At last. Posture is an all-encompassing theme. It must be dealt with lightly. Fleeting, without clear contours or a defined body it eludes definitions. It acts in the shadows of movement. The mind can't penetrate it. And yet, without doubt, it is the upright human body's central theme. Health, flexibility and confidence rely on it. It makes for amity or enmity with a force, which far from being understood places and regulates life on planet earth. With gravity's support life is easy. Working against gravity is burden-some.
In the human body a dependency of proper posture and balance is easily detected. While walking the weight is evenly distributed and meets the foot at center. In sitting it meets the seat bones respectively. As we shall see, the horse comprises neither these static nor these dynamic elements or comes anywhere near the privileges of the human upright posture. Of all living beings the human features the widest range of flexibility and owns the greatest potential for movement. A sense of balance at all times informs him of his position in the field of gravity. In locomotion a righting reflex automatically redirects him to the upright position.
The horse's weight, however, is distributed on the forehand. Two front legs support it while resting, grazing and walking. This distribution changes when the horse senses danger or sees some other reason to get going. Then the head rises and weight shifts to the hindquarters. Congruously Beudant allocates the rider's hands to the forequarters, his legs to the hindquarters and suggests, "As the horse is its own master, its positions while being ridden must be the very ones, which itself would choose to execute what the rider asks."
The terms posture and balance do not apply alike to the human upright and the horse's multiform vertebra; even when the horse rises and stands on its hind legs. Uprightness in the human speaks to static and dynamic elements of movement. It as well incorporates a moral aspect. Posture in the horse denotes readiness to perform. Proper human posture releases awareness and improves relations with life's habitat. Man stands and gives an account. The level horse's body, however, comprises two natures. In a group it speaks the language of the herd. It submits to the rider's will. And, interestingly enough the horse's body unites in one set of features performance, participation and purpose.
