until the end, the horse’s strides should look even, with the rider making only small adjustments to compensate for any changes in the lengths of the lines (for instance in equitation or jumper courses, where the lines are sometimes set on shorter or longer distances than the 12-foot norm) or for changes in the terrain that affect the horse’s length of stride (for example, sloping terrain that makes it harder for the horse to travel uphill or easier for the horse to travel downhill, deep footing that makes it harder to make the distances, or slippery footing that throws a “wild card” into the mix!).

As with everything you do on a horse, once you get a feel for what is correct, make an effort to memorize that feel. It is the ability to replicate your feel of a particular horse that will enable you to have round after round of beautiful trips on that horse.

Anna Jane White-Mullin has been a “Big R” judge in hunters, hunter seat equitation, and jumpers for more than 30 years. Her latest book, The Complete Guide to Hunter Seat Training, Showing, and Judging, was recently endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Pony Clubs (USPC). Visit Anna at:
http://blog.annamullin.com/
http://annamullin.com/horseinfo
http://annamullin.com/horse-videos

- I have often been asked by clients why our saddles aren’t flat on the horse’s back all the way from front to back – which makes them look like they don’t actually fit and will probably rock. Many riders don’t understand that ideally the saddle needs to slightly ‘rock’ at the cantle as the horse’s back engages.

It is the duty of the saddle fitter to explain to the client that a slightly rocking saddle will never put so much pressure on the horse’s back that muscle atrophy occurs – in other words, resulting in actual visual indents under the panel wedge.

If the horse’s back is showing visual indentations under the panel wedge, this is a clear sign that either the saddle is too long or there is too much pressure on the loins because of the wedge itself.

This is also why it makes no sense to add longer spring steel to the tree to allow a beginner rider sit more balanced (i.e., quietly) and ride a horse that shows a lot of suspension and movement. The horse must be able to move freely under saddle; a saddle that has been fit correctly to the moving horse.

The rider has to be able to ride and use his aids, especially when the saddle is moving somewhat on the horse. The fitter should never make the rider feel like he is glued to the horse’s back, nor should he fit the saddle exactly to the static back, so that the rider can actually ride the horse in suspension, in motion.

The trainer teaches the rider to sit the horse lightly and freely. The saddle fitter needs to fit the saddle to the horse so that the horse and the saddle both can adapt themselves to the movement of the rider – only in this way can true harmony between horse and rider be achieved. The question is whether you want to have engaged, supple harmonious riding due to a properly fitted saddle –whether or not it ‘looks’ like it will work when the horse is not in motion. Or if you prefer to have a saddle that looks like it fits absolutely perfectly – when the horse is standing still in the crossties. I guarantee you that this saddle will no longer fit once the horse begins to move – and that this can result not only in discomfort, but potentially also long term damage.

About Jochen Schleese
In 1984, Jochen Schleese was certified as the youngest Master Saddler ever in Europe, and in 1986, he was asked to be the Official Saddler for the World Dressage Championship. Jochen is widely respected in equestrian circles for his knowledge and expertise as a Certified Master Saddler (CMS) and as a businessman. A progressive developer of innovative products, Schleese received an international patent in 1996 for the AdapTree® saddle tree design which allows the saddle to be adjusted to fit as the horse grows and develops. Jochen is a regular guest speaker at major equestrian trade fairs and events, as well as at various veterinary colleges across the US and Canada, and is widely recognized as an authority in his field. He incorporates his personal experience as an international event rider into every product and service offered by his company. www.schleese.com