I would like to take some time to discuss the idea of length of rein, a subject that is oftentimes debated, usually oversimplified, and extremely pertinant to the art of equitation.

Once in a while, we see riders guiding their equine partners with the aid of little or no rein at all. This is oftentimes a great thing for, as I have previously stated, the horse should be carried by the rider's leg, lifted underneath itself if you will. That being said, there is a fine line between too short and too long of a rein, all dependent of course upon the individual rider's skill set and the horse that they are riding. Although a long rein is oftentimes a sign of a well balanced individual and a rider who is lifting their partner's ribcage with the use of their calf muscles, too slack of a snaffle or curb can also be a sign of inexperience and a lack of understanding for the way in which our reins function. The reins are not, as is predominantly assumed, a steering device. A rider who is in commune with their horse, guides him more by shifting body weight between the inside and outside stirrups than by steering the horse from the right to the left in a similar style to a trucker, maneuvering their tractor trailer.

Regardless of rein length, a rider is at her best when sitting in the middle of her horse, elbows at her side and shoulers back. I never cease to find connections between the art of equitation and the properties of alignment taught in hatha yoga.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, human beings were physically structured in a manner closer to that of the horse. One particularly pertinent similarity between early human Hominids and the Hippidion Equus is the existence of a tail. For horses, this attribute obviously remains, and as for us humans, well, we have a tail bone. It is that very tailbone that is the root of equitation, for it is in dropping our seat and "sitting deep" if you will, that we riders stabilize a connection to our horses, via our core center of balance. Once we're balanced, the rest easily falls into place, given proper guidance of course. Our balance must come from our seat, not our hands and not, by extension, our reins. Through our seat, we also find a source of steerage that is often assumed to come from the reins. By shifting weight in between the respective seat bones, the rider sends signals to their partners regarding direction and the support needed for the shift of weight needed to corner or change direction in a well balanced fashion.

Getting back to my original point here, when a riders reins are too long, it gives them little chance to be well balanced throughout the rest of their body. How can one correctly drop their tail bone and lift their upper body when their elbows are extending out behind them? And of course, should the reins get too long, a rider's hands will naturally rise up towards their shoulders, causing the elbows to sprawl out. This makes sense as, should the reins get long and the riders hands travel towards their stomach, they will inevitably hit a barrier (the person's body). The longer the reins, and the more "jacked up" the rider's elbows become, the less control they will have.
In other cases of excessiely long reins, the riders hands travel back towards their (not to sound crude) crotch. When this happens, the rider's upper body falls forward in compensation. The result is, again, a lack of balance on the rider's part, which contributes to a lack of balance on their partner's part. The end result is excessive speed and lack of organization.

This essay has been rather long winded, and I fear that I could write even more. It can actually be quite challenging to keep one's reins properly shortened. Horses, especially the great ones, are seldom easy to ride, and have a tendency to try and take advantage of their rider's limited strength by leaning against the rein pressure in an attempt to gain a slackened rein, and therefore, more control. To remedy all this, I suggest a simple mechanical study of the cause and effect understanding of equitation as outlined above. It is amazing the difference that a simple shift of consciousness to one's own body as working in conjunction with their horse rather than as a seperate entity can make. Start practicing yoga and then looking for connections between your practice and your riding...start taking time before each ride to center yourself in the saddle, visualizing the core line that runs down your center, connecting your shoulders to your seat bone, to your heels, and most importantly, to your horse.

I spent this past evening in the company of my dad and my dog, two of my favorite beings. It had already been a great day as I woke bright and early to catch an 8am train to New Haven for a horse show. My dad met me at the station with my car and together we went to the show, where Ham is being riden by a young girl as part of the financial agreement I have arranged in connection with his keep. Suffice it to say the day was spent around those whom I love the most.
This evening, dad and I shucked corn and watched a Bonnie Raitt concert on VH1. Later, I was standing in the kitchen slicing fruit when dad came in from the porch, asking me to come outside and look at something.

I stepped out onto the front porch wearing my slippers. The night air had that first hint of fall in it and the sky was overflowing with stars to an extent that I have never before seen. Despite my inadequate footwear, out we walked, me, dad, and our dog Bindi into a field of freshly cut hay. I hoisted myself up on a big round bale and lay there on my back, staring up.

