I have had the privilege of participating in four Lena Wedenmark clinics in the past year and a half.  Although I recently lost my horse and had to borrow a horse to be able to ride one day in the clinic held on April 7-9 in Wichita, I still came away with very good images and concepts that will apply to any horse I ride in the future.  Lena heavily emphasizes the rider’s position and the effect the rider has on the horse’s ability to move freely and show the natural quality of their gaits.  The riders and those who came to audit heard some of the helpful thoughts and phrases listed below:

When the rider gathers the reins from free walk back to working walk, think of gathering the reins from the energy of the hindquarters, rather than gathering in the energy in front.

If the rider squeezes with the leg for a prolonged period (more than a stride) the rider’s buttock muscles tighten and the rider’s back can no longer follow the movement of the horse.

The rider should carry their ribcage up off of their hips and seek to increase the distance between the ribcage and the hips.

When the horse is not blocked by the rider’s leg, the horse pushes up and through and will not travel wide behind.

When doing half pass, first place the horse on the diagonal line and then start the half pass.  Keep the outside front leg on the line.  If the horse wants to fall off the outside rein, counter flex slightly and let the horse become comfortable with the counter flexion.  Then move the shoulders to the line and allow the horse to flow into the half pass.

The rider should give one aid at a time – not three at once.  The rider may only need two aids, so why should they use three and never know if only two would have sufficed?

The rider should give the horse information so that the horse knows what he is to do – the rider should not fail to give instruction and then have to say “no, don’t do that.”   The rider should tell the horse what to do, not what not to do.

When yielding off a leg, the rider should keep their waist level and not tip the body from side to side in the leg yield.

The rider should look forward between the horse’s ears in the direction of travel.  If the rider looks down, they lose 50% of the mobility of their back and the horse cannot move freely.

The rider should use the rein aid from the elbow (think of someone putting their hand behind your elbow and you push your elbow into them) and not by tightening the wrist and hand.  The wrist and hand should be soft, even when the rein aid is used.