Wednesday, April 22, 2009

AIDS the substance turning part 3 (dolly pegs)


Many years ago I discovered that my male colleagues in the Product Development Team of a large telecom company were apt to turn the *bleeding obvious* into indecipherable technical babble. As if by talking in jargon made it seem somehow more impressive.
I dislike being blinded by science but if you've been brave enough to read earlier posts then you'll know that I do find the science illuminating. Well I was a scientist first! For me the science is just the *why it works* bit.
I prefer to keep things simple-my brain processes simple stuff best and complicated stuff is just multi layered simple stuff. It's how I train and teach; action-assess the feedback-reaction-assess the feedback-reaction....OK it's not new or mind blowingly deep but it works.
So here goes with the simple form of turning, to which we can add more simple layers as we progress. I sit in balance, my legs long and softly adhering (where they naturally touch the horses side) in the perfect alignment of Anja Beran (who am I kidding). I turn my horse as if I were a dolly peg sat astride my horse. Remember, a dolly peg moves as one-she is unjointed. She cannot over turn, contort, distort herself and she does not guard with one leg, weight with another and her legs are always long and deep.
Now this requires expansion, further layers but in it's basic form this is how a child will turn their pony when asked to do so without the reins. They don't adopt a spiral seat, look to the centre of the turn NO they play dolly peg, lol.
Science will follow.....

8 comments:

Claire said...

isn't that what men do, though, over complicate everything?

Di said...

So further expansion, what do you do with your hips?

trudi said...

Aw thanks for humouring me Di, lol

Well in this really basic *layer* of turning I always turn my hips with my shoulders. I always say to Lydia to imagine her tummy button is a laser and to point it at where she wants to go.
Later I may turn my hips slightly (and sometimes only briefly) to ride more into the outside rein or to correct a droopy shoulder.
All this is really making me think though, do people teach what they ride or what they read? I'm stuck now with this rain because I want to ride then type, also, I can only take it as far as Moo is at the moment (not that far then, lol)

Di said...

I was taught to put inside hip slightly forward, outside hip slightly back controlling the quarters with the outside leg. Actually the opposite of the shoulders. Inside shoulder slightly back, outside shoulder slightly forward in the direction of the turn. hmmmmmm
I'm not doing much of anything at the moment, can't walk, so the only saving grace is that it's peeing down. Sorry that's very selfish! :-)

trudi said...

Oh Di sorry to hear that!! Hope you're OK soon.

trudi said...

oh and I don't necessarily agree with that idea but I'm off to bed will explain tomorrow.

Di said...

Or am I describing aids for a circle? God my head was foggy yesterday! Yes, explanation required please.

trudi said...

pretty much the same thing