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Riding with my seat, not my hands.

5K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  aynelson 
#1 ·
Read Title: My BIGGEST problem. It's not too bad, but it's what I want to start working on asap.

What are some things I can do to accomplish this? And better yet, how exactly should I ride with my seat? I know to slow down a posting trot I can slow my posting and whatnot, ha ha. And I totally understand the concept of it, and have some of the basics of it down. But I kinda just need an explanation... you know?

My horse has a tenancy to be very forward moving and likes to GO. He does have breaks though.
I just want to be able to slow him or stop him with as little rein use as possible.
How can I do this?

I will be getting a dressage trainer, and I will be picky about this trainer.
I don't want to be learning the wrong or incorrect way. But until I find the right trainer I want to start working on this on my own. Any suggestions,tips, or explanations?
:]
 
#2 ·
Your first question: Tips on riding with your seat, not your hands?
Little half halts, or small but frequent squeezes of the rein will help keep your horse's pace slower and more even. You know the basics: sit all the way down, good posture.

Your second question: How do I slow/stop my 'forward' horse with as little rein as possible?
Again, try half halts. When you yank, he will fight back, and want to go even faster. To slow him, do little tugs again, he'll want to listen to you more because your movements will be subtle but clear when doing half halts. If you are doing a dressage test, and have to completely stop at a letter, you will get points off if he takes awhile to stop or takes extra steps. So lean back and down, squeeze the reins and of course, as always, keep your thumbs on top.

Hope thats what you meant and that it helped, good luck!
 
#5 ·
I agree. What the point of posting if you're just going to post "......"?

And lefty, I do and can use half halts, and they're effective. I'm just looking for something that will help me learn how to slow him without having to pick up contact on my reins at all you know? Ha ha. It is definitely great advice and something I can continue working on. :] Thanks!
 
#6 ·
Read Title: My BIGGEST problem. It's not too bad, but it's what I want to start working on asap.

What are some things I can do to accomplish this? And better yet, how exactly should I ride with my seat? I know to slow down a posting trot I can slow my posting and whatnot, ha ha. And I totally understand the concept of it, and have some of the basics of it down. But I kinda just need an explanation... you know?

How can I do this?

I will re post what I told someome else and maybe it will help.

POST 10

http://www.horseforum.com/english-riding/sitting-trot-my-nemesis-26685/#post295246

Have you ever watched the sport of rowing ? Way back when the oarsman would sit in a conventional static seat and used his shoulders to pull the oar through the water to propel themselves forward.

Then someone came up with a brilliant idea and constructed the seat that they sit on so it would slide. This sliding motion was more in tune with the motion the oarsmen were using and gave the person greater power over the motion of his upper body.

Think of the horses back/saddle as two sliding seats. The horse has a diagonal motion when they trot with each set of diagonals going forward alternately. What this does is move the muscles on each side of the horses spine forward and then back alternately in rhythm with the diagonal trot. What you have to do is think that you are sitting on that oarsman's sliding seat in an alternative motion....NOT and up and down motion. If you allowed each side of your seat bone to follow that sliding seat the horse offers you will also find that your legs will touch the horse in an alternating motion also.

The problem with losing the stirrups is that most riders are trying to ride an up/down motion when it is actually an up forward down back motion. If you lightened your seat and opened your pelvis,sitting very slightly behind your pelvis and allowed your legs to accept the forward back motion ( it feels to your legs like the horse's belly is swinging left/right) then when the belly swings to the left side...your left leg will close on that belly (not griping) and gently push it back to the right side with the right leg doing the same. So now your legs have a job to do and the funny thing is once you make an effort to give them a job they seem to do just fine....all by themselves.

Start slow to get the feeling then add speed a bit at a time.
 
#7 · (Edited)
David O'Connor gave a great clinic not that long ago teaching his clinitians how to use their seats to obtain rhythm control gait control and how to be functional.

He rode a clinitans horse, and was able to bring the horse from a canter to a trot all just by using his seat and then from the trot into the walk all just by using his seat. And finally to the halt.

It is about over exaggerating your seat to the fullest.

Ok, so when you are at the canter. Allow your seat to slide, or shammy your saddle with your horses motion. And now start to slow it down. Breathe out, relax. Rock onto your seat bones, lean behind the verticle and think sloooooooooooowwwww.

Eventually your horse will start to grasp what you are doing, if you are doing it correctly - and will move to the motion of your seat.

Now at the trot - while posting. Really over exaggerate your rise. I mean, to the point of standing up in your leathers and crotch over pommel on the up, hold it for a split second, and then when you back down hold it for a split second. Start to slow that motion down, still while over exaggerating your movement - think sloooooooooww. Breathe out, relax.

Your horse will move down to you slowing your seat.

Then at the walk. Allow your seat to rock with your horses motion, slooowww it down though by thinking sloooowwww.

When you accomplish this - trust me, it'll take a while - but when you do, now you've figured out how to use your seat. Then you can apply that, to daily riding.

That isn't the be all and end all solution, but while on your own - you'll have that huge stepping step taken, ready to move forward. You'll get great dressage tips from others here!