The milky way was fully visable and streached across the sky, seemingly close enough to touch. From across the field came the voices of two hoot owls, calling to one another.
The front field at my father's house is cut by Mr. Adams, an old farmer who lives in a mobile home down the road. Unlike most hay farmers, Mr. Adams comes to collect his hay but once a year, I think because he believes that a seldom mowed field yields greener hay. Perhaps he is right, because the bale i lay upon, moist from the morning's rain shower, smelled fresh and sweet.

The night was perfect and was experienced with equal intensity by my different senses. I would like to say that starring up at the endless night sky, I felt insignificant...but it was somewhat the opposite. I felt connected and limitless. There was no longer a clear deliniation between my physical self and that seemingly endless void created by the New Hampshire night. Just as Siddhartha sat beneath the bodhi tree, observing himself as connected to nature, discovering the universal truth that all is one, I lay upon a big round hay bale, and came to the same conclusion.

It strikes me as quite odd that I am oftentimes asked about marriage. That’s right, I am increasingly asked questions concerning any plans for matrimony in the near future.
This strikes me as odd, not only because I am a mere twenty years of age and am a single and fabulous woman, but because never have the bonds of holy wedlock crossed my mind as something to undertake before the age of thirty…if at all.
I guess my question is, what’s the big rush? Yes, marriage does serve as more than a mere title in our society, and has done so throughout history. There are benefits that go along with a marriage license that are certainly helpful to have around. But in this modern day world, where independence and equality are increasingly available, shouldn’t marriage serve as a beautiful addition to an already flourishing relationship? It simply accentuates what is already there, and what should have been built over time, over a long period of time. I can’t imagine marrying anyone with whom I have not lived, or at least spent quite a few years of my life with. I also can’t grasp how people can enter into a contract with another person having not yet fully developed essential components of their character. Send me to Europe, Asia, the Moon… then ask me about marriage.

Recently I have been studying the latest collection of writings by Dr. Wayne Dyer in which he focuses on Inspiration, theorizing that each individual has an area of life to which they are called, and within which, they are in complete connection to their Source energy.
In tandem with Dr. Dyer’s theories, I would like to share a beautiful thing that happened today:

Following a wonderful hour spent in central park with my current novel of choice (Gone With the Wind) I was leisurely strolling back downtown via Fifth Avenue. It was right by Bergdorfs that my phone rang, alerting me to the call of one of my favorite people in this world.
She was calling with beautiful news; she has been inspired.
I heard in her voice a clarity and centeredness that had never before been present. It is obvious that she has found her calling, the Universe sent it to her and she was present enough to hear it.
It is often the case that inspiration frees up an individual’s energy, allowing them to see clearly the path they must pursue in order to manifest their destiny. Inspired souls perceive exactly who and what will enable the process that they have been stirred to undertake, as well as who will be a hindrance. As my friend spoke to me, it was clear that she understands who will be unnecessary along her path, whereas in the past, such as not been so clear. In accordance with inspiration, my beautiful friend discovered that people or things that once seemed needed are in reality, illusions.
What really put the icing on the whole inspired cake for me was when my girl told me that this revelation came to her at two a.m., a time of day which I have often felt the clearest connection to my Source. Rumi theorized that between the hours of two and four a.m. we are indeed, closest to our origin. As he wrote so many years ago, “the morning breezes have secrets to tell us, do not go back to sleep, do not go back to sleep.”

Likewise, as the great Indian teacher Patanjali once said, “ when you are inspired…dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you every dreamed yourself to be”

Recently I have been reading the work of Carlos Castenada and Dr. Wayne Dyer, two teachers whose writings speak to the existence of an energetic Source. Dyer's work in particular ties into the ancient philosophy of the Tao, set down by Lao Tzu in the sixth century B.C.
Be it a bit nerdy, but in conjunction with my reading of late, my mind naturally drifts to a connection between these philosophies and Star Wars, and the meaning of the Force. In the words of Obi Wan, "the force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
Likewise and in an extreme nutshell, the Tao refers to the spiritual law which governs this world in which we all exist. Call it God, a Higher Power, the Universe, Spirit, whatever, it's an energetic field through which we flow, a Spirit that governs the natural world and determines our place within it.

Just say, for example, that I am a Jedi knight. Much like Carlos Castaneda's "sorcerers", I live in commune with the force which flows through us all and I do so to such an extent that I can channel it towards an object of my choosing, precisely because I understand that these very objects are themselves illusions.
It is as a Jedi that I approach my life, seeing every event and every actor as having arrived exactly when they have been ordained to. To me, difficulty is as much a gift as is ease and there is beauty in everything that crosses my path, be it as fun and adorable as an Ewok or as intense and threatening as Lord Vader himself. It is in conjunction with this mindset that I am able to choose between the paths of darkness and light, hatred and love, anger and forgiveness and in doing so find that, even those people or event which seem difficult and threatening are actually beautiful lessons which exist to strengthen my connection with the force.

