Anatomy of Equine Movement

In any action, the entire body should be light and agile and all of its parts connected like pearls on a thread. No one part should resist moving with the whole. ~Cheng Man Ch'ing & Robert W. Smith~

A horse in true balance moves with lightheartedness and exuberance from the tip of his nose to the hairs on the end of his flowing tail. In this unique and innovative class you will examine closely what constitutes a natural rhythm and grace of the horse at walk, trot, canter as well as that wonderful dance they do when at liberty. By understanding what is natural and correct you'll be able to see and hear when those gaits lose their rhythm and balance through pathologies caused by overuse, injury, pain, confirmation issues and unbalanced riding.

When movement is true to its inherent design, it has a quality of roundness in its energy which is constantly recycled from beginning to end and has a unique rhythm to its flow. Injuries and pain spoil the beautiful quality of roundness and create hard lines of resistance which lead to bracing, stiffness, lack of rhythm, and movement that seems frozen in space. In order to know what's needed to coax these hard lines of resistance back into bouncing circles of energy you'll be able to see, feel. listen to, and hear with great precision where energy gets "stuck".

Every massage you do will be to help a horse achieve and sustain graceful self-carriage; an integrated, agile, vital body. In Movement class you'll become expert at assessing self-carriage following five Principles Of Natural Movement:

• Relaxation: In Chinese this principle is expressed by the term sung. Translating it as "relax" is still too stiff because it also includes the mind and goes deeper than the muscles right down to the sinews letting go of all bracing and hard lines of resistance. Sung is not the same as flaccid because it includes the idea of the unobstructed circulation and union of both vital energy and presence.
• Poise: Complete harmony within the body appears when all traces of bracing are gone and the body is held up by the delicate, dynamic balance of muscles. At rest the body is calm and ready for anything. In motion it is fluid, powerful and vital.
• Coordination and Timing: To move with power, grace and balance all movement must emanate from a single point so that the entire body moves as a whole with no breaks in continuity, hollows or projections. Without this bodies appear disordered and confused.
• Separate the Substantial from the Insubstantial: Examples of this principle in action are clear upward or downward transitions between gaits and a horse that moves and stands with their weight off the forehand and hind quarters engaged. At another level, the idea includes sorting out knots and blockages and eastern classics use the image of sorting out knotted strands in order to bind them into a strong rope.
• A Light, Responsive Manner: When the body relaxes weight drops into the legs and no longer spoils the balance by being artificially held up higher. In eastern texts this is called rooting and is recognized as a prerequisite to agility and adaptability. This appears to be what Ray Hunt means by having your horse, "on the teeters"; balanced up and ready to move in any direction.

These principles have both more obvious and subtle dimensions and are drawn from eastern theories and practices. You'll have the opportunity to study hundreds of horses from many different riding disciplines such as dressage, reining, hunter/jumpers, cutting and eventing. You will also look closely at your own internal rhythm and balance so that you can better connect with the horse on a kinesthetic level. You'll become adept at seeing and feeling the natural qualities that you want to invoke from the interior of the equine athlete so that s/he may regain their natural agility and fully express joyous freedom of movement.