Making Training a Moving Meditation

There are so many distractions in today’s world. I’m just as guilty of falling victim to these and my attention is too often diverted to my phone, social media, or my mind wanders to thinking about things I need to do rather than being present in the moment. Yoga and meditation have helped me become more present, but in today’s world, it requires constant effort not to be overwhelmed by the continual bombardment of things that interfere with living in the now. We often think of meditation as something that must be done sitting, laying down, or in stillness. These types of meditations often focus on breath, being present, and freeing the mind from clutter and relaxation. I love meditation at the end of a yoga session or before bed, but there are also walking and moving meditations which can work to achieve the same goals while also teaching us to have more awareness of our body and movement.  Taking 10 or 20 minutes to meditate at the end of the day is wonderful but the reality is we often need to slow down during the active hours of the day too. We are always rushing to be places and trying get things done on our ever increasing to do list. Lately I’ve been exploring the concept of making my work with horses a moving meditation, both on the ground and under saddle in an effort to slow things down, appreciate the details and find clarity in my work.

Classical groundwork and work in hand completely changed my training approach and relationship with my horses. It has become the foundation of everything I do now. Within the work I find a certain calmness, relaxation and flow. I strive for precision of rhythm in my movement and synchronicity with the horses and then use the exercises to create connection, focus, and relaxation. This allows both me and my horses to become more aware of our bodies, our movement and living in the moment. Horses are much better at living in the present than we are, but we can help them find focus, relaxation, and awareness of their posture and movement through careful gymnastic work.

Some ways that I find it helpful to incorporate this is to feel the horses movement along with my own. Before beginning specific exercises begin by just walking around the arena with a slack line and notice how your horse is stepping and moving. Notice your horse’s breathing. Notice your own. Does your horse have a relaxed and naturally balanced way of stepping or does s/he seem heavy on her/his front feet? Are there asymmetries in how you or your horse move? Notice your own steps. Find rhythm and accuracy to how you move and be aware of feeling your feet as they touch the ground. Feel your toes and your heels and how the ground underneath your feet makes contact with your shoes. Feel yourself become more grounded with each step. Take a moment to find gratitude for things in your life. Have gratitude for your horse and the lessons s/he has to teach you because no matter what the breed, age, training, or challenges you may have currently, every horse has so much to teach us if we open our eyes to their wisdom. From a place of gratitude bring your mind to the present moment and really take care to stay mindful and present through the rest of your training session. We cannot expect our horses to stay focused on us if we are thinking of all the other things we need to do in our day. For the time you are in the ring, make that time your time and your horse’s. You owe it to yourself and your equine partner. 

From here let each exercise have flow and purpose. In a horse learning basic groundwork there is much that can be done with circles and straight line work. Feel the horse’s natural movement in their head and spine. On circles be aware of how the hind legs step and if the inside hind leg steps toward the inside front leg or just between the two front legs. Notice if the outside hind legs steps too far to the outside or if the horse falls in on the inside shoulder. Can you ask for soft lateral flexion with the ears staying level and the jawbone slightly rotating underneath the skull or does your horse brace and tilt the head dropping one ear lower than the other? Can you feel a gentle rotation of the ribcage as your horse bends from poll to tail? Can you open you hand and will your horse maintain a soft bend? Can your horse softly move from left bend to right bend, with the new inside hip coming forward and lifting the withers as is moves from left to right and back again? Finding softness in the movement and bend can take time and many sessions, especially with an older or stiffer horse, but in time progress will be made. A horse that becomes more balanced, supple, and confident in her/his movement will also become more balanced in her/his mind and more connected to you. With a more advanced horse that can do all the lateral movements on the ground, there are endless possibilities of what you can do with them, but make sure to find the flow in your work. Can you subtly change from shoulder-in to haunches-in or can you use the thought of haunches-in within a shoulder in to rebalance the horse if you lose an outside hind leg? Can you move from walk to trot and back with softness and balance? Use the whole arena and work within the moment rather than getting stuck in a set pattern or list of exercises. The same concept should apply to work under saddle.

In the current equestrian world there is a lot of focus on goal-oriented riding. Disciplines like working equitation and mounted archery are growing in popularity. I have tremendous respect for this work and for awhile I thought I should explore the disciplines more simply because I needed more than just exercises. I should have purpose to my riding! Maybe I’m just not there in my skills yet, but for me I found obstacles or other things would divert my focus from the horse’s body and correct posture. The subtleties in movement and balance is what I have so much love for. For sure, a highly trained horse and rider will be able to keep good posture in this type of work, but I’ve thought about this a lot over the last couple years and what I have come to realize is there IS great purpose to my work and these exercises are more than just exercises. It’s about bringing awareness to the mind and body. It’s about helping my horses to develop a beautiful and healthy posture that will keep them youthful and sound. Only you can decide what your goals are in your own riding and relationship with your horse and that may be very different from mine. I have found that for me schooling exercises is not just going through a set pattern or test but finding rhythm, balance, connection, and mindfulness in each step for both my horses and me gives the work great purpose and allows us both to have an hour of meditation that will contribute to our well-being and helps us both on the journey towards mastery.