My old instructor used the same sort of visualization with younger riders who couldn’t keep their heels down. She would ask them which they liked more on their ice cream, chocolate or caramel syrup – of course they’d immediately focus on the idea of ice cream. She’d then tell them to imagine that their heels are made of whichever syrup was their favorite, to visualize them oozing downward. Worked like a charm.
1 Like
“Point your headlights in the direction you want to go”.
Less metaphorical: “Boobies OUUUUUT”
:lol:
For posture, the old ‘Headlights UP!’ usually worked like a charm. 
For giving half-halts, my old instructor used “squeeze the birdies” - the idea being that the reins were baby birds you didn’t want to squeeze too hard.
Oh, and for me specifically, because I always looked down, “The ground will be there if you need it!” (usually followed by a ‘damn it!’).
3 Likes
I got a great one from my trainer about riding the leg yield. I wanted to get twisted, so my horse got twisted… you know how it goes. Well, she tells me to imagine I am standing in the middle of a table, and I need to lift that table around me and move it along the diagonal. Basically, establish the four corners of your horse, and move her without losing that “squareness.” So odd, but I think about it anytime we start getting all twisty.
4 Likes
Luckily this was just with a couple of older adults in a lesson (no one else around), but it was funny…
trainer: “Are you playing with yourself?”
adult rider (horrified): “God no, why?”,
trainer: “Then what are your hands doing in your crotch??”
Rider swears she learned how short her reins need to be because of this comment, so it was effective lol.
6 Likes
Think of holding baby birds in your hands when you are holding the reins. Grip too tight and you will crush them. This may have come from Sally Swift, but regardless of the source it worked for me. “You’re crushing your birds!” is all I needed for a reminder.
.
1 Like
trainer: “you need to sit like you are pulling up a bar stool under you… wait, are you old enough to drink?”
Definitely old enough to drink and oddly this makes sense. I sit more on my front than my bum and when I start feeling like I’m going back to that bad habit I can visualize myself pulling a bar stool forward and sitting back on it. Hard to explain, but it works for me.
@walktrot we had the same concept as with baby birds, but ours was with eggs. Hold too hard and it gets messy!
And I don’t think this would necessarily fly these days, but when I first started riding my trainer had us put a spoon in our mouth to act as a bit and had us pull really hard on the sides at the same time to see what it felt like when a rider constantly pulled on a horses mouth and never released.
rockonxox, sounds like you are training for one of the local fun show classes: Egg and Spoon! I actually managed to make transitions into and out of the trot once. The only visualization I recall was watching the egg go flying.
For an arched back … “dim your headlights”.
To maintain a solid core … " imagine a sheet of perspex in front of you and keep your whole front lightly pressed in to it".
Carry your hands in front of you as if you were pushing a pram.
1 Like
Some of my favorites are:
“Lift and separate!”
“Pretend your ponytail is tied to the back of your saddle.”
“Imagine you are sitting on a beach ball.” That is: keeping you knees forward to stay balanced on the ball. Not pinching your knees - pinching would shoot the ball forward. Keeping your calf on the horse’s side.
“Visualize a wire going from the top of your head straight into the sky (or the roof).”
