Hello All,
After the daily chores, ground work and trail rides are finished our Curlies do what most every cowgirl in Texan does on a Tuesday nite - we head out to the Rodeo...or barrel race and pole bend. And, believe me when I say, Chester man, our five year old curly stallion is the shortest and curliest horse there. Seems those Quarter-horses teamed up with some Thoroughbreds and they all stand about 16.4 hands high. But, when the clock starts the size doesn't matter.
One thing I discovered; in addition to needing velcro to keep my bum in my seat:). is the horses really must have good flexion to go around those barrels. I have been told by many folks lateral flexion is an important part of training your horse in any discipline; English and Western. And...I have been reading up of lateral flexion and agree with this quote from Clinton Anderson,
“Horses have hard bodies, not hard mouths! … The mouth is nothing more than a sending station. If every body part (poll, neck, shoulder, ribcage and hips) is unwilling to yield and soften, the mouth will feel hard and unwilling to soften to your pressure on the reins. When you have your horse’s body soft and supple, the mouth will feel very light, soft and willing to give to the pressure you apply with the reins. Basically, in a nutshell, the more we bend our horse laterally, the easier he will be to control.”
Clinton Anderson
Courtesy of Natural Horse Magazine
Clinton Anderson
Courtesy of Natural Horse Magazine
Chester and I are so excited about our upcoming run at S & S Arena tomorrow night. We will both doing our stretching and lateral flexion before the clock starts.....yeehaw
