Say NO to falling off
Better balance and spook-free horses — two key things that will help to keep us in the saddle. Stunt riders Karl Greenwood and Zana CousinsGreenwood show us how to achieve them
AS RIDERS WE’RE usually pretty good at balancing in the saddle — until our horse moves in a way we aren’t expecting. Then it can go one of two ways — we stay on or we fall off and often it feels like the outcome is pure luck. We’d much rather it always went the ‘stay on’ way and we’re betting it’s the same for you. Well it can; we just need to train ourselves and our horses to give us the best chance of keeping our bottom firmly where it needs to be. Stunt riders and trainers Karl Greenwood and Zana Cousins-Greenwood have all the know-how and they share it right here…
Don’t be in a rush
First things first: one of Karl’s key mantras when it comes to training ourselves and our horses is to take small, manageable steps. “The best way to learn and progress is by breaking everything down into small steps,” he says. “Your primitive brain needs to understand what you’re asking, and if the task you want it to consider is too big a deal, you won’t progress. It will say ‘no, that’s too scary’ and make you back off — this part of our brain is all about keeping us safe.
“If you’re not getting the results you want, the steps you take need to be even smaller. It really doesn’t matter how small they are as long as you’re progressing. Think about walking across a room. You can take the tiniest steps possible and you’ll still get to the other side. This is how you reach your goals. Don’t take any notice of people who want you to move on faster than you’d like.”
All perfectly normal
Stunt horses need to be able to deal with anything, but they’re not born brave — like all horses, they have an innate f light instinct. Training horses to accept whatever comes their way is vital, and this takes trust in you. “One of the first things we do is make everything normal, no matter what that is,” explains Karl. “Take flags, for instance. Much of the stunt work we do involves a waving flag, whether at events or on a film set and there are no concessions made for horses taking a dislike to them. So we have to make sure our lot are blasé about the whole thing. “If you visit our yard, you’ll see f lags f lying from poles on the arena fence all the time. We don’t take them down if a horse reacts to them; instead we stay focused and he has to get on with it. If you move the scary object, all you’re doing is delaying the inevitable.” Karl uses every opportunity to desensitise his horses. If there’s a gardener working at the yard, he’ll ask him to work closer and closer to the arena while the horses are being schooled. He’ll put wheelie bins in the corner of the arena, work the horses for a short while, then move the bins to the middle. “Even horses that are not destined for the big screen need to be taught how to cope. It makes everything easier and more enjoyable.”
Take control of the situation
With horses that take a real dislike to objects and are genuinely scared, Karl creates a controlled environment to help them.
“Going back to the flags, if a horse reacts in an extreme way, rather than stress everyone out, we’ll spend a few days feeding him underneath the flagpole,” he explains.
“If he’s scared of the quad bikes we use, we’ll park one in the field until he’s happy to go near it — even touch it with his nose. Obviously, some horses adapt very quickly; with others it’s back to those small steps.” Your horse will inevitably look to you for reassurance if he’s bothered by something. He’s asking if everything is OK and you have to give him the instructions he needs to hear. Your body language should say, ‘I’m relaxed, so you can be too’, and as long as there’s no risk to horse or rider, just focus and keep a positive mindset while ignoring whatever object is bothering him.
Zana is an advocate of spook-proofing too. “I do star jumps near the horses, flap my coat about, take it on and off right next to them, put it over their head, ride in the school accompanied by people on pushbikes,” she says. “It’s important that you don’t dumb things down. Get creative and have fun. What’s the craziest thing you can do while keeping everyone safe? Your horse will soon learn with repetition and reassurance.”
Staying in the saddle
“Sometimes it’s the little spooks that can unbalance and unseat riders,” says Zana. “Those quick shimmies to the side when a crisp packet blows up while you’re out hacking, for instance. They take the rider by surprise and reaction times can be too slow to prevent a fall. Or the rider doesn’t fall, but they pull on the reins and clamp their legs on, causing their horse to panic or run off. “Working on your horse’s spookiness is important, but so is developing your balance.” The rider’s centre of balance is like a football around the belly button. This has to be central over the horse at all times for the rider to be truly at one with the movement. “Most riders are fine when nothing is happening underneath them,” says Zana. “But when something does — a buck for instance — they can be quickly thrown off balance. To be effective they need to be able to move themselves over the centre again, whatever’s happening — and do it quickly.”
Quick thinking, fast action
Whether the unbalancing movement is big or small, the rider should take the same action. “You might slip to the side, backwards, forwards or be hanging off the saddle, but what’s important is that you get your belly button back over your horse’s centre of balance,” says Zana. “It doesn’t need to look tidy. Just grab anything you can that’s stable — a neckstrap, breastplate, mane, pommel (but never the reins) — and push up and back into the saddle. You may not be upright or even fully in the saddle, but if your belly button is in the right place, you won’t come off. You need to train your brain that you might be in a daft or unusual position, but it’s OK. Give yourself permission to grab on and move your body. Train this and your reactions will become quicker and quicker.”
Practise moving
“One of the exercises we ask riders to do isn’t difficult, but it has such a good effect on balance,” continues Karl.
“In halt, take one leg up and over your horse’s neck so that you’re sitting sort of side-saddle, but without going so far that you slip off. Stay there for a short while, then go back to sitting in the saddle normally. Repeat on the other side and make sure that you look up so you remain aware of what’s happening around you. Wriggle to get balanced if you need to and tell yourself you’re not coming off. Feel the balance.” To take this a step further, sit in the saddle and deliberately put yourself in unusual positions. Maybe turn so you’re looking over one shoulder, or lean over to one side. Remember it’s all about keeping your belly button over your horse’s centre of balance. “Now, with someone leading your horse, go for a walk or trot,” suggests Karl. “Lean over to one side, then the other. Take your feet out of the stirrups and swivel round,
holding on to the pommel. Put both legs to one side again. Two hands gripping is fine, but one hand is good too. Ask your helper to fire questions at you while you’re walking along — you’ll find it hard to feel scared when you’re concentrating on answering them.” To get back in the right position, remember to push down and back up as before, holding on to anything stable — the momentum of your horse’s movement will help you.
Next, get someone to arrange a few little spooky things around the school and focus like a laser beam on the task of staying in balance — not freezing — and grabbing hold of something secure and moving if you need to. It’s all brilliant practice.
A modern day dismount
Centuries of cavalrymen carrying swords on horseback led to the dismounting method we use today, but Karl urges us to change this.
“If your horse moves or gallops off as you’re dismounting, 90% of the time you’ll either lose balance or trip,” says Karl. “Instead, put in a quarter-turn as you drop down to land, so that your feet are pointing forwards as they hit the ground, not facing your horse’s side. If he moves, you can move with him.
“If you prefer, you can put your leg over his neck and drop down that way if your horse is happy with it. What matters is that you land facing forwards. Next, you can progress to dismounting while your horse is walking and going with him. It’s all good training for great balance.”