A question about riding "fluency"

[Ganas]

Fluency because I don't know what else to call it.

I was doing some navel gazing today and thinking about what I'm thinking when I'm riding. Example: for the most part I don't think about how to do a half halt, but I'm still quite aware that I'm doing them. As with most of my aids.

Does one ever get to the point where it's all quite automatic? Like when you're driving and you're evaluating and calculating and navigating, but really thinking about something else altogether?

[myleetlepony]

Yes and no. I guess because my riding is fluid, as in no set plan, I am thinking ahead of where I am at the given moment. As in, can I take this hill or does the horse need more shoulder-in, where do I transition down, etc. I do a lot of field/out of arena riding. I think mostly I keep a tight on eye on the horse in the pasture next to me, as he is known to just start running, bucking and squealing for no apparent reason, so I like to be prepared so I don't become part of the shenanigans.

[Tabby]

It depends. I've experienced a great number of "holy sh!t" moments during which I seemed to have done the right thing automatically but afterwards wondered how. On the flip side, if I'm purposefully trying to accomplish something particular I become a completely uncoordinated robotic piece of unbalanced load my poor horse must contend with. I can't seem to find the line between the two.

[Chisamba]

Iv think you become fluent at some things which enables you to focus on others. Unlike a car, a hirses response can change from ride to ride, and even within a ride,

To completely check out and think of other things, which I have done on a trail ride, for example, is not respecting your partner when done while schooling, IMHO.

[Ganas]

Iv think you become fluent at some things which enables you to focus on others. Unlike a car, a guesses response can change from ride to ride, and even within a ride,

To completely check out and think of other things, which I have done on aav trail ride, for example, is not respecting your partner when done while schooling, IMHO.

Dangit, I loved that church out autocorrect!

I think that if a rider could put in a flawless GP test, adjusting and calculating all within their subconscious, that the horse would not care if the rider has checked out. I don't feel they think lIke that.

I also think that probably it's not possible to ever put enough hours in the saddle to effectively be able to assign all that to the subconscious. Things do change in the vehicle to a certain extent- particularly if one drives in the snow, but not as many things need attention ascompared to riding.

[Chisamba]

Iv think you become fluent at some things which enables you to focus on others. Unlike a car, a guesses response can change from ride to ride, and even within a ride,

To completely check out and think of other things, which I have done on aav trail ride, for example, is not respecting your partner when done while schooling, IMHO.

Dangit, I loved that church out autocorrect!

I think that if a rider could put in a flawless GP test, adjusting and calculating all within their subconscious, that the horse would not care if the rider has checked out. I don't feel they think lIke that.

I also think that probably it's not possible to ever put enough hours in the saddle to effectively be able to assign all that to the subconscious. Things do change in the vehicle to a certain extent- particularly if one drives in the snow, but not as many things need attention ascompared to riding.

I hate it.

For a week my phone changed horses to goddesses every time. Now it's guesses. I have to become more patient about self editing. Mia culpa. I apologise.

[Kelo]

Have you seen the stages of learning?

Unconscious incompetence (you don't know you don't know)
Conscious incompetence (you know you don't know, but can't do it)
Conscious competence (you can do something correctly if you really think and work at it)
Unconscious competence (correctly and without much thought)

To me, it explains a lot. I don't think you're ever in only one stage....more, you're at every stage with different things. But I think unconscious competence is where you don't have to think about what you're doing, you just do it.

So when you've mastered something to the point of unconscious competence, it frees your mind to think of other things....which may be more complicated maneuvers that put you back into one of the lower stages, or maybe what you're going to make for dinner later that evening.

[boots-aregard]

I think we all have unconscious competence at some things. Most of us no longer have to think hard about grooming, tacking up, checking the horse's gait, etc. (I just picked obvious, easy stuff as the example).

The trick is, when does it creep into your riding skills? Today, I watched a little girl canter her pony for the first time, and MAN, that's a lot of work! It's not for me, anymore, of course, and I'm certainly not up there *thinking* about my canter aids. I might be *thinking* about straightening the horse who is crooked _today_ as we prepare for a canter, but the canter aids are right down there in the unconscious competence, where the diagnosing of the crookedness and the straightening might be up in the conscious competence range. (Or, even, if the instructor has to tell me, the conscious incompetence range). I think parts of our riding fall into all of the buckets at various times, on various horses (some known, some unknown).

I don't generally think, "Now I need to do a shoulder-in". I generally think, "He's stiff. Need to stretch." and then I do shoulder in, shoulder out, haunches in, haunches out, extend, compress within gaits, whatever seems appropriate for the stiffness I'm feeling.

But I'm never out there thinking of England.