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"Thankyou BALANCE" by Sharon Hopkins.
Sun and I would like to express our sincere gratitude to our delightfully British instructors Carol Brett and Lesley Ann Taylor, cofounders of BALANCE International, in addition to our local Tucson Coordinator/Instructor and friend, Carol Grubb.
At the time I first met these wonderful British women, I was at my wits end trying to fit a saddle to my soft-gaited horse. The problems began about two and a half years ago. “Sun”, my seven-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter, and I had been progressing pretty well in natural horsemanship when I noticed less willingness. I found him going to the opposite end of the paddock when I came out to play. I had begun to ask more of him from the saddle. Sun is a sensitive, intelligent and rather strong-willed horse. He is dappled gray, but likes things to be black and white! He has very little tolerance for ambiguity and he clearly knows how to get this point across. I knew his change in attitude could be attributed to a variety of things; I made some changes in our groundwork, but also suspected the saddles were a contributing factor.
Being primarily a trail rider in Arizona, I had a round-skirted Western saddle, but also had purchased an English saddle thinking it may fit the Fox Trotter’s shoulder and shorter back better. To my dismay, when I rode in the English saddle I felt I would be catapulted out of it whenever we cantered. Consequently, I preferred to ride in the Western saddle. With Sun’s negative change in attitude I began asking more experienced horse friends about saddle fitting and researched saddles on the Internet and local tack shops. Custom saddles and Internet shopping were impersonal and ran the risk of “non-returnable”. Even the local shops didn’t offer to actually look at my horse and fit the saddle. I had already purchased two saddles on my own that didn’t fit properly. I didn’t want to do that again! I was very frustrated that I couldn’t find professional help in saddle fitting. Although Sun never offered to bite or even flinch when I saddled him, I still feared the saddles were damaging his back. I had gone to riding with just a bareback pad. But, Sun still wasn’t coming willingly across the paddock.
Thankfully, I attended an equine conference in Colorado, where Carol and Lesley presented a saddle fitting workshop and riding demonstration. Wow, they were talking about the bio-mechanics of the horse and how the saddle needs to fit when the horse moves. This made sense, I wanted to here more! I visited with Carol Brett after the presentation. Although Sun was at home in Arizona, Carol let me sit in a few saddles and asked me to send wither tracings, photos, and a video of Sun to her in England. I was a little skeptical about the long-distance aspect, but already I had learned more than in my previous six months of research.
After Carol received Sun’s video and photos she called me from England. She was a fountain of information! She told me Sun was a very athletic but uncoordinated horse. Hmmmmmm, I thought, “how can that be”? I knew Carol was very knowledgeable regarding equine bio-mechanics, so I listened. I learned that Carol is quick to analyze a horse’s movement and then is able to convey that information, so I could begin to see it too. She explained to me why I felt my English saddle was a catapult. I found her genuinely interested in helping horses and their owners. Carol quickly recognized Sun’s strong will and preference for clarity. She could see that his current saddles restricted his stride and didn’t allow him to round his back. Both aspects I’ve learned are critical to maintaining balance, especially with a rider. She explained how I could help him recover the atrophy caused by poorly fitting saddles and how I could improve my riding even when I wasn’t riding! This experience went way beyond selling a saddle! Carol is easy to talk with and what she says continues to make sense.
We have had our BALANCE Saddle System more than one year now and Sun and I are both thrilled with it. I know because he’s waiting at the gate for me and practically puts the halter on himself. I’ve learned that I can trail ride up and down the hills comfortably in this English-style BALANCE saddle.
I am equally thrilled that my relationship with Carol and Lesley continues to develop and didn’t stop when I bought the saddle. Through the ‘Straight-Forward-Riding’ Workshops, held here in Tucson (thanks to the efforts of Carol Grubb), I continue to learn more about Equine movement. I have learned how my posture is reflected in my horse and how riding with positive, elastic connections helps my horse to have more confidence in me and move forward and straight.
I have been fortunate to work with other very talented instructors, but the differences in soft gaited horses seemed to be ignored. At the onset of my first lesson with Carol Brett, we talked about gaiting. This Brit doesn’t beat around the bush. She explained to me from a biomechanical standpoint the differences in soft-gaited horse and other breeds. Initially, I was afraid that I would have to choose between hindquarter engagement and his Fox Trot. But, with thoughtful consideration Carol developed a method of teaching balance with engagement and still acknowledged Sun’s soft gaits. She has taught me how to develop his hindquarters and top line to be healthier and better balanced when I ride. To keep his mind engaged we’re even beginning to explore the world of jumping, all without losing his wonderful Fox Trot.
Personally, this demonstrated the BALANCE philosophy and holistic approach to find a creative and effective training method that helps the horse and the human achieve their greater potential. It’s difficult to express how much this has meant to Sun and I and the positive connection that we now share. I learn more each time I ride I think about the suppleness of my joints, I work on myself to improve my consistency, elasticity and positive contacts and I know when I get it right; Sun’s ears are forward, he’s soft in my hand and his movement is easy. Sun was right, not to settle for anything less. I am confident that with practice we will be able to have our cake and eat it too.
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