Catching the Correct Diagonal

[soloudinhere]

@sascha

So, no training wheels on bikes? For visual learners, looking down to SEE what is going on with the legs is paramount to learning how to feel it. It provides a temporary bridge between eyes and body while the body learns what the hell is actually going on down there under the saddle

No, if you weren’t born on a horse and instinctively know how to do everything immediately with perfect timing, you should not even attempt to ride at all.

Duh.

[sascha]

@soloudinhere

No, if you weren’t born on a horse and instinctively know how to do everything immediately with perfect timing, you should not even attempt to ride at all.

Duh.

Excellent! That will save a lot of us a LOT of money!

[Rackonteur]

@Ceffyl_Dwr

Tracking to the left, I always naturally pick up the correct diagonal. Tracking right, I’m nearly always on the incorrect lead. Why is that? Does it mean my horse is unbalanced? I use Equilab to track my riding, so I know that I’m spending - roughly - an equal amount of time going in each direction. I would add that he’s slightly less comfortable to trot to the right.

Instead of trying to think “right” or “left,” can you try just thinking “inside hind”? When I first started riding dressage I found it easier to feel inside hind than watch outside shoulder.

[J-Lu]

Horses are naturally “handed” as are the riders. I think consistent aids tell the horse what you expect. Patience for misinterpreting the aids is also warranted so the horse understands what you really want - your own aids may not be clear.

[PonyPenny]

@sascha

So, no training wheels on bikes? For visual learners, looking down to SEE what is going on with the legs is paramount to learning how to feel it. It provides a temporary bridge between eyes and body while the body learns what the hell is actually going on down there under the saddle

Yes, no training wheels on bikes. Balance bikes are the new way to learn. Anyway visual learners can watch from the ground, watching riders post. Once you start looking it becomes a crutch, when people subconsciously look down even when they know they are correct. It also tips your balance forward when you drop your eyes. I was taught to feel and so was my daughter. Once you get it, you get it.

[soloudinhere]

@PonyPenny

Yes, no training wheels on bikes. Balance bikes are the new way to learn. Anyway visual learners can watch from the ground, watching riders post. Once you start looking it becomes a crutch, when people subconsciously look down even when they know they are correct. It also tips your balance forward when you drop your eyes. I was taught to feel and so was my daughter. Once you get it, you get it.

how does watching another rider post do literally anything to help you feel (NO CHEATING!!)

[sascha]

@PonyPenny

Yes, no training wheels on bikes. Balance bikes are the new way to learn. Anyway visual learners can watch from the ground, watching riders post. Once you start looking it becomes a crutch, when people subconsciously look down even when they know they are correct. It also tips your balance forward when you drop your eyes. I was taught to feel and so was my daughter. Once you get it, you get it.

Training wheels worked great for my generation and the generation before that and I’ll bet you a fat packet of money that there are loads of Olympic cyclists that were not harmed by having had training wheels on their first bikes.

I am very sorry that you have difficulty in understanding how people that learn differently from you can’t be forced into your learning pigeon hole. There is NO substitute for a visual learner better than watching the shoulder of the horse, even better if that shoulder has a little paint or chalk on it to really make the movement clear. Feel comes over time, not by yelling at someone to FEEL and DON’T LOOK DOWN.

Tools to temporarily assist in learning are not detrimental to the end result. What can be detrimental is a teacher who tears a student apart because the student needs help the teacher refuses because the teacher has a giant stick up their butt.

[kateh]

For me, I have maximum feel when I drop my stirrups (which is also the only way this ex-h/j rider learned to sit the canter), and it was easier for me to define the motion first, then associate it with the horse’s action. Humans are very visual animals, and sight can kind of overwhelm your other senses, so closing your eyes can help you focus on just feeling things before linking it to anything else.

Drop your stirrups and put your hands on your hips to accentuate any motion. Start out with your eyes closed so you can focus on what you’re feeling and cement that motion pattern, and then open them to watch what the horse’s steps are doing to your motion. I also had the impulse to start posting after I felt the right spot, which made me just slightly behind the rhythm, so when I was learning I would sit a few more steps to get my rhythm down (like 'left, right, left, post").

[Rackonteur]

@sascha

Training wheels worked great for my generation and the generation before that and I’ll bet you a fat packet of money that there are loads of Olympic cyclists that were not harmed by having had training wheels on their first bikes.

I am very sorry that you have difficulty in understanding how people that learn differently from you can’t be forced into your learning pigeon hole. There is NO substitute for a visual learner better than watching the shoulder of the horse, even better if that shoulder has a little paint or chalk on it to really make the movement clear. Feel comes over time, not by yelling at someone to FEEL and DON’T LOOK DOWN.

Tools to temporarily assist in learning are not detrimental to the end result. What can be detrimental is a teacher who tears a student apart because the student needs help the teacher refuses because the teacher has a giant stick up their butt.

This.