Initial Observations
When the equine sacral joint (L6/S1) closes the horse’s back mounts, (1 ...)
When the human sacral joint (L5/S1) closes the human’s back hollows, (2 ...)
In other words, as concerns structure, the horse’s horizonal back bone reacts
different and for that matter exactly opposite to the upright human vertebra.
When the equine sacral joint opens the horse’s back drops, (3 ...)
When the human sacral joint opens the human’s back rounds, (4 ...)
Again there is the same diametrically opposed reaction.
When one looks at changes in innervation, that go along with the closing and the opening of the sacral joints in the horse and the human, one observes the following situation.
(... 1) the posture of the hindquarters changes (i.e. the croup flattens) and
the hind legs are innervated for forward movement (see the take-off in jumping).
(... 2) the spine hollows and the human prepares for movement (see Caprilli’s seat
in the take-off).
In other words, as concerns innervation for rapid forward movement, horse and rider correlate, despite opposing structural changes.
(... 3) and the horse stops (see the horse in the sliding stop).
(... 4) and the human prepares for rest (see the rider in the sliding stop).
Again, despite opposing structural reactions horse and rider correlate.
Summary: In forward motion the horse’s long flat croup (i.e. the equine mounted back) and the rider’s long hollow back (i.e. the human hollow spine) correspond. The horse’s long flat croup is a result of the closing of the sacral joint. The rider’s long hollow back is the result of a closing of the sacral joint as well. I.e. both are the result of a closing of the sacral joint. Differences concern not energy but posture alone.
The Sacral Joint
In the horse’s horizontal backbone the sacral joint (L6/S1) slides back and forth. When it is fully closed the vertebral canal is flat. Fully opened the rear ledge of lumbar vertebra five is mounted and puts pressure on the central nervous system. Locomotion confirms what bone formation suggests: Closure of the sacral joint and the long flat croup activate and sustain movement. The opening of the sacral joint and a short round croup deactivates.
In the human vertebra the sacral joint (L5/S1) turns to two sides. When it closes towards the rear, the back hollows. When it closes towards the front or opens in the rear (which in other words is the same thing) the back rounds. The human sacral joint itself gives little indication, but experience proves: the hollow back goes with activation, the round back goes with the deactivation of movement.
In more than one way the human upright vertebra and the horse's horizontal backbone do not compare. The sacral joint in the human provides much greater capacity for movement than does the equine sacral joint. Man’s vertebra is capable of bending fore and back and of moving in all directions. The equine backbone inherently only mounts. In man and in the horse the closing of the sacral joint provides a mechanical release for the central nervous system. To supplement the quality of locomotion the horse’s haunches supply suppleness and fine-tuning. This function is not available to man.
The Sacro-Illiac Joint, the Core and Energy.
Obviously the examples provided above represent extremes: the rider’s posture on a horse that prepares for the big jump and on one that does the sudden stop. What about the many situations in between, both as regards posture and locomotion? The walk, the different types of trot, the canter, transitions, lateral work, flying changes, the exercises of the Grand Prix, Haute Ecole?
On first sight one thing seems obvious: to be at ease and able to advise the horse in all motions, movements and locomotions a rider must be in complete command of the full range of his vertebra’s flexibility, from a full closing (which produces the hollow back) to the full opening of the sacral joint (producing the rounded back). We will see, that this is not so. Because that is not all. In addition to the sacral joint there are the sacro-illiac joint and the activation of the body’s core energy. Here spoken of is Hubert Godard’s hidden pelvis concept, which corresponds to study-horsemanship’s second gear.
Yes, the body has a core. It expands between head and toes and reaches from hand to hand. This core is animated and corresponds with gravity. It fulfills several functions. The core creates and maintains body posture. It prepares and sustains muscular activity. It maintains and/or recreates balance. As such it carries and executes a being’s will. To modify posture and movement (and with it bodily and psychological well being) is to understand and use the functions of the core. In this understanding modern research and ancient know how meet.
