I have added my picture...

Bestoutwest,

I noticed a Reebok coreboard in your exercise room. I recently purchased one. How do you use yours?

Kathy
 
The rest of me is in the tub!

I am always amazed that you are all so kind to me - I am truly touched!

Thank you so much for your kind words:).
 
What kind of horseback riding do you do? Have you found these workouts to help your riding? I ride dressage and am looking for more core strength to help with the sitting trot on a fairly bouncy horse. Always nice to hear from other horsey type people.

Jeanette
 
That's my kinda pic, leave them wanting more }( .


Nette hi I ride hunters and equitation and dressage, I did competitive riding for 17 years now I have recently moved to IL and hoping to find a facility around here :) need my horse fix bad. I lost my best friend of 13 years my TB Mare 4 years ago, she lost her battle to founder ;(. You would have liked her, she had a real nack for dressage, she was a wonder with tempies even though her mother preferred hunters :p. I'm one of those, been horse crazy all my life and don't feel complete without them! Anyway I was going to say what helped my EQ and my seat in dressage the most was integrading Pilates into my workouts, it really helped me to sit and the stabilization of my core did wonders for my posture. I found I could really feel the horse in ways I never did before, I know there are some wonderful books on this just for the rider :). Give your horse a great big kiss on that fuzzy little muzzle and a cyber carrot from me :) .
 
Jeanette -

I do dressage as well. I ride a 4 year old Friesian x Morgan who has Look at Me attitude. And boy is he bouncy. We are going training level 3 and 4 later on this year, if all goes well, so you know my life is all about sitting trot from now on }(!

Core work is a must, but I have found back strength to be very important as well. You probably know how heavy they can get when you are teaching them something new, and how important it is to hold yourself upright during what can sometimes be disorganized downward transitions - you really have to help them keep themselves on their hind end and help them resist throwing themselves forward on the forehand when they are struggling to keep themselves connected.

Also, I think cardio vascular fitness helps my endurance when I ride for long periods of time.

I ride anywhere from 5-6 days a week. I think of my fitness as something I do not only for myself but for my horse too. When I feel bad about riding him so hard, I say to myself, "I wouldn't ask him to do anything I wouldn't ask of myself." I'm tough on him and I'm tough on me, too. (But not too tough ;))
 
Hi Rebecca, I too rode hunters for about 13 years, fox hunted (actually coyote out here in the West), evented a little (novice level), went to western for about 5 years (team penning, some reining, cattle work) and back to dressage for the last 5 years. I too lost a really nice QH mare to colic and have an 8 yr. old QH gelding that dressage has helped to move so much better. We're still working lower level stuff, hard to improve sometimes when you're teaching the horse and kind of floundering yourself. Like, is this shoulder in right or not? I've learned to become so much less of an aggressive rider and find my horse goes so much better. In fact, I don't even ride with spurs anymore. The lighter I ride, the more he puts out for me and the more sensitive he gets. It can be effortless and a real team feeling. I noticed doing the "Superman" on the ball how unequal I am in strength on each side of my body. Will have to fit in some Pilates. Stabilization is very important in riding green horses.

We've had snow for so long up here in No. California, haven't been able to ride him since December. Looking forward to it.

Jeanette
 
Eminenz2, I've heard Friesians are great and have so much presence. I know what you mean about the heaviness. Actually, my guy was so behind the bit for a while, guess I taught him that when I rode western. Too much of that "soft feel" stuff. It's taken me a few years but I can get him connected up pretty quickly now and he can stretch down pretty well. When he's connected, a lot of the bounce goes out of the trot and I can stay with him pretty well. I'm anxious to see how he goes with my increased strength and stability in the abs and back. I've learned that the less I do, the better he goes. Used to ride pretty aggressively, spurs, lots of leg, etc. and he'd get more and more behind my leg. I finally took off the spurs and just asked lighter. Guess he was just protecting himself. Now, the power comes from the slightest tightening (not every time), but much more consistently. And talk about a happy horse, can you blame him?

I do need to ride him more times per week, but found bicycling about 5 years ago and split my time between those 2 types of riding. My dressage instructor wishes I didn't cycle so much. Can't help it, life's too short not to enjoy a few things.

Sitting trot, have fun with it ;) . A couple years ago, I started having major pain in the stomach/chest area when I did sitting trot. Incapacitating. Thought I was having a heart attack. Happened about 4 or 5 times, each time when I'd been doing some sitting trot in the arena. Turned out it was my gall bladder. Had it taken out and no more episodes of pain!

Good luck on Training 3 and 4.

Jeanette
 
My big scary tummy!

Actually once I saw a photo of Katherine Hepburn in a similar pose - actually it was a home film, and I thought it would be funny. She's one of my heroes.
 

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