The quality of nerve impulses depends on the structure from which they proceed. This study-horsemanship result is not new, and yet comes as a surprise, both in respect to human and equine posture. The horse's response to the rider's upright posture clearly indicates this fact and yet today alternate postures are sought, both in the human and in the horse.
Posture and its interaction with dermatomes and the autonomous nervous system, which - in detour via posture - appears to be subject to will after all, thus continues to be of great interest to study-horsemanship's research. How does posture relate to quality in equitation; how in the first place is this quality defined? And is not here, in this complex, which also includes some sort of animated core to be defined further, an access to understanding life? An access well established in Eastern cultures and curiously ignored in Christian realms.
The horse reads the rider's posture by way of the central nervous system's representation in the human skin. This human/equine communication awaits further research. Available empirical evidence, however, proves useful even now, independent of further verification and insight, to understand and teach riding.
Peripheral nerves proceed from the central nervous system and innervate body and limbs. Each peripheral nerve pair consists of four strands. Three of these mix in plexi and redistribute to produce a mammal's actions. A fourth one proceeds from the central nervous system directly to innervate peculiarly shaped skin regions, the before mentioned dermatomes. The central nervous system thus is unavoidably, permanently and directly informed of all that happens to a man’s outer most layer and all that goes on around him.
Dermatomes proceed in nearly horizontally stripes in the torso and practically vertically in arms and legs. If they were painted on the skin, one would easily discover that they innervate the surface of the human body in four distinct regions. Neck sections innervate head, neck, shoulders, arms and hands, thorax sections trunk and the arms' insides. Lumbar sections innervate the lumbar area, the legs' front regions and one part of the feet. Sacral sections innervate the seat, the legs' back regions and the other part of the feet.
The human central nervous system's shortening to lumbar vertebra one and the resulting position of lumbar and sacral nerve sections in thorax vertebrae ten to twelve above constitute a central steering in the center of the human back. From this central steering the upright and even-sided rider without any efforts directs and positions the horse. His limits are the horse’s ability, condition and health as well as his own experience in how to communicate with the horse. Riding is self-explainatory, because the horse can’t help but copy the rider's posture and in fact functions as an extension of his nervous system. The rider's central steering as well as all other human/equine correlations work with precision for good and for bad. They are both, inescapable and irrevocable. The rider’s even-sidedness and the quality of his nerve impulses make for good results. Any lacks take away from them and add to the horse's warp.
The horse reads the rider on his back by way of peculiar nerve distributions in the human skin. This may or may not be so and finally is no more than a technical detail. Truly amazing is the undeniable fact that the animal horse reads the human rider. Due to provisions for human/equine work-sharing it catches on to his mood, intention and will. It full well knows him, his good-will and any lacks thereof. It is aware of his skill and information as concerns equitation.
Where does this leave the rider? I conclude that as regards the physical posture, and as regards know-how knowledge are equitation's elements. In the rider's sensory-motor system posture, knowledge and know-how meet. The horse entrusts itself to this center in the man upon his back and the two - like one - move on in peace.
