Thank you to reader Marie for this Tip of The Day:
Michel Robert, the top international Showjumper (and ex international eventer), is very insistent on his pupils breathing regularly at all times.
He discovered through the years most of us stop breathing in the vicinity of a fence (or in a dressage test, or any stressful situation), and this has in turn a tremendous negative effect on the horse (as well as the rider’s position), causing tension, fear, rushing, or even regular stopping.
Remember to ventilate in a regular manner, especially before a fence, and a lot of problems will go away. A good way to do this without thinking about it is to sing!
Learn at what stage you stop breathing (2, 3, 7 strides out), and try to remedy the problem if you have such an issue.
