Advanced Western Riding. Kara L Stewart

boil it down to its simplest elements, good western riding is about sitting on your horse in a softly supported way, with your skeleton correctly aligned so your bones, instead of your muscles, can do the work of supporting you. You’re secure in the saddle and not gripping with your legs or using your hands for balance. This frees you to give aids independently and to use only the pressure necessary to get a response.

      But every rider has certain body idiosyncrasies and habits that can make riding correctly more difficult than it needs to be. Once you become aware of how you move, hold yourself, and use your body, you can start changing patterns for the better.

      The postures and body habits you have in your daily life definitely affect how you ride your horse. You are what you practice. If, for example, most of your days are spent in front of a computer, with rounded shoulders and a collapsed back, it will be difficult to ride with good posture when you get on your horse.

      Your breathing patterns also affect your riding. If you normally breathe shallowly and into your upper chest, it will be difficult to switch to the low, deep, rhythmic breathing conducive to good riding. (We’ll cover breathing in more detail at the end of this chapter.)

      Imagine the effect your head (which weighs about ten pounds—about the same as a bowling ball) has on your posture if it’s not carried in an efficient position so your skeleton can support it. If your neck and shoulder muscles have to carry this weight around all day, that’s a recipe for pain and poor posture in the saddle.

      It’s also important to realize that horses often mirror their riders; if a rider has a hollow back, the horse will typically travel with a hollow back as well. Generous creatures that they are, horses often compensate for our imbalances. The more balanced and symmetrical we can be, the better our horses can move. Learning to feel your horse’s rhythm in different gaits can also help you refine your seat and balance.

      The good news is that, even if you’re only able to ride a few hours a week, you can practice the posture, alignment, and breathing that you want to bring to your riding during the many hours of your days that you’re not riding.

      The first step to developing better balance and a more secure seat is to become aware of your natural patterns and habits. Then, you can work toward letting go of unnecessary muscle tension and play with finding the position that is most secure for you. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

      WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

      No one has perfect symmetry, alignment, or posture; just like your horse, you have physical issues and quirks. You can, however, work around them and overcome them with awareness and education.

      Over a period of a week or two, pay attention to your body movements: Notice how you walk, stand, sit, move, and breathe. (Don’t make judgments about what is right and wrong; just become aware of what is normal for you.) Start noticing other people’s postures and habits, too. It can be an educational experience.

      Do you tend to arch your lower back or round your upper back? Where are your shoulders in relation to your hips? Do you walk with your chest leading, your hips leading, or something in between? Do you walk with your head tilted to one side? Do you regularly stand with more weight on one hip than the other? How do you breathe—low, high, deep, shallow? Does your breathing change depending on how much stress you’re under?

      Often, these habits are so ingrained that it can be difficult to identify them, and they certainly feel correct because it’s how you’re used to moving and breathing every minute of your day.

      All of your habits in your daily life will carry over to your riding. If you notice asymmetries, it can be very helpful to seek the services of a good body worker who specializes in body alignment, such as a Feldenkrais or Alexander Technique practitioner, a chiropractor, a physical therapist, a massage therapist, and so on. A professional may be able to help you reeducate your body and nervous system so you can start carrying your body more efficiently. Eventually, you won’t have to think about moving differently on your horse because the new behaviors will become natural for you.

      LET GO OF THE BRACES

      The more advanced you become as a rider, the more important it will be to ride with softness, in balance, and giving subtle cues. Becoming aware of your braces—and then letting them go—will help you progress toward this goal. But what is a brace? A brace is any extra muscle power, extra energy, or extra motion used to accomplish a certain task. Let’s use vacuuming as an example.

      The next time you’re cleaning a carpet with an upright vacuum, notice what your body does as you pull and push the vacuum over the carpet. When you pull the vacuum back, are you simply swinging your elbow back from your shoulder joint, without raising your arm? Or are you putting in more effort than you need? Are you hiking your shoulder up and back in a circular motion as you pull the vacuum toward you? Are you swinging your whole torso around as you pull the vacuum back? Vacuuming this way uses a lot of unnecessary muscle power. These are braces. Many people develop habits that use more muscle power and energy than is really necessary to complete tasks. Over time, these habits can lead to injury or chronic pain.

      To eliminate your braces, start by being aware of them. For example, when you’re driving or sitting at work, be aware of what you do. Notice whether you grip the steering wheel more tightly or hold the mouse with more force than is necessary. Try seeing how little effort you can use to do all the daily tasks in your life.

      Use this same awareness to your horse. When you get on your horse, take a moment to scan your body, head to toe, for braces. If you become aware of one, try to let it go. In doing so, be careful that you don’t tense up one area to release another! Make everything easy and comfortable, and have fun with it. You can’t pass or fail. This process, both on and off your horse, really does last a lifetime.

      Do you walk with your head down or take longer strides with one leg? Bring awareness to how you use your body and notice how others use theirs.

      See whether you ride better when you release your brace, and notice how your horse responds. Try walking your horse while you are relaxed, then brace and tighten one leg, one arm, one hand, or one finger. See what happens. Does she slow down or speed up, flick her ears back and forth, clench her jaw, or swish her tail? Again, there are no right or wrong answers at this point; you’re just becoming aware of how everything you do affects your horse.

      FIND YOUR MOST SECURE POSITION

      Through her years studying biomechanics and correct body alignment, riding instructor Sally Swift pioneered a new approach to riding that she called “centered riding.” When St. Martin’s Press published her book by the same name in 1985, it revolutionized riding instruction and helped riders find the position that is correct and most stable for their bodies. Wendy Murdoch, a long-time student of Swift, took these ideas to an even higher level in her work. She shares her findings with riders around the world and in her book Simplify Your Riding (Carriage House Publishing, 2004). Other instructors and trainers (such as Peggy Cummings, Mark Rashid, and Dr. Deb Bennett) have also studied biomechanics and how a rider’s position in the saddle helps or hinders the horse.

      Riding from a correct position means that your body is aligned so you don’t have to rely on extra muscle power to keep you safely upright on your horse. Not surprisingly, a correct position relates directly to a stable and secure position.

      In the saddle, this means all parts of your body are properly aligned. Your ear, elbow, hip, and heel are vertically aligned. Your seat bones are pointed straight down, and your pelvis is in a neutral position. Your back is soft and supported, somewhere between an arched, hollowed position and a rounded, collapsed position. Your breathing expands your lower rib cage and belly rather than lifting your chest. This position doesn’t change drastically from one style of riding to another.

      A rider braces against his horse’s movement. Bracing is using more muscle, energy, or motion than necessary, and it can lead to discomfort and pain for horse and