While some riders have an internal sense of balance in their horse and seem to move in harmony no matter what, other riders can ride for years without really moving in unity with their horse’s movement. Good riders find a way to follow the movement of the horse in the same way that a baby learns to walk, through experimentation with its environment. While it is relatively easy for most babies to adjust to the environment and learn to walk, for most riders it is not: a rider must overcome his natural instincts to tense himself on the unstable surface of a horse’s back and learn to adapt to the movement of the horse. .
Most driving instructions are based on mechanical instructions for riding. Instructors yell “throw your shoulders back,” “heels down,” “keep your hands to yourself,” “look up,” and other invectives that don’t really teach a rider how to find their natural seat. Instructions are also often for a set stance based on an external model of the ideal, not the physical attributes of the rider.
Riding naturally, the way seemingly natural cyclists have found, is based on an organic learning process. Posture and movement are tailored to each individual’s body proportions, their natural strength and flexibility, and their history. By learning to feel one’s posture and movement patterns and to move in a fluid and efficient manner, each rider can become a graceful rider who moves in unity with the horse. When a rider relies on external models of ideal riding or tenses rather than relaxes with movement, they bounce, hold on with their thighs, have stiff hands, and upset the horse’s balance. The tighter the squeeze, the faster the horse moves, the rider squeezes more or pulls on the kidneys, and the rider and horse go into a defensive cycle. The rider never quite adjusts to the horse and the horse has difficulty using its rear end to carry the rider.
However, you can discover your innate ability to adapt to the movement of your horse and move in unity. You can change your tension by producing responses to the horse’s movement and ride in a balanced and relaxed harmonious posture. Like a child who is supported naturally through his skeleton, muscles soft and relaxed until you need them to pick up an object, run and jump, or hold your mom’s hand, you can walk with a ready relaxed. When you relearn to balance through your skeleton, your muscles are no longer used to tense or support yourself. When muscles are efficiently aligned, they are used not for posture but for movement. Any cyclist can discover this natural way of moving.
Items to move in unity with your horse include:
1. Skeletal balance:When you can sit up on your sit bones and your skeleton rises from your pelvis in line to support your head easily, you’ll notice that your arms and legs feel light. Your breathing will come easily and your neck will be relaxed.
2. Large flexible and well organized muscles: When the largest muscles in your body, your core, are organized for balance and movement, they can support the movement of your body without strain. The muscles of the tummy, lower back and pelvic floor can easily increase or decrease tone in response to the size of your horse’s movement or your needs to influence your horse’s movement to perform joint movements.
3. Differentiated Movement of the Hip and Leg Joints: This is a fancy way of saying that your seat will be independent of your legs. When you clench your inner thighs or move your legs every time you twist or move your torso, you don’t have an independent seat. When you can move your torso without affecting the position or tension of your legs, and you can use your legs without squeezing the seat, you have true independence.
4. Shoulders that hang in balance: When you allow your spine to support your head without neck tension, your chest can be free and your shoulders can hang down your back without being supported. Your arms and hands can be free to give light assists and not hit the horses mouth. When your shoulder hangs in balance, it feels like you can easily juggle or hold a fragile egg without breaking it.
5. Breathing independent of movement: Observe a happy relaxed child breathing, belly rising and falling, all ribs moving easily. When balanced through the spine, the ribs and chest are not used to hold you upright so your breathing can be free and easy. Learn to breathe with your diaphragm, pulling down on your diaphragm to draw air into your lungs and letting it up as you exhale. When you breathe with your diaphragm and move up and down freely, you can use your core muscles to stabilize your torso and adapt to your horse’s movement.
6. Awareness of the movement, balance and tension of your body: Many riders don’t realize they’re squeezing a hip when doing a pole. Either they are unaware that the right shoulder stays forward even when turning to the right, or perhaps the left ankle is stiff when it needs to be relaxed to absorb the horse’s movement. Developing awareness of your own movement patterns and balance is key to riding well.
The thing to remember is that you are not your habits and that at any age you can become fluid in your movements and more efficient in your driving. Are you ready to become the cyclist you dream of? You can follow your horse’s movement without strain, easily influencing its movement by giving light cues and getting a quick response. Tired of your instructors telling you to sit down, put your heels down, keep your hands to yourself, or worse, that you’re not ready for the next level? You can learn to have a sticky seat that will keep your legs and hands to yourself. Have you moved and bounced more than enough times, unable to sit at a trot after years of riding? You can learn to have the core support and spinal alignment and flexibility needed to sit at a trot.
I have developed a unique program to teach cyclists an organic, individual, movement-oriented and awareness way to improve their riding. With a combination of movement education lessons, strength and balance exercises, and awareness building lessons, you too can achieve the trip of your dreams!