The Collapsers

Collapsers are cousins to the Clampers:) I used to see this all the time. It happens everywhere, with every single novice rider. They look... (drum roll) down.
And the whole pyramid that is your body collapses into a useless heap of goo, on the horse's back. It's the single hardest thing to teach people. Do NOT look at that pretty horse you are riding!

Do NOT stare at the ground, either, it isn't going to get any softer if you hit it. I must yell here, sorry.
Ready?
Look down? FALL down!!
(wanna hear something pathetic? In the great computer meltdown of 2010, I lost all of my old horse pictures. I still have them to look at, but I would have to re-scan them.. sigh.)

If you look at the ground, you end up eating it. I had one student break a bone during an important lesson a few days before a show. This girl had been quickly, badly started. She was talented, but stuck in some really bad habits. Her worst was looking down/leaning over for her lead. She managed to unbalance Raindance enough, going around the end of the arena, on the wrong lead, to topple him over.
Horses are perfectly capable of completing a turn on the wrong lead, (if awkwardly, for some) but only if you leave them alone to do it. This rider leaned to the inside, looking down, going around a slippery corner on the wrong lead. One broken human leg bone, one week before she was supposed to show Rainy. I was terribly disappointed for her, and bless her, she came back and showed Rainy very well once her leg healed. She never did look down again.

And she was my only broken bone, in (mumble) years of teaching. OH, I felt bad. Almost quit then. But the support and understanding by my students kept me going for a while.

Collapsing your body starts with not looking towards/not believing in where you want to go.  This can lead to broken bones. Not a good thing, no matter what age you are... Your posture dictates your horse's balance and direction, and well, everything.

It also keeps you upright. Eyes up. Hello!
(Thanks, as always, to the genius known as Christilot Boylen for the above picture, from "Canadian Entry")

OH, and it's true. Nestle's Dark Chocolate Turtles are officially extinct in Ontario. Why don't they warn us? Why are they hiding the truth about dark chocolate? Who are they, anyway? Honestly, we have to conserve our chocolate resources!