|
December 2007 • VOLUME 28 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
'Brace' means 'negative tension' (resistance, opposition) .... when a horse braces against the aids instead of being open or letting the aid go through. Often I will use the word 'brace' when I am meaning a resistance that is caused by the horse feeling like he has to defend himself or protect himself against an aid....(just like you may brace yourself if you are expecting something hurtful is about to happen!) The words above inspired the article below. Thank you to Karen.
The Braced Horse The beauty of the horse has to be of the interplay of the muscles throughout his body. The majesty displayed in rolling muscles and ultimate power as they race across the green turf, their hooves biting sharply into the ground, or withers pressed against a blue sky as the horse rockets over the jump. Throughout the ages, artists drawn to the beauty of the horse have tried to capture that essence of the horse which attracts them. Each photograph, each oil canvas, each statue, fails. Fails at a very fundamental level. Because the moment we try to capture a single moment of the beauty of the horse, we deny it, as any single moment cannot capture the movement that makes us catch our breath at the beauty portrayed. Movement is the essence of beauty and health, and it is our ability to allow, encourage and develop movement that can make the horse even more beautiful. Which is what makes it so hard sometimes to understand, when we watch riders who do exactly the opposite and not even realize it. In their efforts for forward, they create the opposite. In their efforts to create bend, they create the opposite. In their efforts to create a connection between leg and hand they actually create the opposite. In their efforts to create success they actually create failure. All of this happens when we teach the horse to brace against an aid instead of opening up to the aid.
|
|||||||
|
