Body Control-For Better or For Worse

There are lots of ways to use your body (or not use it) while riding. Leg, seat, hands, weight, voice, arms, core, you name it! You can use your body directly, indirectly, consciously or unconsciously. You can influence, positively or negatively, the horse’s balance, suppleness, straightness, amount of energy, relaxation, and more!

If you don’t believe me, try this little experiment next time you ride. Purposely tense up various parts of your body and see how your horse reacts. If you’re riding a lesson horse (who have usually been specifically trained not to react to unusual changes in the rider’s body), you may not get a reaction. Otherwise you’re likely to notice something happen with your horse if you’re observant enough. Do they tense or drop their back, hold their jaw or lift their head and neck? Maybe they slow down or speed up.

Your horse is sensitive enough to feel a fly land on their coat, and of course horses have various levels of sensitivity, but maybe you can be more aware of your body and how it interacts with the way your horse goes. Are your hands/wrists/arms/elbows perhaps inhibiting softness in your horse’s jaw, poll, neck, base of neck or back? Is your center of balance behind the horse’s center of balance, making it harder for them to push energy through their entire body? Are you collapsing your ribcage on the inside or twisting your body without knowing it, making your horse unbalanced?

Eyes on the ground are ESSENTIAL for rider body awareness. It’s super super easy for riders to go along day after day, ride after ride, without being aware of what is actually happening in their body. Asymmetries and habits develop quickly, and if you don’t have someone to make you aware you could fall into a pattern you have to work hard to undo. Good instructors can see imbalances or problems by watching the horse, but big problems in body pattern can usually be seen by most people. Even a friend or parent can help! A good way to start would be to have someone watch you walk, trot, even canter in a straight line toward and away from them and see if they notice any leaning, twisting, or collapsing.

Even making small improvements in your body position will positively impact your horse in a big way! Give it a shot and let us know in the comments how it goes!