Nicely, Nuchally Speaking

HAD to post this, so that those of you with a faster internet connection can enjoy it all the way through, I'm at about the half-hour mark, after one hours wait time.
WAY cool. This guy is a riding genius, and funnier than, well, you'll see. GeoffBillington'sMasterClass
He's just gotten to the line "And then ya have John Whitaker walk in the ring, don't know if he's won 500quid, or lost 500quid.."
My heroes, those guys. Nick Skelton. John & Michael Whitaker. Geoff riding "It's Otto", the most spectacularly gifted horse for psychokinesis. This horse floated. His hooves danced, they didn't ever seem to touch the ground. Lightness. sigh.

The rest of this post isn't entirely finished, as usual, and I'll keep messing with that darned SaddleStickToon, until we're whiter in the face.





The Nuchal Ligament Post is still a heavy hitter on the old ping counter, not much else is, of course.

whooops, uncontrollable tangential direction!
Man, there are some seriously denuded peoples out there.

No wonder, not many get my unique brand of cyclopsosis. That's my new word for looking at something with just one eye. It helps to narrow down my ideas, and connects the dots in my head. Well, partially, anyway:)
I'm looking at western/english with just one "eye"dea.

I was reading on ABR about how Dr. Temple is a pawn/shill of the slaughter industry. Generally consensed, by all. (consensus, I KNOW, blogger.)

How sad/wrong is that? Heck, I think her autism gives her a unique advantage, at least as far as being able to handle the research. Would You like to research the most humane way to kill an animal? Oh, right, we should NeveR kill animals, I forgot...

Even if they are suffering? If you own one, you should try your best to NeveR let it suffer, in the first place, that much is obvious to us all, I hope. What about cause?

Cat has an abscess? How COULD you!! Dog has dysplasia? You Monster. Horse broke it's leg? YOUR fault. What IS really in your cat's food, hmmm? Nice.

Slippery, dippery slopes.

Back to a Completed(?) Nuchal Tangent, started way back when.
The nuchal ligament is important in every beast walking, but for the horse, it's the primary connection to the flow of energy from the horse's back end, that we have immediate access to.

People tend to try to "fix" the front end first. That's why it's so very wrong to be noodling their head position around too much.

I read with fascination, and a glimmer of hope, Brown-Eyed Cowgirl's comments, and her post about the working walk. I think classical riders of all disciplines know how important the walk is. Nothing loosens the nuchal ligament like a great walk. True for us all, by the way.

Brown-Eyed Cowgirls said
"... I am again reminded just how much a good ranch horse has in common with the beginning of making an ideal dressage horse.

Teaching a "ranch horse" how to be a joy to ride for miles on end, involves very little training...mostly miles. We do very little messing with the horse's head. Ideally, the horse is expected to figure out how to stretch his neck forward, release his shoulders, lift his back and push with his hindquarters.

If you asked most cowboys(or cowgirls) how they get their good horses to do that, they may look a bit confused. Not a lot of them think about the actual effort it takes for that to happen. The horse is allowed and expected to figure it out on their own.

A horse that can never seem to figure out how to stretch forward and stride out is considered a failure."

An honest english OR western rider, wants to have next to nothing to do. All the hauling and pulling and tugging and FIXing we do to the horse's head, only screws it up.
Riding is a lot whole lot simpler than we want to know or admit. Get on and go. Stop backing up and waving flags and moving their quarters and making them (puke) submit! GO.

Just go.
They want to, anyway. Going around in mindless/endless circles in just as mindless to TheM.

Horses are very two-dimensional creatures.
Leave the horse alone. He'll figure it out. If he doesn't, another horse can.

Another of my favourite reads says much the same thing in this post. But she's talking racehorses, you say!
But it's the same idea. Horses loosen up faster at the walk and the canter or gallop. The trot is hard on them, carrying us, as they warm up.
Less trotting in warm-up! ESPECIALLY sitting trot!! I'll make some picket signs for the horses...

BEC's truly brilliant blather continued..
"Western saddles come in a variety. Where you sit on the horse's back and how you sit in them depends on the make of the saddle and what "event" that saddle is designed for. Pleasure saddles and cutting saddles encourage that "couch seat", barrel saddles have you sitting more upright and balanced over your leg. Roping saddles although bigger and heavier do about the same. I haven't ridden a real reining saddle yet, but I suspect they also encourage a couch seat.

In a western saddle it is difficult and uncomfortable to maintain a different position than the saddle is made to put you in. Many people who struggle with maintaining a comfortable and correct position simply don't realize that they may need a different saddle."
Brilliant, makes so much sense! Thank you again, BrownEyes!

SorrrrrYyyyy, I ran out of eyesight for this Saddle-toon, so I'll let you try and figure it out, before I say anything about it.

Is it hard to see? I thought it was hilarious how this mare is clearly more enthused about western or dressage. Hunter/Jumper, she's not so keen:)
Oh, and sorry, CNJ, don't have a coronary, I removed your mare's withers, just to show you guys the look of a mare I rode. No withers is no fun, let me tell ya. She was a hand smaller in front, easy. How would you fit a saddle to a horse like that?
More pertinent question, Why bother? If the horse isn't built basically level, you're in trouble, tapirs and giraffes being the two extremes to avoid:)

BuT, I'd rather ride a giraffe. I like seeing the animal in front of me.
Oh, craP. I zinged right past the nuchal ligament, again. FOCus, please, focus.. (squints at keyboard...)
That rope of ligament in front of you? Treat it gently, kindly, softly. Don't scare it, or damage it. Leave it ALONE, for the first years of your horses' training.
Please.
You see, that rope is connected to that back you weight. Until he can learn to carry you comfortably, please, leave his neck alone.