How did you find your seat?

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Horsekaren

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I know it comes with lessons, practice, experience ect
Just wondering if anyone has any tips for staying in the correct position feeling steady and secure.
I have a habit of tilting forward all the time, I will position myself correctly but I feel as though I am leaning back and within 5 mins I am back to tipping forward :/
Years ago I was told I have such a good seat but since picking up riding again I cannot seem to find it! come back seat!!!
 
I think time, and building strength is what will do it. I had a long break from riding, and when I came back to it, I found the muscles just weren't there any more, which made me feel unbalanced, and insecure in the saddle. It did come back, but it took a while, and it was just time in the saddle, and building those muscles back up that did it. How long has it been since you started again, and how regularly are you riding?
 
Erm.... I'll let you know when I find out!!

It's like R2D2 says though, practice practice and trying to always correct yourself when you do sit incorrectly so you don't fall into the habit of sitting incorrectly (obviously and instructor telling you how to sit helps with this!)

One thing to consider though - your saddle can also affect your position. I had a saddle fitter fit my boy with a wintec, we stuck at it for a couple of months but I always had a niggle that it wasn't quite right. Got a second saddle fitter out and she said that the saddle will not be helping my position at all. The way the tree sat on the horse meant it constantly tipped me forward so I was constantly pushing my legs forward without thinking about it meaning I had a rubbish insecure seat and constantly lost my stirrups, I really thought after all these years I was just a terrible rider!!

I got a new saddle which helped instantly, I still don't have the most secure lower leg but it's so much better with the new saddle. My horse is also quite bouncy which doesn't help - I've ridden one of the other liveries ponies a couple of times and she's much flatter in her movement and much more forward than my boy and I find I keep my legs much stiller with her.

So yes, time in the saddle always will improve as you build up the right muscles but there are other factors.
 
Your position is something that needs continuous work, I let mine go and its lack meant I was not secure and it told on my confidence. I did ride with your mind lessons for two years and rebuilt my seat and position and it has really stood me in good stead. I feel better for that solid foundation. I usually have lessons all the time but currently lack a lesson horse, one too old and one been in the wars. Staying upright is a classic one and you need to build the muscle memory , riding a horse that has the habit of falling flat on his face without warning teaches you to sit up!! :D If you feel that your leaning back it might mean that you are in fact upright. That's why you need someone on the ground. Having lessons filmed is a good tool.
 
are you sure its not the saddle? if that's not balanced correctly, it could be tipping you forward. I really notice the difference every time my saddle is adjusted, as I have a young horse so he's for ever changing shape.
 
I have been happy hacking for about a year so essentially not working on my seat at all LOL
I have started schooling on my new horse of 6 months about 2 - 3 times a week. I spend a lot of my time preempting a spook and worrying about coming off ect which im sure is enhancing my tilt. I know it all boils down to me not being confident enough in my riding ... I am having lessons but my seat isn't being addressed as yet... I don't think it looks to bad from an instructors point of view but inside I feel so unsecure, every time I have a spooky moment I just fly around the saddle like a rag doll.

R2D2 said:
I think time, and building strength is what will do it. I had a long break from riding, and when I came back to it, I found the muscles just weren't there any more, which made me feel unbalanced, and insecure in the saddle. It did come back, but it took a while, and it was just time in the saddle, and building those muscles back up that did it. How long has it been since you started again, and how regularly are you riding?
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Kezzabell2 said:
are you sure its not the saddle? if that's not balanced correctly, it could be tipping you forward. I really notice the difference every time my saddle is adjusted, as I have a young horse so he's for ever changing shape.
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I have been riding in a Wintec but I do hate it, I have had it checked and it wasn't a good fit for his flat back so I am set to ride in a Thorowgood Cob saddle this evening for the first time. I hope this is going to help but I know its more likely i'm the problem rather than the saddle LOL
 
A good instructor will prove invaluable, I rode a lot bare back as a kid and no stirrups... that helps a huge amount! ...you then 'have' to sit up, rotate your pelvis slightly back and your leg falls under you and slightly more forward to remain balanced. Sounds like your lower leg is insecure, gripping up and back or falling back, which means your upper body collapses forwards.

Good luck!
 
Agree with the comments about the saddle. I struggled for a year with a saddle that was constantly forcing me into the wrong position. The moment I got a new saddle, I was able to properly engage my core, and my seat's improved massively.

Otherwise, lessons, lessons, lessons! Work without stirrups. If there's one of the fancy riding simulators near you that analyses your weight distribution, etc., that can be worth a go.
 
I was like you, tipped forward a lot. Years of lessons, saddle fitted well, done loads of bareback, it was just my thing!