As a Jedi, I know that I am not alone. Teachers from my past, others who are in touch with the force, be they Obi Wan, Yoda, or Mrs. Gargulo from the second grade, will be with me always. My friends, be they Han, Chewy and Leia or Richa, Kahle and Ari, are beside me. They may not understand my Jedi ways nor may they operate in conjunction with the force in a similar way as I, but that is not their job and I know that. What matters is not the extent to which our mastery or understanding of the force matches up but that we love and support one another, regardless of our ability to understand each other.

Jedi have partners be they droids, Wookies, or, in my case, Ham. The force is strong with my partner Ham just as it is with me. Because our powers are in communion, we share a relationship in which words are not necessary.My Jedi powers enable me to anticipate incoming shots and to counter balance their negative energy with the use of my lightsaber and the use of intuition developed by meditation and intense training.

"To regard the fundamental as the essence, to regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with the spiritual and the intelligent -- herein lie the techniques of Tao of the ancients." -Chuang Tzu

My thoughts today have been very much centered upon gendered notions of our sexuality...How we are expected to perform sexually and how those expectations present a double standard of sorts; an impossible ideal if you will.
Sex is arguably the purest form of human connection. Why then is it so often an experience during which participating members are on very different pages? We are expected to have an inherent understanding of what the other person needs to feel good...But because every individual is just that, an unique being with a unique set of needs, satisfying your partner without a discussion of what they personally find pleasing, is impossible.
These impossible ideals exist all over the place it seems. Take the Virgin Mary for example...This representation of the perfect woman is in fact, a biological mother and a virgin all at once...Humanly possible? Not really.
The people we see sprawled across the pages of Vogue are another example...Stylish? Perhaps, but thanks to computer technology, these ideals of femininity are also impossible. Images of beauty have been cut and cropped to such an extent that if they somehow manifested off the page and into the "real world", they'd cease to exist; their anatomical dimensions are impossible for a person to simultaneously possess and remain alive.

I am off on a tangent here, but what I am getting at is the presence and power of ideals in our lives and the impossibility of so many of them.
Ideals create expectations that, in my experience, serve to dull down otherwise interesting and mutually fulfilling events. Some would say that certain situations are instinctual and therefore do not need discussion. Maybe I just talk too much, but call me crazy, I would rather have an interesting conversation with someone about what turns them on, than fumble around in the dark trying to figure it out on my own. It's the expectation that we should somehow just know that makes situations uncomfortable or results in hook ups during which you find yourself daydreaming about the hot pocket you could be toasting, wondering how quickly you can leave without seeming rude, or guessing as to if you've gone "idle" on AIM yet...
But then, in the words of my exceedingly wise friend, lady J, " it is thru the mishing and mashing with other individual 'human mysteries' that we begin to truly understand our own."

when I was a little kiddo, there was little I loved more than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had the lunchbox with matching thermos, the velcro sneakers, and dressed up as April for three Halloweens in a row. Recently, my lovely roommate informed me that my beloved turtles would soon be returning to the silver screen. I excitedly googled their impending feature film, expecting to see Donatello, Michalangelo, Rafael, and Leonardo as I fondly recall them, with goofy characteristics, sturdy statures, and lime green skin color. Much to my dismay however, I find the upcoming turtles quite changed. Gone are the lovable, somewhat cuddly guys of yesteryear. Their replacements are far too skinny...And apparently on steroids...(http://www.imagi.com.hk/movie/web/tmntm.htm)

What I find most troubling about this "mutation" of the classic turtle's physiques into hyper perfected and svelte renditions of their former selves, is that it is not the only example of such distortion within the world of cartoons.
Classics such as "Looney Tunes" and "Scooby Doo Where are You?" were once found on several channels on any given morning, primed and ready to keep company millions of pj clad kiddos munching their morning bowls of lucky charms. What could be better than a rousing episode of "Hair Raising Hare"...or "What a Knight for a Fright"...especially when paired with a scrumptiously sugary bowl of milk and cereal...

