Part Two

For many, the least appealing aspect of learning to ride and train is the theoretical side: gathering knowledge, finding out about the structure and mechanics of things, tangible facts on which to base a methodical schooling, etc. To many, these are probably quite unimportant. They just get up and get on with it! But the more serious will want to know why as well as how.

The study of anatomy in this sense mainly covers two aspects: 1) the mechanics of movement and the influence the rider's weight and his efforts to control the horse have on it, and 2) the part of the nervous system which emphasizes communication through feel.

We have to know how a horse is built, be familiar with his bones and their articulations, and how they move in conjunction with each other. We also have to know about the strength of ligaments and the support they give the bony structure. Our knowledge of muscles should cover at least the ones which are, in one way or another, involved in the action: their origin (where they come from) and their insertion (where they go), as well as their function when they produce movement in a particular joint. We should be well acquainted with the mechanics of movement and understand how when one group of muscles contracts, another group, the antagonists, must relax. In order to keep the movement under control, there is a gradual handing over from one group to the other near the end of each phase. Some muscles, together with the ligaments, stabilize the joint, which not only gives it support, but also allows other muscles to achieve additional action.

But, again, we want to probe into what is, to us, really the crux of the matter: what effect does the rider have on the horse when he is sitting on it and tries to communicate with it through the aids?

Freedom in the Pasture by Dwain D Snyder

Without the inconvenience of having one of us on board, the horse usually moves in a natural and well-coordinated way, without any undue restraint. It is from the moment we decide, without asking for his consent, to make our way into the saddle, pick up the reins and start riding him about that things start to be less than natural-quite unnatural, in fact. We provoke him into taking protective measures, which involve mainly two areas: 1) the muscles along the spine (to protect the weak part of the back against the extra load) and 2) the muscles of the neck and shoulder as a result of changes in balance due to the rider's weight (in an effort the resist the restriction of the free use of his head and neck when the rider takes up contact with the reins or uses some of the many contraptions designed to bring the horse into a desired outline).