Unmounted Lessons

["Kathy Mayeda" <Kathy_Mayeda@atce.com>]

Title: Unmounted Lessons

With regards to Abby’s post on horseless lessons….

A few years ago I was lucky enough to be a designated student at a Centered Riding Instructors Clinic taught by Mary Fenton in Watsonville.  (That means that the instructor trainees were teaching me during mounted lessons, not Mary Fenton.)   There was a great deal of unmounted coursework.  We discussed a variety of things, like the basics of Centered Riding, anatomy, focus (qi, chi, or ki….), some Alexander technique, etc.  We also did some physical training excercises on a mini-trampoline, some paired footwork, and a lot of muscle tension releasing work.  We would discuss the horses movement as well and how we work together as a team. 

What was so interesting is that throughout the clinic, everyone would be working so hard in releasing their negative muscle coordination habits, that everyone would be releasing a lot of emotions as well.  It is hard for me to explain it, but it was a very monumental experience for me.  I had a total of two hours mounted over the course of 4 days, but what I gained from unmounted work was immense.

Try it, you’ll like it!

K.