I found when I started working on getting the horse light and uphill in front, I naturally sat back. As if I was squeezing him out and up in front of me. To do this, you cant really be tipped forward. Since then it was cured!
 
My seat is however and whatever it takes to have an unbalanced green horse going nicely and learning correctly. I doubt its pretty or 'correct'. I tend not to worry about what I look like anymore and have a pretty good seat :)
 
alainax said:
I found when I started working on getting the horse light and uphill in front, I naturally sat back. As if I was squeezing him out and up in front of me. To do this, you cant really be tipped forward. Since then it was cured!
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this is a really good point, I'm helping another livery with her pony at the moment and she was tipping forward particularly in canter - now she has got him going into a super forward feeling contact the problem has solved itself - she can't keep that brilliant connection if she tips forward.... and having that connection is addictive so she stays in the right place and rides toward her hands.

As for me - I'm with others that say it's a constant process, every horse will develop you a bit more, and as you train a horse you have to learn how to sit on that one as an individual as they change throughout their life.

Lessons, lunge work, mirrors, no stirrup work (in moderation because you can make yourself more tense if you push yourself too hard, which is then counterproductive) videoing, all good stuff.
 
I'm still trying to join all the dots. My seat itself is fine, and I've tested it many a time jumping nugz. But I am still tipping forward when concentrating or nervous, which is most of the time for me!! I don't do it when playing polocrosse (when trotting), or even hacking!! My legs move way more that I am happy with (or feels like) and my hands... oh my hands :(

Saddle is fine for me, and proven its better than others. Definitely better after last night with some playing around with blocks, flap position and stirrup length and air distribution with the fitter. I do know from my old mare and the saddle issues I had with her that the shape and size of a saddle really does influence your position.

Milliepops and alainax raise valid points about the keeping the horse in front as videos of me doing lengthening work with nugs shows I am more where I should be, as are my hands and I am pushing him up and forwards. And I am looking up!!

Videos are a great way to learn, especially if immediately watched as you can match feeling with picture. Mirrors are good for instant feedback if available to you.

Fitness too. I know I collapse even further forward when I am tired/knackered.
 
I found mine as a child riding a broncing pony bareback; sitting properly was way easier and less painful than pick yourself up off the floor and getting back on all the time. I still feel more secure in a flat saddle with minimal blocks - I need to feel what the back muscles are doing and adjust myself accordingly.

Post a big accident I can no long keep my right leg as stable as I would like and it feels flappy to me but am a cruciate ligament down.
 
Get into the habit of checking your position before you give the horse any command whatsoever (except emergencies obviously). In an arena particularly it really helps you be aware of your body, because you're asking the horse to do something new with great frequency. Even if all you did was ride round the edge for a lap, that's 4 corners and 4 straight lines, so 8 times you're checking your position before asking the horse to do something different.

ETA: I'm the same as a lot of others, bareback riding and no-stirrups work was how I developed my seat. In those situations if you don't ride properly you are highly likely to fall off.
 
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I came from a background of lessons where an hour without stirrups was regularly expected. People would randomly slide off at various points throughout the hour. I developed a very good seat very early on that saw me become crash test jockey for a lot of new and naughty horses, simply because I never budged.

I also used to regularly do bareback scurry jumping (full course of jumps, bareback, against the clock). My confidence is nowhere what it used to be and I am rusty jumping, but my one saving grace is that I have maintained my seat and I'm proud of it.
 
I can't really comment because my lower legs slowly drift forward... but I've heard Yoga helps a lot for position. You could maybe get some Youtube videos up/go to a class and see if you like it?

It's a battle because you go back into your comfy "habit" but need to constantly be reminded. Are you having lessons at all? Just asking so somebody can constantly remind you of your position and you will eventually hold yourself correctly. I am a bit pants with my hands as well, so having an instructor really helps to get them carried correctly.

Also a good saddle does help :)
 
scats said:
I came from a background of lessons where an hour without stirrups was regularly expected. People would randomly slide off at various points throughout the hour. I developed a very good seat very early on that saw me become crash test jockey for a lot of new and naughty horses, simply because I never budged.

I also used to regularly do bareback scurry jumping (full course of jumps, bareback, against the clock). My confidence is nowhere what it used to be and I am rusty jumping, but my one saving grace is that I have maintained my seat and I'm proud of it.
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Stirrupless riding is amazing! I really enjoy it at the time... my bottom the day after however...
 
Found it years ago when being lunged with no stirrups or reins, with my eyes shut, by an instructor whose pony didn't need a voice aid - I never knew what was coming next! I wish I could turn the clock back 30ish years!
 
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