Your horse is a very tolerant and kind animal. Watch how they put up with the mistakes of poor riders. Any horse could wipe out the average rider in seconds. Most of them don’t because they are basically a kind hearted animals. It’s our duty to do our best by them. Even if you aren’t a natural rider, you can learn to feel and respond to your horse’s movements in a manner that will both benefit your horse and enhance your performance.

In Resistance Free® Riding we use the “ripple effect”. This refers to the feeling of rhythm and movement coming up from the horse through the rider’s body. The “ripple effect” is generated by the impact of the horse’s hooves hitting the ground, which creates a rebound effect like that of a basketball hitting the floor and bouncing back up to you. Of course, working with the horse, this is a much more subtle movement. Different gaits have different “ripple effects”. The walk is the most grounded and the lope or canter is the most rhythmic because there is a significant period of suspension in the beats. Your horse uses this rebound effect to make his own movement easier.

The walk requires the horse to physically lift each leg and put it down. This gaits lack of speed and spring keeps the horse’s legs from creating much of a rebound effect. At the trot, the horse bounces form one pair of legs to the other, with a period of suspension in between. The horse can derive a “coasting effect” from the rebound. It’s like when you are running down hill. Once you get started, you can keep going with little effect.

You can really see the “ripple effect” in a kangaroo. It is almost effortless for a kangaroo to bound along, but very awkward for him to try and walk with individual steps. In contrast, when a kangaroo jumps, his long hind legs compress during the landing from each leap and launch the animal into the next movement. The horse operates in a similar manner, but not nearly as efficiently. Luckily, the horse’s differences make him a much softer animal to ride that a kangaroo.

A rider who understands the “ripple effect” and how to use it will feel a connection of oneness with every horse they ride. Mastering this will give you a command of the rhythm and timing necessary to achieve maximum performance.

Here are five ways to develop the feel and connection through my Resistance Free® Riding methods and remember that I show you in a step by step process how to do this in my Resistance Free® video series.

1. Try to ride without your stirrups or irons. This will concentrate the energy through your seat bones. It is much like an electrical plug in. Your seat bones are like the prongs on the plug. When both are evenly connected to the socket you have balanced energy.

2. Try sitting the trot for five strides and the posting for five strides. The two beat gait of the trot will give you an even, steady rhythm. By sitting the trot and then posting, it will draw the energy from the “ripple effect”. This will make it go from a mild to a stronger pulse of rhythm.

3. Try closing your eyes for a few strides and count out loud the beat of your horse’s gait. This will draw a feel for the energy and rhythm.

4. In my videos and books I show you several drills and exercises you can do when riding your horse. I call it “building muscle memory”. All sports athletes work on this. You simply teach your muscles to react automatically with mental thoughts. By programming your horse’s rhythm into your body, you make it impossible to ride out of rhythm or to bounce with resistance.

5. Try riding to music. I like to use music not only for you but it helps your horse pick up and work on their cadence. When you are both in the same cadence and rhythm you have total Resistance Free® riding. You will become one with your horse.

 May you always ride a good horse................Richard Shrake