Riders

Feldenkrais and Applied Neurology combined with the use of Franklin Balls help equestrians by improving body awareness, ease of movement, and nervous system regulation. This leads to better balance, coordination, and timing in the saddle—enhancing communication with the horse and reducing the risk of injury or tension.

Improved body awareness through the Feldenkrais Method helps riders in several key ways:

1.     Clearer movement patterns: Riders learn to sense how they move and identify habits that create tension or imbalance. By refining these patterns, they ride with more ease, symmetry, and coordination.

2.     Independent body parts, unified movement: Feldenkrais teaches how to move different parts of the body independently while maintaining overall integration. This is essential for refined aids—like using the leg without gripping, or turning the head without shifting weight unintentionally.

3.     Balance and stability: Better awareness of weight distribution and skeletal support helps riders stay centered and stable, even during sudden movements or challenging gaits.

4.     Improved timing and responsiveness: With greater sensory clarity, riders can better feel the horse’s movement and respond more precisely—leading to more effective, subtle communication.

5.     Reduced tension and effort: Riders often use more effort than needed. Feldenkrais helps discover efficient movement, reducing fatigue and the risk of overuse injuries.

6.     Greater adaptability: Each horse is different. Riders with heightened body awareness can adapt more quickly to new horses or situations, improving both safety and performance.

Because riding is a dynamic partnership, the rider’s body has a direct impact on the horse’s movement. Subtle habits like bracing, collapsing, or gripping can interfere with connection—even if they go unnoticed. ATM lessons gently uncover these patterns and offer new movement options, so riders can move with more fluidity, coordination, and confidence. Over time, this improves not only performance, but also the comfort and harmony between horse and rider.

Riders training in Applied Neurology helps in many ways, but specifically targeting two key areas is critical. These areas are the visual and vestibular systems.

Vision and vestibular training helps riders by improving balance, spatial awareness, and head control—all crucial for staying centered and responsive in the saddle. A more stable visual and vestibular system means clearer movement signals to the body, reducing unnecessary tension and allowing smoother, more confident riding.

Specifically, vision training helps riders enhance depth perception, peripheral awareness, and eye stability, which are essential for accurate timing, steering, and spatial judgment—whether approaching a jump, navigating a trail, or riding a dressage test. Improved visual processing also reduces mental fatigue and sharpens focus in high-pressure environments like shows or clinics.

Vestibular training supports balance, head control, and postural stability—key for staying centered and responsive in the saddle, especially during sudden movements or challenging gaits. A more efficient vestibular system can also reduce motion sensitivity and help riders feel more grounded, even on unpredictable horses.

By targeting the brain’s control systems through simple, personalized drills, applied neurology helps equestrians ride with more confidence, clarity, and ease—while also supporting recovery from past injuries or movement limitations.

The use of Franklin Balls especially in the saddle can be a powerful way to provide proprioceptive feedback for the rider. Targeted exercises improve pelvic mobility and bring greater awareness for the rider, especially to the use of their seat bones.

How to work with me:

I offer small workshops, and private sessions in person locally and over Zoom.