Mark Rashid clinic - day one, morning session
Below represents only my own observations and notes from watching Mark Rashid work with a series of horses and riders. If you want to know more, you really need to go direct to the source and either visit Mark's website or get yourself to a clinic. I have tried to record as accurately as I can - apologies in advance if I get it wrong at any stage.
This is the first time since 2003 that Mark Rashid has taught clinics in Scotland. He has changed the format from the last time I audited a clinic in the UK. These clinics have groups of riders in two 3 hour sessions, morning (three riders) and afternoon (four riders). He aims to spend 15-20 mins with each rider in turn, allowing them to practice while he is working with the other riders. He did comment that while one rider would be his primary focus at any time, he would be keeping an eye on the other riders. Effectively each rider in each session got two slots working directly with Mark.
In practice this meant that the last of the three morning riders was only working with Mark around 40 minutes into the session. What the riders did was allow their horses to rest in between, in some cases taking them out of the arena and allowing them to rest in a stable.
Mark commented that for many years he had been trying to teach riders to connect with their horses. But people are not very good at that, and horses are. So more recently he had turned his teaching upside down and worked on teaching riders to create openings, something people are quite good at. The horse finds the opening and makes the connection.
Horse 1 was a bay ex-racer, being ridden in western tack.
In session one, they worked on turns - the rider was concerned there were physical issues preventing the horse moving his shoulder. Mark talked about the need to ride the horse as you yourself were making the move i.e. to turn yourself. If you don't do this, you block the horse, and it can get defensive and tight.
In session two they worked on canter - the rider reported that the horse tended to get very energetic in canter and the subsequent downward transitions were also very energetic. Observing the upward transition, Mark commented that the horse was cantering, but the rider wasn't until a number of strides later. It then took them another half a lap to get into sync with each other, and by then the horse already had two much energy and was not in a happy place.
The target Mark set was to work on softness from the inside to improve the upwards canter transition. The rider commented that her reaction to be later than the horse might relate to previous experience with this horse and knowing "what he is capable of". Mark commented that the result of this is that the rider is not connected and not providing direction or guidance. The horse then just does what he can.
Mark suggested an approach (see Footnotes post) and the canter depart improved. The horse was still very energetic in trot and wanted to trot rather than walk. Mark asked the rider to focus on what they wanted, not what the horse was doing instead. A horse needs three things - speed, direction, destination - if the rider does not provide those, the horse will and it is rarely what the rider wanted.
He said "if you're talking to him, you're behind already". (By saying "stop that", you are focusing on the thing he is doing wrong rather than getting the "right" thing to happen and have already lost time to get that right thing).
When Mark suggested they change rein, the rider expressed concern that it was the horse's "racing rein" and he struggled more with that rein. The response was that "whatever you are presenting is what you are getting back".
Horse 2 was a chestnut mare, 14 years old, ridden in english tack
This horse was pushing its nose out and leaning into the bit. When the horse pushed into the bit, the rider released. This had become a learnt behaviour. Mark worked a little with his hands on the reins, and commented that the horse was comfortable with pressure at 7 out of 10, so he had to go to at least 7 to get it to think about what was being asked and change things. Mark used the reins to ask the horse to soften - the horse turned its head and would still not soften. Mark commented it was "going to sleep" there and he needed to wake her up so she'd consider what was being presented to her; you could see him give it a small touch now and then and it would react. He commented they were creating a boundary - "this is where the rider's hands will be" (rather than the horse pulling the rider forward).
Horse 3 was a coloured cob, ridden western.
The rider was concerned about how the horse stopped (not square). Mark observed them working; he observed that the rider was quite often leaning back in the halt. He said that the rider should not look any different in the saddle to how they would look doing the same thing on the ground. The rider was also not asking for a swift halt. The horse was effectively already giving the rider what they were asking for, so the rider just needed to ask for something else. (and not lean back).
Mark talked a few times about how the muscle use in the rider is mirrored in the horse. If you lean back in the halt, you effectively drive the horse forward when you are meaning to ask them to stop.
In the second session Mark talked about how most people buy a horse they can get on from the ground. The result of this is that their leg length is about the same, and in walk the stride length for a horse and a person is about the same. (From a previous clinic: the movement of the hip when riding a horse is not that different from the movement when walking themselves, so the rider does not have to adjust much to be comfortable). In trot the horse's stride is longer and the rider has to lengthen their hip movement to accommodate that. They need to be physically able to do that. (Previous clinic notes: the rider will often attempt to limit the movement to what they can cope with, which will tighten and lock the back, so the rider bounces rather than moving. The rider needs to "let go" of the back and use the abdominal muscles to help accommodate the movement). In canter the stride shortens and is faster, and that is easier for the rider to cope with.
