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Feedback from a recent riding clinic participant in Mudgee, NSW, Australia.

‘What an amazing wonderful  woman, to have so much knowledge and be able to impart it to the rider in such a small amount of time. To see David ask about trot extensions (the way we were generally taught was to sit down hard and push with your seat and to slow, to lift your weight) with her help he accomplished the extended trot within a few minutes, happy well rounded horse and a beaming rider.

Every rider had improved, through understanding what was required, and to observe the horses relaxing and also understanding what was required was a joy to watch. I have to add I thoroughly enjoyed my lesson. It has inspired me to train for elementary, rejoin the M.D. Club once again and show them that Arabs can win. I have to add it was a thrill to see you "get it" also and the beautiful excited smile on your face was fantastic.’

Riding with an ‘Independent Seat’

Good riders have what is called a ‘good seat’ or an ‘independent seat’. These are a couple of those ‘horsey‘ terms that are often mentioned but rarely explained properly. Being a responsible rider is about aiming to be the best rider that you can. This does not mean that you have to strive to get short listed for the next Olympic team or win equally high level competitions in a range of equine disciplines - far from it. Irrespective of whether you compete with your horse, it is equally important that you ride well for the well being of you horse and your safety.

Good riders stress their horses less than poor riders as they are simply easier to carry. If you have to carry 20kg around on your back, it is easier to carry something that is balanced, flexible and relatively still (such as a well fitted rucksack) compared to the same weight that is unbalanced, rigid or too floppy and moving out of synchronisation with you (such as a half full container of water simply strapped to your back).

Good seat/independent seat

They are actually one and the same thing and I prefer the term independent seat. If you were to ask 100 good riders, who represented the complete spectrum of equine disciplines, what an independent seat is they would probably all use different words to describe what it means but would eventually be able to agree to some basic principles such as these below.

A rider with an independent seat:

• Has body parts that can function independently of one another. So for example the legs can apply the aids (rider signals) without causing any loss of balance, tipping the upper body either backwards or forwards and without any inadvertent movement of the hands.
• Does not rely on the reins for balance and does not grip with the legs to stay on the horse - can stay with the movements of the horse through changes of speed, changes of incline and through any adverse movements such as shying.
• Can absorb the (mainly upward) movement of the horse correctly (through the lower half of their body) and therefore does not bounce.
• Has correct hip - ankle alignment and can therefore easily go from sitting to standing (or visa versa) in the stirrups in all paces.
• Can quietly and effectively influence the movements of the horse and stay in balance with the horse.
• Has ‘good hands’ (another ‘horsey’ term). By the way it is impossible to have good hands without first developing an independent seat.
• Is able to ride without causing pain to their horse or themselves. Riders with old injuries may experience pain but this can often be reduced or even eliminated by working with a specialised instructor (combined with a body worker) who understands and can correct such rider problems.

A rider who does not have an independent seat tends to do one or all of the following:

• They cannot apply the aids clearly and correctly. The horse reacts in one of two ways (depending on the temperament/previous training). It either becomes agitated (this often leads to a rider blaming the horse and labelling it as ‘highly strung’, ‘oversensitive’ etc.) or the horse learns to ‘switch off’ as a coping mechanism. This is actually ‘learned helplessness’ where the horse gives up trying out responses and becomes dull and lifeless (which leads to labels such as ‘dead to the leg’, hard in the mouth, stubborn etc. - see the Horse training page for more information).
• They hang on to the reins and/or grip with the legs in an attempt to stay on the horse. This gives the horse mixed messages and leads to the responses described above - the horse either tries to evade the rider or becomes desensitised to the aids.
• They lose their stirrups either completely or partially (i.e. the stirrups move around on the foot). This causes further instability, more gripping, grabbing etc. and becomes a vicious circle.
• They bounce and move around in the saddle rather than move with the horse. This results in discomfort and even pain for the rider and the horse. The rider is also likely to fall off more easily which can result in confidence issues.

A responsible rider owes it to themselves and to their horse to avoid the riding faults listed above. The trouble is it can be difficult to find an instructor that focuses on rider problems rather than the horse/rider combination.

In Australia this problem is exacerbated by the fact that many people acquire their first horse after very few (if any) riding lessons because it is relatively difficult to find a good riding school (low population, riding school insurance issues and large distances play a part here) and relatively easy to buy a horse.

Thus many riding instructors are presented with an inexperienced rider on an uneducated horse (well educated horses are very expensive and hard to find) and it takes a long time for the rider to improve.

Another issue is that during training most instructors are not taught how to teach the biomechanics of riding. If they do attempt to work on the posture and balance of a client they tend to teach what they were taught (i.e. ‘keep your hands still’, ‘put your heels down’, ‘sit still’ etc.) rather than what they themselves actually do when riding.

Many good riders (who also give instruction) are naturally athletic and may not have to think about what is actually happening when they are riding. They have not really thought about or analysed what they are doing (with their seat) and therefore cannot break down the necessary skills to impart to their clients. They also tend to get frustrated with people who are not as naturally athletic as they are.

If you are having problems with your seat you need to find an instructor who specialises in rider seat problems rather than an instructor who concentrates solely on the horse/rider combination. In fact many of the highest level competitors have one coach for their seat and one for improving their horse’s way of going. A good seat specialist can often sort out seat problems relatively quickly which enables the rider to get back to improving their horse’s way of going.

See the more riding info page for some articles that I have written and have had published and some links to other websites that may be able to help you. I have also recommend some books which I have found excellent over the years.

I teach riders of all levels who are having seat problems. Now that we are permanently mobile you may be able to hook up with me for a lesson or two or attend (or host) a riding clinic - please see the Riding clinics and lessons page for more information. If you subscribe to our free mailing list you will be notified of updates to the website on a regular basis (by email every one to two months). Updates include a list of any new information (links, articles etc.) added since the last email notification and a reminder that the latest instalment of our travel blog has gone online. Another way to keep in touch is through Facebook.

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