My passion is teaching riders about themselves and how to train and improve their muscle tone, strength and coordination. I know once a rider understands their own body and the movements of the horse then they can put it together and become great. I have trained a lot of people, educating them about their posture and I find this is such important knowledge to have.
As you get older and have been around for awhile you tend to observe a lot about people and the way their horses perform. It seems some riders just have bad luck in buying the same problems over and over. I think not, it is the rider turning the horse into what they make it. From what I have observed a horse is only as good as its rider, in many cases. On the other hand we do see so many horses that are just too good for some riders.
Everyone has ideas and mine is that the rider makes the horse. I have seen many good horses ruined and many bad horses saved by the rider. It is common to hear a rider has another horse just like all their past horses that has a bad back or bucks or is just badly behaved. Once the pattern develops I think it should be clear that it is the rider turning the horse bad and not the horse turning bad on its own.
I have a saying
A good rider can ride any horse; a bad rider will ruin every horse
So why do horses have Problems?
Let’s examine a few, at least the obvious ones
- Poor fitting saddle
- Bad or wrong bit
- Dirty saddle blanket causing hard pressure points
- Girth galls
- Unfit and asked to work for too long or too hard
- Poor strength in their back
- Bad teeth
- Mare is in season
- Won’t work without their mate nearby
- Poorly fed, many horses have a change in temperament when fed properly
- Worms
- Lameness
- The horses’ personality
Any one with some basic knowledge would be able to help a rider identify and solve all of the above problems.
Now Lets examine some Riders Faults
- The rider sits on one seat bone the whole ride (many do this)
- Balance on the toes. Legs tend to swing either forwards and backwards or in and out.
- Balance on the reins.
- Tilt the body forward
- Too big for the horse
- To small for the horse
- Only ride once a week
- Ride when tired
- Ride when stressed.
- Hate your horse
- Scared of your horse
- Nervous all the time
- Got a deadline that is a competition coming up?
- Use the same aids over and over (when wrong)
- Expect more from all your hard work
- Listened to too many experts.
- No body can tell you how to fix it.
I’m sure riders can add to both of these lists and many could help solve these problems as well.
My topic is the rider so I will focus on the rider before the horse, as long as it is all safe. I personally will not deal or give any advice about a horse that rears. This requires a true expert in the area.
Before any Lesson
I always have a look at the way the saddle fits. I am not the expert in this area but I have enough knowledge to identify problems and how to solve some. Before any lesson I will check the position of the saddle behind the shoulder and the space between the wither and the gullet. I check the balance from the pommel to cantle and look and see if it is sitting central. I usually do a quick check of the bit and nose band as well. These are simple problems to fix immediately.
If riders are paying for my advice I give it all not just a lesson. I am teaching a girl at the moment that has had back problems with her horse. She took the horse and saddle to an expert fitter. He did a great job but said there was no need for a saddle pad if the saddle is fitted correctly. I agree, but, what if the rider is not sitting in the saddle correctly. The horse will end up sore again. I am a fan of a good quality saddle pad as prevention not a cure. I know this girl sits to the right and uses her reins to balance; the correctly fitted saddle was not going to fix this problem. I advised a saddle pad until she is balanced herself. This way a small pressure area will not develop into back pain as quickly or as severe. We are working on her riding symmetry and all is improving. My point is all the problems need to be addressed. For every problem there is a cause and an effect and the list can grow if they are not all corrected.
My expertise is in the posture and the control of the body. Very few riders have good symmetrical posture in their daily work or their resting postures.
We are all one sided and the older we get the more established we are at being one sided.
…will this develop into a problem?
If you are stiff in the lower back you will brace against your horse and cause him to react ….. will this develop into a problem?
If you are weak in the abdominals you will have poor core strength resulting in you bouncing in the saddle…. will this develop into a problem?
If your movement patterns are such that you repeat the same fiddly hand actions and the horse pulls back every time … will this develop into a problem?
Has your instructor pointed these problems out to you and has the problem not changed?
Why have these problems not been solved once they are identified?
The list can be extended for as long as you can think of yourself and watch others. The solution is to train you to know about yourself and learn new habits, new patterns and new strengths. I see so many stuck in the same pattern of knowing they have a problem but not exactly what it is or how to fix it. If we know this and understand how to fix it then it is one problem solved and many more not developing.
The talent to riding is symmetry balance, stability and coordination, every rider can learn this and apply it so every rider can ride well and every horse can have minimal problems. A rider can break the pattern of having another problem horse by fixing there own problems. Look at yourself before you blame your horse.
I advise if you are reading this and can relate to it then seek some help about your saddle and gear from an expert. I recommend an instructor that has knowledge in how to teach the riding posture not just about your horse. If you have major musculoskeletal problems see a Physiotherapist and have some treatment. If you want to learn how to identify your own posture problems and then go onto train your self for riding then have a look at my Applied Posture Riding program. This program is quite unique and very popular with riders over seas. I do find Australians are well behind our international competitors in seeking professional advice, other that a riding instructor.
I trust this has not been new advice but I hope it makes some people think a bit deeper.
Enjoy your riding. Annette Willson Author Applied Posture Riding
