When I was a young rider learning from one of the best dressage instructors in the country, I was constantly drilled on how to improve my seat, the position of my legs, the angle of my elbows, and the tilt of my head. I learned from my teacher the importance of my position and balance when asking my horse to work correctly.
When my horse was crashing on its forehand, it was my fault for the incorrect use of the reins and looking down. When my horse was crooked around a turn, it was my fault because of the position of my pelvis and the use of my legs. I was taught that until I learned to improve my rider position, my horse would always struggle with straightness and balance.
When our horse is struggling to respond correctly, we often blame it on the rider’s position or incorrect use of the aids. It’s what I was taught. It’s what my great-great-grandma was taught. It’s probably what the father of modern riding, Xenophon, was taught.
But I remember later watching a horse perform beautifully in a dressage test with a rider who struggled with Parkinson's disease. The rider obviously had problems with control of her hands and body, yet her horse was working beautifully. How could that happen? It must have been a fluke, or somebody else had trained the horse. I figured it was just one of those “exceptions to the rule" type cases.
Many years later, I was teaching at a local riding club. One of the participants was a teenage girl suffering from cerebral palsy. Her arms and body would spontaneously spasm while riding. She would ask her horse to turn, and her arms would shake uncontrollably. Yet her horse made beautiful, soft, and balanced turns. When her horse cantered, the rider jostled out of balance all over the saddle. But her horse made lovely transitions and maintained a relaxed and even pace. My old teacher would have had a stroke watching my student flaunt every rule of good riding.
I began to wonder how true it is to blame everything on a rider’s lack of a perfect position and use of the aids.
As I grew to be a better horse person, I learned that riding a horse in a way that the old masters insisted was more of an opinion, not a fact. My student’s horse from the riding club and the horse of the lady with Parkinson's disease didn’t seem to think rider position was the difference between a bad ride and a good ride.
So what makes a horse a better and more balanced horse?
I’m not suggesting that being a better rider is not important. I believe it is a goal we should all work towards. A good position keeps our centre of gravity as close to possible with our horse’s centre of gravity. This makes it easier for our horse to carry us because our weight becomes less of a burden. It also helps a horse decide that going with us is easier.
But it is not true that by correcting our seat our horse will instantly travel more balanced and correct. When a horse is struggling, automatically blaming the rider’s position or use of the aids is probably not helpful in most cases.
In my view and experience, the most important element that is missing when working with a horse is clarity.
No horse is born knowing that when a rider adds a feel on the left rein, it should think of turning left and then move left. In fact, almost all horses natural reaction will be to have the opposite response. No horse comes out of its mother knowing that when a rider applies inside leg, it should bend its rib cage. No horse knows that the first time a rider changes the angle of their pelvis, it should know what to do.
A horse learns these things because somebody explains them to the horse clearly and with no ambiguity. Clarity!
If I am clear, I can teach my horse to turn left when I apply the left rein. But I can also teach my horse to turn left in a soft and balanced way when I apply the right rein or scratch its wither or shout “Happy Christmas”.
If you want your horse to trot straighter or more collected, you can adjust your seat position, the tilt of your head, the position of your legs, and the feel and position of your hands to help your horse. But it only helps to change the way your horse is working if your horse is already clear what those adjustments mean and how to respond to them. Somebody has to first teach them to a horse. Otherwise, they have no meaning. We can only blame a rider’s position for problems if we have first taught the meaning of the seat, legs, and hands. That is clarity.
I know this may seem obvious. But in the real world, imperfect riding position, as laid out in the books by old masters, is given more blame than it deserves. And clarity is rarely considered because it seems so obvious. CLARITY. There is no substitute for it.
Video: I think I need to talk to Ellen Kealey about her riding position. https://www.facebook.com/ekhorsemanship/