Pacha - january 23, 2009

Very strong winds. Indoor arena, almost empty. Pacha was on his toes because of the effect of such weather on him. Session went OK until canter, when Pacha heated up and went into disorder, probably upset by the noise of the gales which could be felt through the arena open gate. I brought him back to walk, looking for restoring calmness, with the help of lateral flexions, descente d'encolure and circles. Was pleased to end the session with a fairly good sitting trot, cadenced and with wider, regular strides. I was satisfied that Pacha, despite his sharp sensitivity to noises and his anxious temper, had been able to cope with the effect of such weather conditions, which may create problems with many horses.
It is interesting to see how fragile calmness can be with some horses; especially those who are anxious, or easily afraid and unexperienced such as Pacha. When it is broken, either by an external event, or by the rider's fault, it seems that everything goes to pieces in a flash: the horse looses concentration, his disorderly movements are likely to induce inappropriate reactions from the rider if his seat is upset, the communication is broken and a vicious circle is engaged. This is another example when one can appreciate having a good, deep seat. The seat is the only aid which should be employed in such situation, excluding hands of course, but legs as well. Maybe I should not say 'only', because voice is helpful too, for reassuring the horse with soft tones, and get him to 'come back to reason'. I have written elsewhere all the gratitude I have for Adjudant-Chef Guy, the Cadre Noir Sous-Maître who had been my teacher at Ecole Militaire, a long time ago, and trained us with tough, effective military methods towards a good seat, an invaluable gift for any horseman.