Every Friday we seem to get involved with plastic horses of one kind or another. This time it was the Equisimulator at June Simmonds' Fir Tree Farm Equestrian Centre at Ogdens. The four of us all learned a great deal about the way we ride - David learning to trot for the first time and the rest of us looking at slowing up and speeding up the trot by changing our own tempo; changing diaganols in a very low energy way and how we might be blocking our horses by rising too high or not landing softly enough in the saddle or with both seat bones locked together. This is well worth a go whether you are a novice or a grand prix rider. June is an Enlightened Equitation instructor and someone I have often recommended to teach people without their own horse. Unlike many BHS yards where there is too much kicking, hitting and shouting going on, June teaches subtlety and two way communication with the horse.
