Look Up

Chances are if you listen to any riding lesson in any discipline during the lesson you will hear the instructor yell "LOOK UP".  This oft repeated yet ignored bit of advice can go along way in improving our overall riding. This simple act of picking our chin up and looking where we are going will do two main things: First it will improve our balance. Second it will give our horse clear direction.  Below are two images that illustrate these points.

Balance: By looking up Kytie shifts her weight over her hips and centers herself better on her horse. This allows the horse to stride deeper and use his strongest muscles to correctly propel himself at  the lope.  When she looks down she shifts her weight to the front of her hips shifting her center of balance and causing the horse to hollow out, not stride as deep, which results in a lose of power and overall balance.

Direction: You are the driver when you ride and if you look at the dashboard you will eventually crash. When Kytie is looking up you'll notice her hand is giving her horse clear direction (in this instance slightly steering him out) this clear direction gives the horse confidence and insures good communication between horse and rider.  When she looks down her hand is not giving good direction, as a result her horse is dropping his lead shoulder and leaning.  This results in poor communication between horse and rider.

From seasoned pro to beginning rider we are all guilty of this riding error but a simple correction can make a big difference. So head out saddle up and look up but most of all remember to slide long........

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