Why a good seat is so important

To become a skilled rider a good seat, being able to feel and influence the horse is essential. How many of us would llike to sit as eleganly as Cath Creemer pictures opposite? Do you have some of the problems pictured below cath, either drawing the heel up or pushing it too far down? Some riders lack the awareness required to feel if they are sitting in a relaxed comfortable correct way and can often blame their horse for poor way of going. If your seat is in balance, relaxed and following the horses movement then you can communicate in harmony with your horse and ridding can become more enjoyable for both you and your horse. A rider who learns to use their back to do a half halt will find the horse reacts in a very different way than if just the reins are used. We use our core muscles every day but the muscles are used in an involuntary way people often have no idea of how this can play a role in movements on a horse. Just as one can set a swing in motion by using our back and abdominal muscles one can make a horse move forward and once the horse is moving forward these muscles stop us getting left behind and bouncing, especially in the sitting trot. Being able to use these muscles with no stiffness is what we can achieve on the lunge on a well schooled horse who will reacts well to the seat aids so you can then transfer this knowledge onto your own horse. In order to isolate the muscles exercises can be done both on and off the horse. To avoid sitting with a hollow back (picture 3)which will not allow you to follow the horses movement we can think of tucking our seat bones under us as if you were sat on a stool and wanted to tilt it forward. (see below) Many exercises can be done to improve our seat and the influence we have on our horses. It is very important to try not to get into bad habits and be able to sit on a well schooled balanced horse and concentrate just on yourself and learn to feel for yourself how to sit in balance, with feeling and in total body awareness.

Flexibility

It does not take a genius to recognize that a stiff body on top of a moving or bouncing body will cause jarring and banging. The human body enjoys natural flexibility and elasticity that allows it to act as a shock absorber and move in union with the horse. The motion of a horse in trot can throw about a rider who has locked his hip and back muscles, causing uncomfortable bumping against the saddle. One can reach the conclusion that total union with the horse can only be achieved through the separation of motion between the pelvis and the trunk.

To explain this further, a rider should remain upright with his shoulders square and his back straight, and allow his lower back and hips to move in collision with the horse, thereby separating the upper back from the pelvis, and achieving a still, quiet seat in the saddle.

The Pelvis

The distribution of muscles in the lower back allow the pelvis to rotate and absorb the motion of the horse. By stretching and contracting these muscles, the pelvis can acquire the proper angles as the horse moves. When you flatten your back, you're stretching your back muscles and rotating the pelvis to a backward tilt. (picture 2) However, this should not be confused with the upright position in the saddle since the pelvis naturally stands at 0º. Also by exaggerating the curve in the lower back, you're contracting your muscles, and tilting the pelvis in a more forward position.

Sitting properly to the trot will give this concept a better meaning. As the horse steps underneath himself, you are pushed upwards (shock absorption in the lower back and pelvis will contract the muscles; then to absorb the downward drop, the muscles will stretch, allowing the pelvis to rotate backwards, thereby flattening the back.)

Although it may take time before sitting classically to the bouncy gaits is perfected, it does not take any strenuous effort. What needs to be learned is the relaxation in the pelvis and the lower back muscles. Once relaxation is achieved, the pelvis will move naturally and absorb the motion of the horse, letting the horse and rider appear as though they have become one body.

"If the rider is able to sit in balance with his seat bones well underneath him and his upper body in correct alignment over his hips, the pliancy of the spine in the loin area will allow him to remain as though glued to the saddle."

Sylvia Loch, "The Classical Seat"

The muscle attachment between the pelvis and the rib cage is important to your posture. The greater psoas muscles run from the front of the lumbar spine across the front of the pelvis and attach to the upper inner thighbone. The diaphragm crosses the torso below the rib cage, arcing up into the chest cavity with a big root attaching to the lumbar spine. The fibers of the diaphragm's root intermingle with those of the top of the psoas. This means that breathing with the diaphragm can help engage the psoas muscles, a very important influence on your seat, balance and posture.

What you can learn on the lunge:

•Learn to balance and follow your horses’ movement in walk, sitting and rising trot and canter.

•Learn how to adjust natural crookedness and eliminate bad positional habits

•Learn how to influence your horses movement through transitions within the paces, out of the paces and in turns

•Learn to develop feel for the horse swinging through his back correctly.

•Learn to feel the horses’ rhythm and how to use your momentum to maintain regularity in the rhythm.

•Learn how to use your body to ride resistant free transitions.

•Learn to sit in balance and work on the flexibility the spine and independent movement of the pelvis and trunk muscles

Extracts taken from Riding Logic by W. Museler, The art of classical ridding by Duaa Anwar, The classical seat by Sylvia Loch, Sally Swift, Developing a following seat