A Good Seat (also in Soapbox in error!)

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MochaDun

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Do you think a good seat is something that you either have and are born with, or if you don't, can attain, through instruction or experience?

And is having a good seat something that beyond allowing your horse to move well, aid balance and allow you to communicate with your horse properly through the aids etc, is a lifesaver when it comes to big spooks, bucks, etc?

I don't have great hands but I think I have a good seat. Very rarely has my horse unseated me with bucks or spooks but then we're both quite small and maybe I can just sit to him well, is that the same thing as having a good seat?

Just interested as have seen quite a few people with what I would call very bad positions and they seem to be the ones who quite regularly end up on the floor or not be able to stay secure and in control of their horses sometimes. But that might just be circumstance due to what the horse might throw at them and a purely random thing. But I often see people in lessons with a bad position which are never corrected and given instruction on how to correct their position by instructors.

Posted this in error in Soapbox earlier and only got 1 response so maybe it's just a dull as ditchwater post!
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There's definitely some natural ability in it imo... but obviously your seat improves with lessons/experience
That said.. some horses are much much easier to sit to when they buck etc so that may have something to do with the managing to stay on thing... if you see what i mean
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i completly agree with you, and am in pretty much the same position ( pun not intended!), my hands are my weak point. i think its something you can practice and get better at through experience but also some have it come to them easier than others! its also about being able to predict bucks and spooks etc, but also very important is reacting fast! so its a combination i think.
 
I think its learnt I had a tendency to tip forward and grip up with my knees (maybe because ive raced motocross bikes??) anyway my instructor made me have many lessons on the lunge sometimes doing execises which helped a lot
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I agree with most folks in that there is an element of natural ability in it (OH is classic example - never rode until he was in late 20's and now 30 he is as capable of sitting anything that a young or naughty horse can throw as I am who's been riding 20 odd years) but lessons and experience help...

the other thing that a lot of people forget about is fitness. good fitness is essential so that you're not getting tired too quickly and so that you can withstand bucks, spooks etc without losing your balance or being unseated.
 
I think I learnt to have a good seat from my first pony who was nick named the bucking brunco fell off him so many times. But also think he helped with with my first tb mare who was a nutcase, i really believe if it was not first my first pony there was no way i would have coped with my tb. i might have ended up with a good seat but cant say I am a great rider but I do have soft hands.
 
I think a good seat and general stickability are two different things. A good seat is independent of the other aids, "breaths" with the horse without hindering movement and can give very precise commands. I think that whilst some people are naturally talented, this is largely down to hard work and correct training. Even Olympic riders continue to work on improving their seat.

General stickability is more to do with balance, confidence and quick reactions. Depends on many things such as size of rider in relation to horse (long legs on small pony is definitely a plus!), secure position (sitting up, keeping legs long), familiarity of the horse, and of course how difficult the horse actually is. The best rider in the world is not going to stick on a suicidal horse... top riders do injure themselves coming off young unbalanced horses.
 
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I think a good seat and general stickability are two different things. A good seat is independent of the other aids, "breaths" with the horse without hindering movement and can give very precise commands. I think that whilst some people are naturally talented, this is largely down to hard work and correct training. Even Olympic riders continue to work on improving their seat.

General stickability is more to do with balance, confidence and quick reactions. Depends on many things such as size of rider in relation to horse (long legs on small pony is definitely a plus!), secure position (sitting up, keeping legs long), familiarity of the horse, and of course how difficult the horse actually is. The best rider in the world is not going to stick on a suicidal horse... top riders do injure themselves coming off young unbalanced horses.

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could not agree more!!

Also as I have recently found out 'general seat' can be helped or hindered tremendously by both the horse and the saddle. A horse that does not go forward and has to be kicked all the time will hinder the seat beyond imagination. Whereas a horse that goes forward smoothly will help beyond imagination.
I know because I have just made the transition and the difference is incredible! Also a horse that doesn't go forward makes it difficult to rise without being 10ft away from the saddle in the 'up rise' Again a half decent dressage saddle can make all the difference too. On top of which a horse not going forward is very difficult to ride in the 3 point seat.

For years I thought the above were down to my bad riding. However I now know different and feel great. So much so I think I will post separately to share this lol
 
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