What We Don’t Do
This is a Frequently-Asked-Questions page that details what we do not do in our biomechanical analyses and lesson program. FAQs that explain what we do may be found here.
Q: Do you use specialized computers and software in your analysis?
A: No, because it’s extremely expensive and simply not necessary for 95% of riders. Computer-aided analysis is only really essential for Olympic-level riders. In those cases, the rider’s seat is so balanced and centered that the unaided human eye can’t detect ways in which minor imbalance may occur during specific riding maneuvers. Instead, the only way to spot areas of imbalance or less-than-optimal mechanical advantage is to use a digitized pen to mark key joints on individual frames of an ultra-high-speed film recording, then run the resulting data sets through a computer program that assesses everything from how the combined horse-human center of mass moves through space to the angular acceleration of one of the horse’s feet at a point in the sequence. But this level of analysis is simply not necessary for most riders, even those who are advanced and experienced. So we don’t use these types of computerized methods because of their serious downside: they price an analysis far beyond the reach of most riders. If you submit a video for analysis and it turns out you are in the class of riders that requires this level of analysis, we will return your video to you and refund your fee.
Q: Do you analyze horse conformation?
A: No, for three reasons.
(1) There are other people who do that, and who are very good at it. We can refer you on request.
(2) It doesn’t fall within our organization’s mission statement. We feel that biomechanical analysis of horse conformation is of value to only two types of equestrians: breeders attempting to ensure that the horses they breed are structurally sound, and competitors who want to assess their mounts’ suitability for a particular use or event. Neither of these purposes dovetails with Tapestry’s mission, which is to help people reconnect to nature by integrating different ways of knowing, learning about, and responding to the natural world — in this case, horses.
(3) We don’t see your horse’s conformation as particularly relevant to the sort of practical feedback we provide about your riding. Our service is oriented toward riders who care about their horses very much, who want to improve their riding and their horse’s experience of being ridden, and at the same time want to lessen the chances of acute or chronic injury for both their horse and themselves. Assessing your horse’s conformation is only relevant to these issues as your horse’s conformation impacts its ability to balance itself with you on its back, asking it to do specific things. In general, this is only going to be an issue if your horse’s conformation “problems” are very serious. In that case, we can point out the issues your horse is struggling with and ways you can help ameliorate the problems. Remember that your “conformation” as a rider is going to impact your combined horse-and-rider balance, too, but we aren’t going to criticize you for having legs that are “too short” or a back that is “too long.” Nor are we going to suggest you not ride at all “because you’re not built for it.” Instead, as with your horse, we might suggest ways you can best use your own unique anatomical build when you ride, and we may recommend exercises you can use to help develop muscles or relax joints that will help you to do this. We don’t believe in “perfect horses” or “perfect riders” because we don’t believe anyone is perfect. And we think that’s not only normal but even ok.
Q: Can’t I just look in the mirror at my indoor arena and spot the same things you tell me about in an analysis?
A: It’s unlikely, though possible. The problems are two-fold. First, the body is remarkably subtle and self-correcting, and it’s attached (via the automic nervous system) to the brain — and (via the limbic system) to the subconscious. It’s therefore absolutely remarkable how a rider whose posture is astonishingly off-balance will immediately self-correct if asked to face the mirror in an arena — and not even realize that she or he has done so. This means whenever they look in the mirror they see a good seat even though they habitually ride in an entirely different way! The second problem is that biomechanics is apparently simple on the surface, especially the way we present our analysis results to you. It looks like it’s just a matter of looking closely to see what’s there. But the results we give you distill years of experience and research knowledge into something so easily digestible and usable for you that it just looks like it was easy to do.
Q: Can you give me feedback on general or discipline-specific “horsemanship” as it’s judged in show classes?
A: This is not part of our service. You will likely discover that modifying your balance, especially following the seat or posture recommendations we make, will improve the positions of your hands and/or heels in ways that bring them more in line with what’s generally considered “good horsemanship” — but that’s simply because the principles of good horsemanship are, themselves, founded upon a good seat that is balanced and centered. You may also discover that when you make the changes of posture or seat we recommend, your horse is more willing and better-collected. Again, this is simply because your horse can carry you better and with greater balance if you are not an inadvertent incumbrance to its natural movement.