How to improve your seat

Do you know the feeling of sitting in the saddle and being completely in balance with the horse? It's a wonderful sensation! Besides, having a stable and balanced seat can be a great help for you as a rider, and it also helps your horse to move more freely. The more balanced you are as a rider, the easier it will be for the horse as well. When you feel in balance with each other, it can boost your function as a single unit, and ultimately, it can also strengthen the trust between you.

Read also: When the desire to be perfect hinders a good equestrian life

If you want to improve your seat, it's all about practicing it over and over again. Most of all, it's about turning it into a habit, so that – as your body builds the muscles for it – you will be able to let go of the thought that "now I have to sit this way or that way". In other words, repetition will ensure that the technique eventually becomes embedded in your spine – quite literally.

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The correct seat:

If you want to know, in broad terms, how to sit correctly, try to draw some lines through your body and try to be as relaxed as possible. To sit correctly in your dressage saddle, you should specifically...

• …be able to draw a vertical line that runs from your ears, down through your shoulders, down to your hip, and finally down to your heel.
• …remember to look up (and not down at your hands) and straight ahead.
• …have slightly bent and soft elbows.
• …position your hands on edge, so your thumbs are on top.
• …maintain a straight line from your elbow, down through your arm, and out through the rein to the horse's mouth.
• …distribute your weight evenly on your two seat bones (the bones that sit inside the lower part of your buttocks).
• …relax in your buttocks, pelvis, and hips.
• …let your knees and thighs rest lightly down along the saddle and the horse's sides.

Exercise: A solid seat in trot and canter

If you have trouble finding the correct position in trot or canter, you can try this little exercise. It should help you feel that your weight settles well into the seat, and that your legs 'settle' where they should, so you sit solidly on the horse. The exercise can be done in a dressage, a combination, and in a jumping saddle. Here's how you do it:

• Stand up in the stirrups for two of the horse's trot or canter strides and sit back down again.
• Do it a couple of times.
• Try to feel how your weight almost goes all the way down to your ankles while you are standing in the stirrups.
• Make sure that you're not using the reins to maintain balance. You can test it by moving your hand forward and see what happens to your balance while you stand up.
• As you switch between standing in the stirrups and sitting in the saddle, you should be able to feel that you are setting the horse's rhythm and frame.
• Try to keep your breathing deep and calm, so you don't tense up – and remember to look up and forward.

If you have difficulty performing the exercise, it might be a good idea to do it with your trainer. Maybe they can also spot if there's anything else you can do to improve your seat.

Read also: Exercises that will strengthen your horse's forequarters

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It might also be that you have trouble spotting the lines through your body when sitting on the horse. In that case, it can be helpful to have someone assist and correct you. Perhaps you're even lucky enough to have access to a mirror, so you can correct yourself. One thing is for sure: Practice makes perfect!