The figure eight movement of the rider's hips is the same in all gaits, just bigger or smaller, faster or slower.
This is the first time since 2003 that Mark Rashid has taught clinics in Scotland. He has changed the format from the last time I audited a clinic in the UK. These clinics have groups of riders in two 3 hour sessions, morning (three riders) and afternoon (four riders). He aims to spend 15-20 mins with each rider in turn, allowing them to practice while he is working with the other riders. He did comment that while one rider would be his primary focus at any time, he would be keeping an eye on the other riders. Effectively each rider in each session got two slots working directly with Mark.
In practice this meant that the last of the three morning riders was only working with Mark around 40 minutes into the session. What the riders did was allow their horses to rest in between, in some cases taking them out of the arena and allowing them to rest in a stable.
Mark commented that for many years he had been trying to teach riders to connect with their horses. But people are not very good at that, and horses are. So more recently he had turned his teaching upside down and worked on teaching riders to create openings, something people are quite good at. The horse finds the opening and makes the connection.
Horse 1 was a bay ex-racer, being ridden in western tack.
In session one, they worked on turns - the rider was concerned there were physical issues preventing the horse moving his shoulder. Mark talked about the need to ride the horse as you yourself were making the move i.e. to turn yourself. If you don't do this, you block the horse, and it can get defensive and tight.
In session two they worked on canter - the rider reported that the horse tended to get very energetic in canter and the subsequent downward transitions were also very energetic. Observing the upward transition, Mark commented that the horse was cantering, but the rider wasn't until a number of strides later. It then took them another half a lap to get into sync with each other, and by then the horse already had two much energy and was not in a happy place.
The target Mark set was to work on softness from the inside to improve the upwards canter transition. The rider commented that her reaction to be later than the horse might relate to previous experience with this horse and knowing "what he is capable of". Mark commented that the result of this is that the rider is not connected and not providing direction or guidance. The horse then just does what he can.
Mark suggested an approach (see Footnotes post) and the canter depart improved. The horse was still very energetic in trot and wanted to trot rather than walk. Mark asked the rider to focus on what they wanted, not what the horse was doing instead. A horse needs three things - speed, direction, destination - if the rider does not provide those, the horse will and it is rarely what the rider wanted.
He said "if you're talking to him, you're behind already". (By saying "stop that", you are focusing on the thing he is doing wrong rather than getting the "right" thing to happen and have already lost time to get that right thing).
When Mark suggested they change rein, the rider expressed concern that it was the horse's "racing rein" and he struggled more with that rein. The response was that "whatever you are presenting is what you are getting back".
Horse 2 was a chestnut mare, 14 years old, ridden in english tack
This horse was pushing its nose out and leaning into the bit. When the horse pushed into the bit, the rider released. This had become a learnt behaviour. Mark worked a little with his hands on the reins, and commented that the horse was comfortable with pressure at 7 out of 10, so he had to go to at least 7 to get it to think about what was being asked and change things. Mark used the reins to ask the horse to soften - the horse turned its head and would still not soften. Mark commented it was "going to sleep" there and he needed to wake her up so she'd consider what was being presented to her; you could see him give it a small touch now and then and it would react. He commented they were creating a boundary - "this is where the rider's hands will be" (rather than the horse pulling the rider forward).
Horse 3 was a coloured cob, ridden western.
The rider was concerned about how the horse stopped (not square). Mark observed them working; he observed that the rider was quite often leaning back in the halt. He said that the rider should not look any different in the saddle to how they would look doing the same thing on the ground. The rider was also not asking for a swift halt. The horse was effectively already giving the rider what they were asking for, so the rider just needed to ask for something else. (and not lean back).
Mark talked a few times about how the muscle use in the rider is mirrored in the horse. If you lean back in the halt, you effectively drive the horse forward when you are meaning to ask them to stop.
In the second session Mark talked about how most people buy a horse they can get on from the ground. The result of this is that their leg length is about the same, and in walk the stride length for a horse and a person is about the same. (From a previous clinic: the movement of the hip when riding a horse is not that different from the movement when walking themselves, so the rider does not have to adjust much to be comfortable). In trot the horse's stride is longer and the rider has to lengthen their hip movement to accommodate that. They need to be physically able to do that. (Previous clinic notes: the rider will often attempt to limit the movement to what they can cope with, which will tighten and lock the back, so the rider bounces rather than moving. The rider needs to "let go" of the back and use the abdominal muscles to help accommodate the movement). In canter the stride shortens and is faster, and that is easier for the rider to cope with.
The figure eight movement of the rider's hips is the same in all gaits, just bigger or smaller, faster or slower.
posted by seahorse | 3:13 PM
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