In Hand Groundwork

Anke does a lot of In Hand groundwork with horses,  leading the horse through a series of exercises with a light rod or stick, dressage whip or some other tools or ‘at liberty’.This assists with the overall health of any horse, communication and understanding aids, flexibility and suppleness.

In Hand Groundwork – The Beginnings

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It is like learning how to walk all over again, with the focus on body awareness and position for both horse and rider-  the images below tell the story as a little picture book.

Why do we look at very slow and gentle movements and think – how can these possibly do anything?
Isn’t harder and faster better than slower and softer?
No..Why?

Because if you want to make your movements more efficient, you have to be aware when you are working too hard.

If you slow down and thereby increase your chances to sense differences in the horse’s muscular effort level, you increase your ability to sense and correct any potential excess and unnecessary effort eg Overloading the front leg, using it for balance, not engaging the core and leaving their hind legs behind.

 

We move on with the work:

 

I hope this helps you to see the changes in the horse’s outline after this work… Happier and healthier horses… and happier riders!

 

 

Missing piece of the Puzzle?

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The missing piece of a puzzle

When I met Belinda Bolsenbroek I was surprised she spoke about in-hand work so much.
Why?
Well, at the time I was at a loss with my horse and we kept on hitting a ‘dead end’, with resistance and lack of understanding from my side as well as from my horse’s side.
We were speaking a different language to each other.

So I went to one of Belinda’s clinics and started to learn the benefits of teaching the horse from the ground up, understanding the nature of the horse’s balance, learning to understand the correct balance and the rotation of the rib cage and therefore a healthier way to carry themselves.
This didn’t happen overnight, it took time and ( a lot of) patience.

Anke Hawke working with a horse in hand

I remember feeling very out of sorts at times walking next to my horse, while working on timing and coordination.
That is the ‘comfort zone’ effect of learning something new and how that initially feels unfamiliar.

But then, everything started to change and my horse’s outline filled into a rounder, softer and healthier shape.
Her strength and power came through the top line, her asymmetry was mostly from the ground up and then in the saddle.
We quickly improved and the relationship with my horse grew, she was so much happier and content she started to glow; and so did I!

The benefits were endless, as her balance improved, her pride in herself returned.
I also noticed how uneven the strength in her legs had been before, as well as how much she liked to “barge through” one shoulder
No wonder we had arguments!

So now I happily teach the same process with all my client’s horses, both in training and in horse riding lessons.

I understand the importance that first the horse has to be in balance and yes, it helps tremendously if the rider is also in balance and coordinated in time with the movement of the horse using the right aids
It is truly a partnership and both horse and rider need to be in balance.

No matter what your goal is with your horse, working on their basic ability to be balanced and in harmony with their own body makes for a long lived healthy riding career for you both.

Please call Anke on 0408 882 730 or contact her to discuss what she can do for you and your horse.