Ian Leighton on why your position is so important to your horse
Let’s Get Deep About Your Seat.
Learning how to use your seat is one of the greatest changes we can make to improve our riding, our horse’s willingness, his balance and carriage and to help him stay relaxed while using his natural energy.
Use your seat in a way that makes the horse feel like he can do what you are asking of him.
Often this is not explained well and is made much more complicated than it needs to be.
Like anything we do it’s not just a matter of learning the theory and everything falls into place but takes some commitment to become what your horse would like you to be as a rider.
If it takes that much effort to learn why would I want to, or why do I need to?
Imagine riding all day without getting tired or feeling like you are really working.
If we can learn to keep ourselves and our horse balanced and not restrict what he does or “get in his way”(a term that is often used to describe a poor or unbalanced seat) the amount of effort we need to put into either asking or making him do what we would like is greatly reduced.
I still have vivid memories of the days when pretty much every effort the horse made come from the use of my legs.
It felt like I was working hard all the time.
When I ride now I can get a better result and keep my horse in a better frame of mind just with a subtle shift of my hips and upper body.
Often I can get on a horse at a clinic which I am told is lazy and won’t move and just ride off with no effort at all.
Here is an example of the importance of our seat to our horse.
It’s not uncommon for me to see someone fighting with their horse because it falls out of a corner or a circle.
The more they try and deal with it the worse it becomes.
In more extreme cases a fair amount of punishment is metered out with spurs or heels or the bridle.
It takes a fairly dull or shut down horse (some people call them quiet) to deal with it.
The more sensitive horses or inexperienced horses can complain in a much more vigorous manner.
A remedy needed to work through the falling out problem is:
The rider needs to keep their inside shoulder and hip up and keep their hips forward enough that their back pockets (or where they would be if they are wearing jodhpurs) are underneath them.
I have heard it called opening your groin.
They would also need to stay focussed on where they want to go and do less with the reins.
Hanging on for grim death with your legs makes this all but impossible as does kicking back with your heals.
The problem is easily overcome.
Our horse feels better because he isn’t fighting poor balance.
He is not being dragged out of balance by his head.
He doesn’t feel like he is in some sort of ongoing mobile wrestling match.
Don’t beat him up for something that is not his fault.
Another example of why we should improve our seat.
There are of course many other examples of when and why this can be a problem for your horse.
Some people don’t feel they need to commit to being a better rider.
They only trail ride or don’t partake in any particular competition.
On the odd occasion I receive an email from someone who has trouble with a horse.
He runs backwards at a point in a ride or when asked to cross water or an obstacle.
They nearly always want me to give them some trick they can do to their horse to remedy this.
When people get tense about something they will often take a tighter hold with their legs and on their reins.
They tip forward just a little and let their pockets leave the saddle.
They then make energy in an attempt to get their horse to go forward.
(Try this sometime when you don’t have that obstacle in front of you. It’s a pretty good way to get a horse to back up).
Additionally they usually give a big release when the horse does go backwards.
They want it to stop going backwards.
This is classic negative reinforcement and a very quick way to teach a horse something.
We need to sit in a way that makes a horse feel like moving forward.
We need to allow him the freedom to go forward.
The benefits are many.
The benefits of learning to ride in a balanced fashion are varied and many.
Here are just a few.
- Because there is no conflict between your seat, balance and what you want your horse stays more relaxed
- He becomes more willing as what you are asking of him is much easier
- When we are balanced we are better with our hands
- We are more likely to stay in position during a shy or unexpected move
- Our horse finds taking a frame and staying more engaged easier
- He has an enhanced interest in our focus and intent as the signals are not contradicted
- He has the ability to work longer and is not wasting energy on compensating for a lack of balance
- Our horse will be less susceptible to injury or shortened working life due to un-natural loading of his body
How do I learn to use my seat well?
Learning to use your seat in a natural and effortless manner is not easy.
It takes time and practice.
Getting a start is not so difficult.
At our horsemanship clinics I often encourage riders to ride without using their legs.
It’s not that I want them to ride without using their legs forever but I do want them to find out what can be achieved with just your seat and body position.
We then spend time helping them to develop a seat that is dynamic and allows their horse to easily do what is being asked of it.
I do my best to make sure people have a basic understanding of how it all works so that they are able to work on it at home.
It’s amazing how many ridden problems are resolved in the process.
When enough effort is put in so that you don’t have to think about it any more than you think about your legs when you are walking your riding will become effortless.
Your horse will flow underneath you and will stay relaxed but energetic.
Something to ponder.
Think about what things are like from your horse’s point of view.
Imagine going to work every day and trying to do a job that is both physically and mentally demanding.
Now try and imagine doing that job with someone regularly pulling you off balance with a rope tied to your head.
Add to that being loaded up with something that continually throws you out of balance.
It would not take very long at all for you to either rebel or become despondent and unwilling.
You may even be labelled by those demanding the work as either fractious or lazy.
Sometimes I think horses are very much more tolerant than they are given credit for.
Can we really afford not to learn how to use our seat and balance well?
