RIDING DOGMAS DISMANTLED

BELIEFS VS BIOMECHANICS

In most lessons that I observe I see so many dogmas that are taught and these lead to misconceptions about “correct”  training and riding that become so ingrained in the riding circles that they are accepted as fact, without riders ever doing any research and looking at the real science behind these dogmas.

I am going to highlight a few of these dogmas and misconceptions over the next few weeks .

Misconception No 1

"You can bend a horse’s spine to the exact shape of a circle."

This is false. The truth and science shows that on close inspection of the horse’s spine we find that it cannot bend much, and in some areas cannot bend at all! Science and overhead cameras prove this! The feeling that a horse is bending between the rider’s legs is an illusion and the result of the natural undulations that occur during locomotion. 

Yes, seems unbelievable after all that we were taught but it remains the truth.

Lumbar vertebrae 1 to 4 bending is very limited, while L5, L6 and Sacral 1 have no lateral bending ability, but L6 - S1 have rotary freedom. The 5 sacral vertebrae are fused and therefore no bend is possible.

However, the cervical vertebrae in the neck are very flexible, allowing the horse to scratch its sides.  Try standing on a footstool and observing a horse’s spine when it scratches its side or does a carrot stretch! That will reveal the truth!

This is the reason the great masters of classical (correct) training use the neck to achieve suppleness!