I do this when I ride Nelson - it is allot of fun!
 
#10 ·
Great posts you guys! I totally get what both of you are saying and I'll give it a go the next time I ride. Thanks!

It helped to have the explanation.
Kinda confirmed what I thought was the way to go with this.
I love all the good advice on this forum.
:]

PS... Zeus will be home today!
So hopefully I'll get to ride tomorrow.
As long as the rain stays away that is!
 
#13 ·
I had a trainer come help me with my colt and i had the same problem. He had me work on using alot of body language telling my horse to walk really really slow and then really really fast same with trotting..it helps your horse control his paces and it also helps to realize where your seat is. also try and do a pushing passenger lesson...take the bridle off...or keep it on just dont use your reins and have someone take a lead and go through the paces. My guess is you need to work on your balance if your seat is off. Hope this helps
 
#14 ·
What works great for me is actually trail riding. In order to navigate up and downs of uneven terrain, you have to give your horse his head. Pulling on the mouth is simply not an option. Everything from the shoulders forward is his. It tunes you in really fast to where your seat needs to be for optimum balance in whatever situation you're in, and you'll find yourself transitioning up and down in gaits on seat alone in no time.
 
#16 ·
You can also do a lot of stuff at the walk that will help your horse to pay better attention to you. Do forehand turns and haunch turns. Walk in a square doing haunch turns at each corner and stop and back in the middle of each side. Do A LOT of transitions. And when you are trotting and you start to feel him speeding up do a 10 meter circle, don't pull on his mouth. This gets your horse really paying attention to you because he's not sure what you're going to ask next. It is also helping to get him off the forehand and collected.
Another thing you can do, start at the walk, give him a loose rein and then squeeze with your knees, push your belly out as hard as you can (using what's called you "bear down muscles") push your seat bones down and back and lean slightly forward. Your body will scream at you but stick with it and you will feel him slow and eventually stop.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Okay, the first problem I see in many of my students who have had some riding experience before they come here is that many of them have NO idea that there is more to a half halt then to pull the reins!

A half halt is an aide that incorporates many of our aides, not just our hands. Its not about pulling the horses face down, rather encouraging him to seek out the contact with the bit. It should be soft and light, not heavy and bracing. To half-halt you will add your leg, close your knee and thigh slightly, sit deep, bring the shoulders back a bit, slightly tighten your abs and lower back and then increase the pressure on the outside rein (the amount of pressure necessary will vary depending on several factors- only apply as much as needed to get the desired result) Your inside rein should only be engaged enough to keep the horse straight and with a squeeze and release - not a steady hold or you will allow the horse to hang or pull on it. This will be a process that will take between 2 and 5 seconds....

Most horses who already want to GO will only go faster if you just hang on the rein. It MUST be a give and take. If you are sure the horse understands pressure, then you may have to "turn up the volume", make a quick correction, then give and allow the horse to carry himself and respond. Sometimes we are afraid to get after our horses, so instead of making it clear what we want in a quick/slightly stronger correction, we nag at them by pulling or giving a bunch of half-hearted corrections.

The best place to start, as someone mentioned below, is at the walk. Get your horse to the point where you can walk/halt with very little to no use of the rein. When you've got that, move to the trot/walk/halt. Use a corner or wall if you need to.... ask a couple steps before the corner.

Another thing is reinforce with verbal commands. If you can teach the horse a good 'whoa' on the lunge and he knows 'walk, trot, canter' verbally, you can reinforce when you ask with your body.

Another thing you can do if you are far enough along in your education to be comfortable doing so, is go into a shoulder out or shoulder in. This takes much more effort from the horse and almost always results in a shift to the hindquarters and a more balanced, controlled tempo.

And, remember, this is a long process...good training doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, consistancy, patience and determination to get a truely intune horse.

Good luck! :)
 
#18 ·
when you get a trainer, ask them to put you on the lunge and take away your reins. I did this the other day with my trainer and it worked sooooo well. you really learn to move with the horse and to control with your seat and legs. It will take a while to get it but I think it is a great way to learn because you can't rely on your reins at all. Being on the lunge means it is safer and the instructor can help with transitioning down when needed.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for all the advice you guys, I'm already working on it and it's becoming much easier to stop him simply by sitting deep, and shifting my weight back slightly with little rein use. He's pretty much got it perfectly at the walk and almost as well at the trot. We've also been working only with his walk and trot with lots of transitions lately and he's doing well so hopefully we'll add the canter back into the mix soon.

Thanks again!
 
#20 ·
Sensitize your horse with the half-halts. I personally have always thought the half-halt should be called something different because it implies all hands. But, there are 3 basics to the half halt: drive your horse forward with your leg, close the fingers on your reins, and most importantly: GIVE when the horses flexes to the contact. This is softening. Do this over and over.

Thank you for posting this question, I am personally annoyed by how Dressage has this reputation of being heavy handed, when done right it actually the contrary. I recently had a friend say that dressage would be bad for her horse because we force their heads down. I said that wasn't Dressage, that was bad riding. What happened to Classical Dressage?!?
 
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