As someone who specializes in movement…

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Question: When I ride my hands bounce up and down at all the gaits. Not a lot but enough so I am not riding horses to the best of my ability and knowledge. I can keep the horse on the bit but in the posting trot every time I go up my hands come up too.Holding a strap doesn't help. Trying to make my hands go down as I go up doesn't help. What can I do?



Basically if you are stiff in mid-back or in the upper chest and shoulders and the shoulder blades don't slide well over the rib cage… Continue

As riders we get all sorts of information about how to have correct posture, how to breathe, and how to use our abdominal muscles. All of these things affect the way we stand, sit, move, and breathe. They even affect the way we think and our emotions. As babies we knew how to breathe naturally and use our breath for power. We filled our lungs, letting our belly expand, and screamed! When we breathe naturally our lungs fill as our diaphragm lowers and flattens out, and, because our stomach,… Continue

Unlike four-legged mammals that generally move with a horizontal spine, the human spine is uniquely shaped to allow us to move in multitudes of activities while standing or sitting upright. With the muscles and tendons providing structure, the spine can bend and twist and oscillate. It can also relax and allow us to sit for long periods. Unfortunately, our spine also has a good short-term memory about what it has been doing.



The tissues hold on to what we have been doing. What does… Continue

“Tummy out, tummy out,” I heard in lesson after lesson when I rode in Germany at Etoile International Equestrian Academy under the direction of Stephan Kiesewetter, chief trainer. Tummy out? I’d never heard such a direction from a dressage instructor, yet when I did it, I felt my lower back fill out and hip joints relax, the mobility of my lumbar spine increased while my upper torso stabilized, and I sat deeper. I found it easier to follow each big, bouncy stride—in fact, my horse gave bigger,… Continue

The rider, to ride well must be supple; the body must be filled with shock absorbers at every joint to allow the movement of the horse to go through the legs and up the rider's spine without getting stopped anywhere. For the dressage or western rider the ankles, hips and shoulders must be relaxed, moveable, and independent of the movement of the torso.



This… Continue

Often people who come to my clinics complain that their horse is lazy. They say things like: "He doesn't want to go," or "Even my trainer has problems getting my horse to go."

I say, really? your healthy, vibrant 5 year old is lazy? Your prime-of-life, athletic 10 year old is lazy? Really? Does he just stand around out in the pasture?

"Well, no..."

Hmmm, Let's see what's going on, I'll say.



I watch as they ride and yes, the horse seems sluggish, making little effort to… Continue

For many riders the half-halt is elusive even though they understand that if done correctly it will rebalance the horse, increasing engagement of his hind end and readying him for the next move. Your seat during the half-halt must be ready to receive the engagement of the hindquarters and increase of energy created by your legs, otherwise you'll lose your balance and be tempted to hold onto the reins or grab with your legs because the change in balance and energy has left you behind the motion… Continue

I get questions about going faster without bouncing--trotting, cantering, loping, galloping--and realize that novice riders are often intimidated by faster gaits, not realizing that riding the trot or canter on a calm, well-trained horse is fun and relaxing, even exhilarating.



Part of learning to ride comes from spending time in the saddle but plenty of riders spend hours in the saddle without really learning the one simple thing that will make it enjoyable to ride: moving with the… Continue

Ride in the Middle of Your Horse: Developing Lateral Balance

By Michele Morseth, MA, GCFP

See more articles at http://SitTheTrot.com



From Pacific Northwest Endurance Riders Newsletter Spring 2009

“Ask The Experts” column:



Q: When I ride, I notice I am very asymmetrical with the way I distribute my weight, which effects my horse's balance. I've tried yoga and strengthening with some success to fix the problem, but I… Continue

Ride With a Natural Seat: You Can Too! by Michele Morseth, MA, GCFP



ABSTRACT: Riders can ride for years without ever really moving in unity with the motion of their horse. However, you can learn new habits and posture so you ride in secure comfort. You are not your habits and at any age you can become fluid in your movement and more…

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"Even among experienced riders, fear or anxiety can seem like an insurmountable obstacle in riding or just being around horses. Your horse spooks and you get hurt, you experience pain and lose the ability to be relaxed and supple, you see someone else get thrown. All of these events can cause anxiety and excessive fearful responses. Because horses tune in to our emotional states, our anxiety can cause unwanted behavior like shying or what seems like disobedience. When we are calm and confident… Continue

Crooked Riders = Crooked Horses: Develop Your Awareness of Balance and Symmetry



Like many young girls, I grew up carousing around my neighborhood bareback on my pony. The saddle came out for 4-H, otherwise, I stuck to her sleek back like glue. In college, I went on to work for a dressage trainer, never thinking that moving with the motion of a horse could be a problem. In my mid-20s, lured north to the arctic, I quit riding. I moved with my husband to the Brooks…

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In 1733 F.R. de la Guérinière lamented that to bring out the beauty of our horse we need “an air of ease and freedom… a controlled yet supple posture...depth of seat” but riders weren’t working to achieve it.



And today? Despite knowledge of biomechanics and physiology elegance and control on a moving horse eludes many of us, Some riders don’t take the time to work on themselves. Others strengthen and stretch, yet they still struggle. Many think they just ride that way,…

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