Horses in liberty effortlessly cover long distances in a steady, almost rolling pace. As situations arise they rear, jump forward, turn on the spot or draw circles. They may withdraw aback. Each of these movements corresponds to a posture and is chaperoned by emotions.
Mounted horses also advance freely. Like the horse that travels in the wild they also draw on core energy. The rider on the other hand sits still. His weight is collected in one spot. The horse impersonates his posture. It submits its every movement to his will and bestows itself into his hands. In perfect balance it runs and turns, jumps or rears. Head and haunches correspond.
Aside from observing horses in the wild and the experience of a few, little is known about the mounted horse's ideal posture. Unlike man, its vertebra is not upright. It is composed of a long, flexible neck, a cantilevered horizontal back bone and a tail. The horse walks on four legs in different paces. For moments it can balance on two hind legs. Which posture characterizes the mounted horse? Head and neck are dropped when it grazes. When it covers long distances the neck is up, the head is forward and the eyes surveil the land. An arching neck, expressing interest and excitement, draws the head in.
Posture begets movement and expresses emotion. Certain movements produce particular feelings, which - as if drawn from a sea of emotions - appear to be prefixed. Human legs set down wide apart for instance claim the ground. Raised arms express surrender. Joined palms speak of turning inwards. The soldiers' march conveys a message of military strength. Dance is the epiphany of jollity. Singing may praise God.
Such links also exist in the horse. An example, not long ago I saw Fiona in the field - her head raised to the maximum - slowly and interrogatory advancing towards the gate. Her ears and eyes fully focused on two persons standing there. The nape of the neck and the sacrum, via the long ligament in the horse's upper line were connected. She was geared for instant reaction and in full alert.
Fiona's posture, motion and emotion just before the encounter that soon followed are not only the pose that permits instant reaction in case of danger. They also are the very base of equitation. Choosing for instance the counted walk in elevation, the rider uses this particular posture to call forth the horse's interest, attention and readiness.
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