The Aspirant Horse and Rider Training Technique – Balanced Position

Balanced Position – Excerpt from Book 4

Thanks again for your questions about balance, I hope this blog will be of help.  Learning to ride your horse in balance can be difficult.  Being able to sit erect on the horse with the legs  down underneath the body is a difficult concept for the average rider.  Yet to sit in that position is not difficult for the human body.  Once on the horse, the instinct to tighten and restrict the hip joints set in and the rider is typically unaware that she is restricting the hip joints or pinching with the knees.  Forcing the leg down and back under the body often doesn’t work.  If the leg is slightly rolled under and lies on the horse properly, gravity will automatically drop the leg once the hip joint is relaxed.  So in order to get the leg straight down in a correct position, it is necessary to release the hip joint, allowing the leg to drop into a natural position under the body.  I was teaching Susan, a relatively new student this past week, and I asked her to move the knee down and back to a balanced, correct position.  She said, “I’m really trying hard to force it to go there and it won’t.”  I said, “You can’t force it to go there, you need to release the hip joint and allow the leg to come back under you.  Just relax the leg and hip muscle and allow it to go where it needs to be.”  Then she exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, that makes it easier.”  So, for all who struggle with position, next time you ride relax the hip joints and allow the legs to loosen and then slide to where they should be.  If you try to force the legs into a place without releasing the hip joints, you will tip forward and hollow the lower back and end up with back pain. 

When pinching with the knees is added to a constricted hip joint, it is not possible to find the correct position until the knees and the hips are both released.  Continuing to ride with these two faults will cause perching and hollowing of the lower back. 

Stirrups can also cause problems by pulling the leg forward. To find your position quickly, cross the stirrups over and find the correct position before having to manage a swinging floor (the stirrups).  Finding the correct position is often a challenge for the experienced rider, since the longer you ride incorrectly, the harder it is to make proper corrections.  Stick with it, it is worth all the effort and it will free your horse’s shoulders so he will be able to reach his potential, thanking you each and every day you ride with more and more enthusiasm for his work.  A true partnership will be made.

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