We often hear our instructors talking about the balanced seat, and how important it is to effective horseback riding. But what we don’t hear often is what is actually balanced about the balanced seat, and how to achieve it. So here are a few basic thoughts.
Stay With the Horse
A balanced seat is paramount to your riding. Your horse will find it far easier to understand subtle cues, and you’ll be able to influence tiny muscles of your body to send signals to your horse. It’s hard to be effective if you’ve got a chair seat or can’t keep your legs still. In order to stay with the horse’s movement, the seat has to follow along. But if it moves too much, far beyond the horse’s movement, then, it’s a flopping seat and it can actually unbalance the horse. The trick is to teach your body to stay with the horse but to also stay toned and strong, especially through the core, where most of the horse’s movement is received and absorbed.
Stay On Top of The Horse
We’ve all probably gotten either too far ahead of the horse’s movement, or alternately, fallen behind the horse’s movement. We need to have the strength in our core muscles to be able to keep our shoulders above our hips no matter what the horse does. As the horse goes forward, we have to counter that movement by keeping our shoulders vertical and not allowing our upper body to give in to the pull backward. The same thing goes for the fall forward. Knowing when to stay strong in the lower back to prevent the lean forward is very helpful when the horse suddenly stops moving.
No Leaning
Many of us might lean, turn or collapse to one side. The correct way to sit is to stay even on top of both seat bones. Your shoulders should be parallel to your horse’s shoulders. Your hips should be parallel to the horse’s hips. Notice if you turn your upper body too far going one direction. Counteract that lean through the turn, so that you can be as tall and straight on your horse as you can. This way, you will be able to help your horse stay as straight on the turn as he can. If you can help your horse stay better balanced, that you’ll be able to stay vertical through the movements that much better, and with a lot less effort.
Independent Seat
Once the seat is balanced enough, it can become independent of the hands, and even of the legs to some degree, so that the rider can control each part of the body as needed. In this manner, for example, if the horse does move quickly in one direction, the seat (and torso) can counteract the movement by staying in balance, and thereby not causing the hands to hold onto the reins just for the sake of staying on the horse. Instead, they can support the horse through the movement, giving and taking as needed to help the horse maintain his balance.
Effective Seat
Finally, there is one last result of the balanced seat. The balance translates into effectiveness. If you can do all the above, you can also improve your horse’s way of going, which is what it’s all about. We all want to keep our horses sound and safe and injury-free especially while we ride them. Good balance is one of the fundamental components of keeping a healthy and happy horse.
