All Arenas

Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Corner

 

 

Flexibility To Move

 

Achieving straightness is just one of the benefits of a flexible horse.

 

THESE DAYS YOU hear a lot about flexibility in horses because flexibility is a must. Without it, you cannot bend the horse, and if you cannot bend the horse then you cannot position him. My experience shows that flexibility gives you position, position gives you control and control is the name of the game when it comes to good horsemanship.

 

Webster’s Dictionary describes flexibility as “able to bend without breaking, not stiff or rigid, pliant, easily persuaded or influenced.”  This is exactly the way I want my horse.  Through flexibility, my horse is adjustable to each and every maneuver I ask him to do.  Every time I ride a horse I do my flexibility exercises: bend or flex the horse’s head right and left. 

 

This is most effectively taught in the beginning with a rope halter or simple snaffle bit. When you flex or bend a horse’s head to the right, then you can easily push his hindquarters to the left.  So you begin to control the engine or hindquarters of the horse through simple flexibility. This is an important concept to understand. 

 

I’m often asked, “When do you feel safe riding a young horse out of the round pen?” The answer: When I can bend him. If I can bend him, I can turn him. If I can turn him, I can stop him. It boils down to control through flexibility.

 

As I advance a horse, I actually achieve straightness through flexibility—and that’s a key to great horsemanship. It sounds confusing, but think about it. If a horse is traveling or performing without straightness, you can achieve straightness from poll to tail through flexibility.

 

Many horses travel crooked. For example, take a horse that lopes to the right with his head canted or bent to the left. If a horse is familiar with bending or flexibility exercises, the rider can simply pick up the right rein, while the horse’s feet are moving, bending the horse’s head to the right to achieve that all important straightness. 

 

It is really that simple. Straightness through flexibility. 

 

Finally, the classic mistake in almost all riding disciplines is to overbend the horse. Beware of this and use your flexibility to keep your horses straight.  Practice good horsemanship by staying soft, straight and flexible. 

 

For more information on flexibility you can refer to the Craig Cameron  Ride Smart book and videos.
 

Related posts:

1. Yielding To Pressure A Key to Putting Your Horse in the Correct...
2. Sometimes The Best Cowboy is a Girl!   The Women in Cowboy Mounted Shooting   Let’s...
3. The Need For Speed Closing the Distance, A Far Better Tactic   Horses...
4. No Nonsense Cowboy   Jimmie Allen is Serious About Training Shooting Horses...
5. John Clark - A Natural Cowboy Mounted Shooter   John Clark Makes a Quick Rise to the...
6. Cowboy for Christ Wes Walton Lives and Shares His Faith in the...
7. Top Shots   Choosing the Right Bit for Shooting Horses.  ...