Horse Riding in a Balanced Seat

For many beginning riders, just sitting on a horse and staying on seems enough. But as you progress, it becomes more important to have a correct, balanced seat as you ride.

A balanced seat not only allows the rider to stay on the horse, it also allows the horse to travel forward in a more balanced way. If you are riding for performance purposes it is essential to offer your horse every opportunity to be balanced as he works.

No matter your discipline, the basics for balance remain the same. A balanced seat has even weight on both seat bones with the center of balance directly over the stirrup.

Most riders start out with what is called a "chair seat". When you sit on a chair, you sit with your bottom behind you and your legs in front of you. If someone were to suddenly pull the chair out from under you, you would collapse on the ground. This is because your center of balance is to the back, making you unable to remain upright without the support of the chair.

If you ride in a chair seat, you center of balance is behind you, directly in the middle of your horse's back. This makes it impossible for your horse to engage his hind end and to move forward freely. You horse's movement will be impaired and you could even cause him a sore back.

To become balanced, you need to change your posture so that your weight is carried down through your shoulder into your leg and into your feet. If someone were to pull the horse out from beneath you, you should be able to land on your feet and maintain your position.

To experience this, try squatting on the ground as though you were riding on a horse. To maintain your balance you need to bend your knee forward, keep your bottom beneath you, and your upper body slightly ahead to balance off your bottom. The more you need to lean forward, the more you will need to compensate by bending your knees and closing the angle of your hips so that your bottom is further behind you.

On a horse, this translates to maintaining a position where you feet are beneath you and your knees are bent to accommodate this position. Unlike a chair position, you will find that your upper leg is in a near-vertical position, forming an open angle between your torso and your leg. As you shorten your stirrup, this angle will close, but your weight will remain evenly balanced from your shoulder, through your hip to your heel.

For some disciplines, such as jumping, you need to ride in a forward seat. If your leg is too far back, your balance will fall forward, and you will need to lean on your horse's neck. If your leg is too far forward, it will be next to impossible to move into a forward seat position, as your balance will be shifted towards the back.

You need to maintain a leg position that would allow you to remain upright should the horse be removed from beneath you. To sit forwards, you need to close the angle of your hip so that your upper body comes forward and your seat slides backwards. Try this while squatting on the ground to see how the balance works. If you lean forward without sticking your bottom backwards, you will be off balance and wind up falling on your face.

A well balanced rider should be able to lower her upper body as low as the neck, and then return to a normal position without losing her seat. This is because she balances herself through the hip.

Take the time to practice your seat while on the ground. You can try it on a short stool or on an exercise ball if you prefer the feel of something beneath you. Always imagine what might happen if the horse (or stool) were no longer beneath you. Would you stay on your feet?

It takes time to perfect a balanced seat, and as you pick up the pace and move into a trot or canter, it can be more difficult. In the long run, though, it is more than worth the effort. Your horse will perform far better, and you will be more balanced and less likely to fall off should something unexpected happen.