Fingers, Ribs, Forefeet Three
things
This week we're doing 'Self-carriage' in my
Progressions Program.
The concept I'm playing with is the correlations between
fingers, ribs, and forefeet. When you activate a finger,
it provides support - aka lift, to specific ribs.
Here's an example exercise:
- do this sequence 4x:
- 4 steps activated little finger and noticing lift
in ribs 1 & 2
- 4 steps w/ 'normal' walk
- do this sequence 4x:
- 4 steps activated little finger and noticing lift
in ribs 1 & 2
- followed by 4 steps activated ring finger and
noticing lift in ribs 3 & 4
- 4 steps w/ 'normal' walk
- do this sequence 4x:
- 4 steps activated little finger and noticing lift
in ribs 1 & 2
- followed by 4 steps activated ring finger and
noticing lift in ribs 3 & 4
- followed by 4 steps activated middle finger and
noticing lift in ribs 5 & 6
- 4 steps w/ 'normal' walk
- do this sequence 4x:
- 4 steps activated little finger and noticing lift
in ribs 1 & 2
- followed by 4 steps activated ring finger and
noticing lift in ribs 3 & 4
- followed by 4 steps activated middle finger and
noticing lift in ribs 5 & 6
- followed by 4 steps activated index finger and
noticing lift in ribs 7, 8, 9, & 10
- 4 steps w/ 'normal' walk
- do this sequence 4x:
- 4 steps activated little finger and noticing lift
in ribs 1 & 2
- followed by 4 steps activated ring finger and
noticing lift in ribs 3 & 4
- followed by 4 steps activated middle finger and
noticing lift in ribs 5 & 6
- followed by 4 steps activated index finger and
noticing lift in ribs 7, 8, 9, & 10
- followed by 4 steps activated thumb and noticing
lift in ribs 11 & 12
- 4 steps w/ 'normal' walk
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Then I add in awareness of the fore hoof connected w/
the ground at the same time and how that connects back up into
the horse's spiny process. After a while I check in on
how this can be also done in
conjunction w/ a 'coffee press' of colored coffee grounds to correlate
to lowering my center of gravity and signal the
gait. I can also 'ripple through the
fingers.' There are many ways to play with
it.
Here's the same exercise in pictures:
1 |
for 4 strides, do this, then walk 4
normal strides:
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2 |
for 4 strides, do this, then walk 4
normal strides:
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3 |
for 4 strides, do this, then walk 4
normal strides:
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4 |
for 4 strides, do this, then walk 4
normal strides:
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5 |
for 4 strides, do this, then walk 4
normal strides:
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Another thing to play with is 'how much of this can be
accomplished without using the reins?'
have fun! And if you find this interesting, there is
more where this came from!
L
ps: The '4 steps' is an idea of how long to ask for
something and observe whether or not it creates a response in
the horse.
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Are you looking for something more in your riding?
Something that really connects the inside and the outside?
I've studied horse and human anatomy for twenty five years.
I started with Centered Riding and that is solidly based upon
how bodies work and how brains process information. I
know Alexander, Feldenkrais, Trigger Point, myofascial, Ortho-bionomy,
and more recently how to develop resistance training programs.
I've done yoga for more than forty years, studied (and used)
the chakra and meridian systems for over twenty.
Sometimes I don't go into theory because in the middle of a
lesson it would detract from the practical learning of how to
ride, but I do clinics where I share this information along
with how to incorporate it into your training program.
And if you really don't mind listening to me yak forever, I
can easily do that during a lesson, too. It's just most
folks want to ride!
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