Poor Mans Mirrors

Over the last several months I have been fortunate enough to not have to ride inside.   I have been fortunate enough to have an outdoor ring that can take 2" of overnight rain and be perfect for riding in at 8 am the next morning.   I have also been fortunate enough to plan my riding at the time in the morning when the sun is coming up or in the evening when the sun is at the perfect spot setting...to produce the most tell tale shadows that I have been able to use as a training tool.   Ah...the poor man's mirrors!   I noticed the missing training tool tonight as I rode in overcast skies.   I hadn't realized how much I had been checking on things until my beautiful sunshine mirror wasn't there!

I have been using my shadow for years to check position and posture.   I have even went so far as to set up a working line so that it falls in the perfect direction of the sun to monitor the changes in neck position and shoulder elevation to validate a feel.   Outdoor mirrors are a thing we see at all the big barns in the south and most of the indoor dressage barns here in the north.    But being resourceful we can still see a lot in a shadow.   I can validate what I feel as I train.   I can see if the hind foot initiates the flying change.   I can see if the half steps are even back and front.   I can see if my posture generates a lift in the shoulders.   In general, I can validate what I feel with my eyes.

The mind works in a funny way sometimes; how thoughts connect to other thoughts.   As I rode out today wishing for my shadow to return, I thought of a photos that I took of Emma and I on the Tequanyah damn.   The hill is very high and very steep so it gave a crazy shadow.

Here's the picture.

This thought connected to the movie Avatar where the Na'vi people rode a creature that was very horse like called a Direhorse.

This thought connected me to the profound memory I have of Avatar...the moment of Tsaheylu that Jake has with Pale as he connected his queue (neural antenna or neural whip) with the Pale's.   This is a bonding ritual that the creatures in Pandora use to send information between creatures.   Once the connection is made the Na'vi rider can communicate motor commands instantly through the neural interface.   It makes it appear that the rider and Direhorse are moving effortlessly and are extensions of each other.

This thought connected to the thought...James Cameron must have known a very talented classical horseman to have come up with such a profound statement of how riders think about the connection with their partners.   I have never forgot Tsaheylu from that 2009 movie and it serves as a good goal for me as I continue to develop deeper connections with my horses and in general in my life.  
....Connecting with both humans and creatures on the deepest level I am capable of at this time in my life...