The central organ of the core is the psoas, i.e. the inner most muscle system of the pelvis. The psoas corresponds with the organs of perception (eyes, ears, nose, taste and skin) and, via the neck’s posture, as well with breathing. In reaction to a being’s inherent will or the other (i.e. persons, objects and/or situations) orientation (i.e the organs of perception) calls on the psoas’ stabilisation. As a result the core activates, and in the process initiates posture, balance and movement.
The Sacrum, the Sacro-Illiac Joint and the Rider’s Position.
The only way to mechanically activate the psoas is a release of the illio-sacral joint. The question however is, if not this release in the first place is psychiological. Orientation, will and/or reaction to the other set off the release of the sacro-illiac joint. Something happens in the sacrum, which sets off the activation of the psoas. The body’s core energy rises. It penetrates the body and translates into movement. This process may explain the sacrum's name. As concerns living life to the fullest all seems to hinge on it. The sacrum, however, is directed by the psoas. The psoas, however, descends from the skeleton’s first lumbar vertebra and connects to the upper thighs.
A quick detour into the history of equitation will relate these findings first to the forward and then to the upright seat.
It was the Italiean officer Frederiko Caprilli who, in the late 1800s, discovered the option of what came to be known as the forward seat. He was the first ever to raise his seat from the saddle. Using an activation of the core much like in the reverse cobra he freed the horse for jumping. No one before him had as much as an inkling of the horse's ability to do big jumps. And with Caprilli the horses doing the tall jump maintained the ability to use their haunches.
Before Caprilli only one seat, the upright seat, was known. Since Caprilli any encompassing equestrian training is taught in two seats, the forward and the upright seat. Unfortunately however today, a century after Caprilli, few learn the forward seat, which Caprilli discovered. This seat presupposes a full dorsal release, which most rider's leave alone humans no longer can do. Instead riders lift their seat from the saddle without closure of the sacral joint and/or the resulting hollow back referred to above. They fail to activate the horse's core energy. Instead they rely on the horse's genetic muscular and improved metabolic quality. They neglect the haunches.
But, the reader may ask, how does this relate to the classical upright seat. Surely no hollow back has any part in it. To recall, when today the horse goes towards the great jump the sacral joint closes. Over the jump it opens and in landing it balances out. In other words, the horse opens and closes the sacral joint as needed. The position of the back changes accordingly. Some riders round, others hollow the back. Some horses use the haunches, others don't. There is no predictable human/equine coordination.
To fully understand the difference between this type of equitation and how riding used to function we will look at this drawing and briefly go back to pre-industrial times.
Please click on the image to see how the sacral joint relates to the rider's upright position. On the right page you see from left to right the sacrum's position in the hollow back (1), the vertebra in its normal upright position (2), the rider's upright vertebra (3) and the sacrum's position in a lower rounded back (4). What is the difference?
(1) In the hollow back the sacrum's lower end turns towards the back; the pelvis (here not shown) lowers towards the front, the sacral joint closes, the back hollows. (2) In the human's normal upright position the sacrum is in center position, the pelvis balances, as does the sacral joint. The slightly curved vertebra has two turning points (T9/10 and T1/C7). The human is ready to stop (rounding the lower back) or go (going into dorsal extension) as needed. The sacro-illiac joint is or is not released.
Very different the rider's upright position. (3) The pelvis is level, the sacral joint is balanced, the sacro-illiac joint is released. The vertebra rises like a column. From L1 the rider controls his psoas and directs the horse. He sits, the horse moves.
The major difference between the upright rider's and the biped's normal upright position: the former enables the rider to sit and direct the horse, the latter facilitates walking, dancing, jumping, skipping and turning in the forces of the earth. To complete the picture. (4) In the rounded lower back the sacrum's lower end turns towards the front; the front of the pelvis (here not shown) rises, the sacral joint opens, the lower back rounds.
In pre-industrial times no posting in the trot and not forward seat in the canter was known. The rider rested on the horse's back as shown. His vertebra was not curved but straight. In reaction to lives' situations the sacro-illiac joint released setting off the energy of the core. The horse's back was mounted. The hindlegs mobilized. Fine-tuning happened in the haunches. The horse's performance in battle, at work and in the bull ring is no option otherwise.
