Get some Fresh Air – Commentary by Hans-Michael Schoebinger

It was a great honor when that young rider asked me for help on this autumn afternoon. With her riding skills way superior to mine, I had questioned whether in her case I should really be the horse person to turn to. But she had insisted and so she arrived at my place with her black mare. We went to the small arena, she got on her back and I was to observe their riding and make comments regarding the issue she had on her mind.

“Coming to a halt, she always opens her mouth, not only that, she keeps it open in every downward transition, be it from trot to walk or walk to halt.”, she explained the problem, “It looks horrible. As if I were yanking the reins!”
Clearly she was not yanking the reins. But I could not detect any sign of her breathing properly either. “Don’t forget to breathe!”, I told her, “And when you go for the halt, do so on a nice, long outbreath!”

Five steps later she gently stepped on the brakes and with the outbreath they came to a halt with her mare keeping her mouth closed. No sign of opening it whatsoever. Within the next couple of minutes, she then succeeded in all other downward transitions by also simply breathing out while asking her horse for the change of gait. Mission accomplished.

Mark Rashid was the first to point out to me the importance of the breath. He not only specifically mentioned the power of the outbreath – that we have just seen demonstrated above – he also stated that “the first, and probably most important, factor in preparing ourselves for dealing with the unexpected is learning how to breathe properly” . With many unexpected things that can happen in the company of horses, we can immediately see how useful this subject may turn out to be in our daily contact with them.

Horses are very good at reading the psychological states of their herd members. If they see one of their comrades having a hard time catching his breath, it is a sure sign for them that he is in some kind of trouble. Which means that probably the whole herd is in trouble, which means, for reasons of survival, let’s switch to flight or fight mode.
Also, you have probably noticed that your horse would hold her breath whenever she decided to listen closely for an unknown sound to maybe re-occur. At the same time, she would raise her head and prepare for takeoff, if need be.

Just looking at these two examples, we can easily understand why our approaching horses with our breathing rhythm hectic, uneven or at a standstill may create an atmosphere not very well suited for riding, to say the least.

Then there’s the horse readily mirroring our physical ailments as mentioned in the chapter that dealt with Push-ups. Irregular or shallow breathing usually comes with considerable braces throughout your body. Mirroring will then allow these to develop in the horse, deteriorating the quality your riding experience at best and let your horse suffer from your breathing deficiencies at worst.

On the plus side, and because it is so important I want to state it again, if your breathing is deep, consistent and relaxed, it is a great tool for calming your horse, for any “dealing with the unexpected”, regardless of whether she has already become or she is just about to become overly excited or worried.

These physical, mental and last, but not least, practical connections between body, breath, mind and horse are very well illustrated by an exercise that Donna Farhi has included in her excellent “Breathing Book”: It is based, as Farhi explains, on Sally Swift’s technique of “soft eyes”, where the riders would open up their peripheral vision, which made “the horses quite amazingly respond by calming and slowing down” .
Farhi then notices the relationship to breathing and encourages you to try the following: put your hand on your belly just below the sternum. Notice the movement of your belly with the in- and outbreath. Actually it is your diaphragm that takes your belly with it. 

Then concentrate your view on one single, narrow spot to exclude everything else from your attention but that one object right there. You will notice your contracting diaphragm and restricted breathing.

Then open up the shades to the left and right, expand your view, albeit a bit blurry, to gently include even impressions slightly behind you – that is the “soft eyes” now – and your hand on your belly will feel your diaphragm as it widens and you soften as a whole while your breathing deepens peacefully.