What is the single most important contribution you can make to a safe, comfy ride for both you and your pony? A well balanced seat, that’s what; your sitting posture impacts your riding capability, big time. The correct sitting posture achieves 2 benefits: it helps you stay on your pony, and creates a smooth motion between you and your pony. Bad posture could cause back stiffness for you and also your horse.
You’ll have to spend a bit of time practising sitting properly, but at the day’s end your efforts will pay off. I’ve got some ideas below for you on how to position your body while on horseback: what to do with your limbs, your head, your body and your shoulders.
The seat
Begin by breathing deep. Deep breathing relax you and helps you straighten up. You should be seated plumb in the saddle’s centre, with your weight bearing down thru your seat bones. Seat bones, what are they? You can find out by going through this little exercise: sit on your butt and rock forward and backward. You will feel your weight grinding delicately on two bones that feel like a rocking chair’s curves. You have just found your seat bones.
Now that you are done with that, let’s get back to the saddle. Sit straight. Keep taking deep breaths, and you will feel your back stretching and your rump settling down deeper. Keep your head balanced loosely over your shoulders and permit your legs to dangle. Give it another check to make certain your weight is centred on the saddle, not off one way or another.
The feet and the stirrups
Confirm your stirrups are hanging at precisely the right height. When you sit with your legs hanging loose, your stirrups should touch your foot just beneath the ankle bone. You will will be pushed backward in the saddle by stirrups that have been fitted too short, while very long stirrups will have you
bouncing along
merrily.
Insert your feet into the stirrups such that they push up against the balls of your feet. Your toes should be aligned with your knees, while your heels should point down. Your toes should not be markedly pointing outward or inward. You must also ensure your feet aren’t pushing in; they should lightly rest on the stirrups.
The legs
Your legs should be resting against the horse’s sides as well as the saddle. They shouldn’t be loosely in contact, nor should they be tightly gripping the saddle or the horse’s sides. You need to aim at a firm constant contact. Your inside calves should be brushing against the horse’s sides. If you’re sitting correctly, your feet should be immediately underneath your seat.
The head and the eyes
A lot of people think that their rumps are the balancing factor, and you may excuse me if that makes me giggle, because it’s your head that influences your balance. And I have more news for you: your eyes are what keep your head in control. It is in general best to look out over the head of the horse. You should not take your head down or on the side too much, as this will play havoc with your sense of balance.
It may appear a bit strange, but your horse appears to have a kind of 6th sense about where you are looking. He turns his head that way, too. This could lead him to take an unplanned turn. You should prevent this kind of thing from occuring by looking at targets in line with your intended direction of travel.
The shoulders and arms
Keep your shoulders loose and relaxed. They should bend without rigidity. You must keep your arms close to your sides, with the elbows a touch bent. Keep your hands low, with your forearms and knuckles pointing towards the horse’s mouth and your thumb on top of the reins. Your heel, hip and shoulder being in a straight line.
Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like things about barrel saddles for sale
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