Your Seat, Part 3

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In Parts one and two of this series, I've outlined concepts relevant to the rider's seat and balance as mechanisms for control. I've also introduced you to my Teeter-Totter Theory as well as thoughts about dancing as it relates to the partnership we want to have with our horses. Now how do we take all this and use it to our advantage? Let's think about how the horse moves.

The horse has four legs and three gaits that he travels on and with perpetually. The four legs are easy to see; the gaits not so much. The first gait is the walk. It is a four beat gait and is cadenced diagonally. The left front steps, then the right hind, then the right front, then the left hind -- and so on. The rhythm of the rider should follow the rhythm of the horse. The rider's hips should be going forward on the left side then forward on the right side to match the horse's stride. This will create the rhythm of the walk.



The trot is a two beat gait with the right front and the left hind moving at the same time followed by the left front and right hind moving simultaneously. This also creates a rhythm left and right but, as illustrated in the video clip it's more side to side than forward and back.



The last forward gait is the lope (or canter) which is the trickiest for people to learn. It is a three beat gait. It starts from the outside hind leg with the outside front leg and the inside hind leg moving at the same time. The stride is completed by the inside front leg. The inside front leg changes depending on which direction the horse is traveling. So the rhythm of the lope is a circular motion with the rider sliding from the outside hip to the inside shoulder or the riders inside knee.



The lope is the most difficult rhythm to master, but also the most important because its complexity requires proper use of seat, balance and control. As always, there is a learning curve and you will get better with practice. One way to know if you're doing it right is to ask yourself if you feel correct. Trust yourself. If you feel as though you are off balance and the horse is helping you stay on then he probably is. If you feel that you are in unison with the horse and balanced, then you're probably doing something right.

Remember, there's an order in how you should do things. In part 2 of this series, I talked about loosening up the horse before you start to work if he is too tight. Get the walk down. Then get the trot where you want it before moving to the lope so that you know what you're doing. Then you can move to the next step which is helping the horse with your balance.

Another way to think about balance is picture yourself with a young child on your shoulders. You're walking down the grocery store isle and he or she reaches over to grab something off the shelf. Are you going to stand there flat footed or are you going to move over to stay under the kid? Easy answer. You'll move to stay under the kid. So when you are riding and the horse is starting to dance or move with you, start to move around and find out what the horse does because you moved.

I like to start this out at the long/posting trot. It's the easiest gait to ride and to find a rhythm. I will start by long trotting a circle to the left and I'll be on the inside or the left side of the horse. As I'm coming around the outside of my circle, I will go straight to the other end of the arena and get on the outside or the right side of the horse as I do. When I get to the other end of the arena I will again move to the inside of the horse or the left side. After I do this for three or four laps (circle, straight, circle, straight) I will start to use less hand and see if the horse will follow me because I am sitting more on one side than the other. The horse will usually start to follow the rider based on which side I'm sitting. This is the beginning of a dance.

















Don't worry if it doesn't work as slick as I just outlined, no big deal. Just go back and do more laps in a circle reincorporating a bit of hand, then head straight, another circle then straight again. Eventually the horse will catch on to what you are asking and he will start to follow you. It doesn't happen overnight.

I always say, you can't teach calculus in the first grade. One of my favorite things to do is ask my poor unsuspecting riders questions when they're concentrating on perfecting something with their horse (or maybe just not paying attention to me). One of my favorites is what is the square root of 49 times 2? They all look at me funny because I caught them off guard. So, I usually ask it again. Most are not thinking about the math, but instead of riding so they don't get it. So I ask, what is the square root of 49? Most start to think at this point and say 7. Okay. So I ask, what is 7 times 2? And they say 14. That lets me ask them again, so what is the square root of 49 times 2? They think a minute and say 14. Then I ask again, what is the square root of 49 times 2 and they say 14. I start to ask the question a third time and before I can finish they start to answer 14. The moral of the story is that when I first asked the question, the rider was caught off guard and couldn't answer. But when I explained it step by step, slowly and repeatedly, they could find the answer and by the end of the exercise they were answering before I could finish the question.

This is the same fundamental philosophy of how to teach a horse something. If I was to expect a horse to follow me around (stay under me when I sit on one side more than the other) before he was comfortable and ready to learn, it wouldn't work. There are steps to getting to that point. He has to be asked to do an easy task like go in a circle and then go straight repeatedly and have success with that exercise. Once he does this well, then the horse can be at his best to answer the next phase or question correctly. He's also prepared to take the next step and become proficient with the next task.

Speaking of next steps, in Part 4 of this series, I'll talk about using rhythm to control rate which equals speed control. As always, I want to hear from you. Ask me questions, comment and post your own ideas about this topic on the forum connected to this series. Discuss ->

Need a refresher? Check out Your Seat, Part 1 and Your Seat, Part 2 of Hoyt's 4 part series that addresses Packzilla's questions.

See It – Do It!

Comments  

Posted On

Apr 02, 2008

Posted By

sarainidaho

Great article & very cool use of video clips!

Posted On

Apr 02, 2008

Posted By

tattooed reiner

Loving the video clips too - nice job!!

Posted On

Apr 03, 2008

Posted By

packzilla

I love this stuff, it seems like I now have ALOT more detail of what to work on for a better seat besides practice. Totally awesome!!!

Posted On

Sep 30, 2008

Posted By

Chase

Great explanation of the mechanics, as well as demonstration videos.
You make it look so easy.

Bless and Blessings

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