Yet today such is not available. You can have your lucky charms, but not the charming comedic characters that served as the perfect compliments to such sugary goodness. In place of our beloved Looney Tunes is now a show called "Loonatics", a half hour cartoon in which shadows of Daffy and Bug's former selves save the world with precision, intensity, and edgy spandex superhero outfits (http://kidswb.warnerbros.com/web/stuff/stuff_display.jsp?id=LON)

Heaven forbid one should want to see an original episode of Scooby Doo Where are You...or even a Scooby Movie. Today we can find only "What's New Scooby Doo", a catchier version of the sheepish and endearing great dane's adventures.

Call me old fashioned, but I miss my mornings spent snuggled in and happily building what are now my childhood memories. Saturday mornings on the couch, completely absorbed in episodes perfected by Tex Avery or Chuck Jones yielded hours of laughter and love...time well spent. What a shame. And what a statement about our culture...always needing to be bigger, better, more streamlined, more masculinized. Indeed, a crying shame.

http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/toons/toons_classics.jsp?check=1&id=toons_classics_bunkerhillbunny&adsite=site%3Dlooneytunes.com

I wanted to elaborate on my last point about hind end usage by tying it into a discussion of the role of the rider in supporting their partner's correct movement.
As I mentioned last time, a horse's hind end acts as their motor, driving them forward and allowing them to extend their front legs outwards (as is the case with dressage or hunter horses) or allowing those with more forward set shoulders to roll their front legs upwards (as is the case with fine harness or saddle horses)

It is the job of the rider to facilitate their equine partner to the best of their ability. This job requires finesse and attention to detail. As a general rule I have observed that the more advanced the equine athlete, the more subtle and delicate their handlers must be. Most people seem to approach the task of riding as a separate style from that taught as "correct" equitation. Yet equitation is the art of horsemanship and is therefore designed for optimal support of the horse. This is particularly the case in regards to the animal's "motor" (their back-ends)

A rider who is facilitating their horse's anatomy allows their partner to move in the best way possible. Oftentimes we see riders with their heels forced down to the extent that their legs become shoved out in front of themselves. The rider's legs should in fact be positioned in a way that allows them to lift the horse's ribcage, especially when riding around corners where the animal's weight must naturally shift to keep it well balanced. A rider who is lifting their horse's ribcage is allowing it to raise up in it's middle back, thereby dropping it's rear end, thereby stepping underneath itself, thereby being able to reach forwards, be it in an upward or extended manner.

How the Hind Legs Support a Well Balanced Equine Athlete, a brief Synopsis:

A horse's back end is oftentimes referred to as the motor of the animal. It is not uncommon to hear horse people using the phrases, "driving from behind" or "stepping underneath himself" to depict an animal who is using their hind legs in a correct fashion. Put as simply as possible, when a horse is using their back end in the most efficient fashion, they are somewhat squatting, stepping underneath themselves with their hind legs. When such is the case, the animal's backside is lowered, necessitating their front end to raise up. When this happens, the result is an increase not only in motion (be it length or height of stride) but also an increase in the cadence of the gait.

Tonight, over pinot grigio with one of my favorite people in this wide world, the topic of relationships arose. While we spoke of our respective experiences, I posited that in order to successfully interact with another person in a loving and sexually satisfying fashion, one must first and foremost love themselves; we must be the partners to ourselves that we hope to find in another. In other words, it's impossible to give yourself fully to another person if you don't already care for, and admire yourself.
In this day and age, we don't need a partner...We can survive on our own. That certainly does not mean, however, that we don't desire the company of another person both physically and emotionally, only that we don't need it...it's therefore important that we are happy within our own skins, that we know how to be alone and be happy as such.
However, my dear friend disagreed with me. He countered my point by saying that, in his experience, the success of a relationship is in no way connected to the extent to which its respective participants love their own selves.

I stick to my guns.

The other day, I was sitting on the Q train. Sitting in the window across from me was my own reflection. To my left and right were other people, all looking across the way, seeing their own selves staring back.
After having acknowledged myself, I returned to my own thoughts, other thoughts...Whatever they may have been.
You know that feeling...when you really like someone...when it's just starting out and you have reason to be excited and they float into your thoughts. That moment...you feel a jumping rush of happiness solely because they exist.
Anyways, it's a beautiful feeling, and that afternoon, sitting on the subway, meandering through my own thoughts, I felt that same sudden rush!
It made me grin and settle into myself, feeling that savory satisfaction that comes with a significant other...And then I remembered...There is nobody in my life right now that in any way fits that description.
So then what does that mean?
Sitting there, wondering, I concluded that it meant one or both of the following things:
That emotion was elicited by my feelings towards myself. Either that or my feelings towards my life...or both.