There are so many different words that we use in Equestriannese that there should almost be an English to Equestriannese dictionary! It is sooooo important that the students learn and understand this whole new language so that they can be successful and get the most out of their lessons. The solution to this is to teach "Equestriannese" right at the start... that dictionary might also come in handy so the student has a hard copy of definitions! One of the biggest mis-communications between English and Equestriannese is the definition of "heels down".
This is a very difficult concept to grasp as a new rider because as instructors, we often harp on the rider to get their heels down, but what does "heels down" actually mean in equestrian sports? In Equestrianese, it means to allow the horse's energy and movement to flow through the rider's body in a controlled manner with the weight of the body directed downward through a softly flexed and giving ankle so that the ankle becomes both an anchor for the body weight and a major shock absorber... by doing this, the heel then becomes the lowest point of the riders body. Telling students at any level of riding to "put their heels down" truly does not have much meaning beside producing stiff tense movements as the riding student tries to keep that portion of their heel fixed and locked in place. In ALL cases, the opposite is actually required!!
Frequently I have come across riders who ride with their heels jammed down in a very stiff manner; when asked about it, they tell me that they were harped on to "keep their heels down". Well, in English and Equestriannese these mean 2 different things. In English it implies that the heels must be forced down and "locked" into position. In Equestriannese, it means to have the ankle flex softly downward to anchor the rider's leg and body. If the heel is jammed down when riding, the opposite of what we are trying to make happen occur! The rider then loses one of its major shock absorbers and instead of providing an anchor for the rider, the ankle becomes a spring board to launch the student out of the saddle with every stride... with a beginning rider this can spell doom!!! Right off the bat when I see this in a new rider, I take them aside and physically adjust their leg and heel. The explanation that follows is very different from the one that they previously had and sometimes they end up having an AH HA! moment. If they struggle with the concept, I often provide a visual to the student to help their comprehension.
Since visual learning seems to be one of the predominant modes of learning in humans, it is ALWAYS important to provide the students with a visual model for the concept; a short hack around the arena on one of the lesson horses, a video of a Grand Prix rider in any of the English style sports, or even going to a Grand Prix level show if it is available is an excellent method. Even better would be to use all three! In this age of video cameras and still motion it would not even be too hard to demonstrate the small adjustments and energy flow frame by frame so that they can see the ankle moving and acting as a shock absorber. Contrasting the concept of "heels down" in English with the concept of "heels down" in Equestriannese is essential to the comprehension of the concept and really highlights the differences.
When explaining, I find that even the words that I use to explain the action of the heel have to be carefully chosen... so instead of saying "push those heels down", I use "sink down into your heels". Using more passive words like sink, softly, "oily joints" (coined by Grand Prix rider Jane Savoie), relax, drop produce phrases that are better representations of what I am looking for; sink weight into your heels, sink softly into your heels, relax weight into your heels, drop your body weight into your heels. Once the student has learned "heels down" relating to force, that phrase can no longer be used as it provides an automatic response that we absolutely want to avoid.
The only drawback to the change in vocabulary is that the student may equate soft with loose, and so I explain and show them that the ankle should be stable laterally, but still allow the up/down movement required of it. Since this is actually a higher level fine motor skill as it needs the body to have very precise control over the contractions of individual muscle groups. This means that the student must not only have good body awareness and control, but that they must also show dissociation (the ability to isolate fine motor movements from one another). To have this kind of overall body control and coordination, the student must have excellent core stability( and that is a topic for another day)!
Since vocabulary choice is such an important factor in producing the correct response in a student, it becomes very important to create a core vocabulary system of your own to impart what YOUR teaching method is. Grand Prix dressage rider Jane Savoie created a whole system of her own to produce the desired effects on her students in dressage which is programming position through the use of key words and phrases. As both an educator and a language specialist I know that this is based on sound teaching theory which is why we must strive to create key words with our students that create an accurate response in the student. Knowing this, "heels down" will hopefully be erased from the typical things that are said in a lesson. I know that it is something I am working on!
See you in the ring!
Crystal
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