Hows my riding?

Serenity087

Serenity087

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Am curious. Rarely post riding photos (or any photo, come to think of it!) for obvious reasons (like, being borderline obese, having a rubbish position and being the only person I know who can use a camera... so it's hard to get photos when I'm riding!)

However... here's some photos of a little mare a friend sold... thoughts?

ETA: The leaning back is because she's a bolter, she runs when you hold too tight on the reins, so I made a big thing of not hanging on them and not leaning forwards so she wasn't encouraged to go fast!

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Now... a little something to bear in mind... mare is a badly schooled bolter. Am half expecting to hear that she didn't bolt because I'm so fat!! :rolleyes:
So go for it!
 
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Its impossible to say from a few photos, but one things springs out straight away, and that is your leaning back, can't be good for your back and certainly isn't good for your balance.
Sit up straight so the alignment from your head, through your hips and knees and into your feet is correct. First thing I was ever taught at riding school :D
 
You look to be riding defensively (hardly surprising if the mare is a bolter!!)

I think you'd benefit from shortening your reins a tad and sitting marginally more upright, sort of between the fork of your pelvis (pretty sure that's what it's called?) and your seatbones, rather than all on your seatbones, although it's always so hard to tell from photos as they are just snapshots in time.

and you are by NO means "borderline obese"!!
 
Well the mare looks contented and chilled with you which is nice to see. Your hands are soft - I can see that where she had looked to the outside in the last pic you have given through your elbow.

If I was to give a 'something to improve' comment, you could sit up more with your legs more underneath you. This would help you give more effective leg aids and (especially) seat aids.

What happened with the horse? Did your friend manage to rehabilitate her?
 
Yuletide_Gal said:
Ah, yes, I was gonna mention that bit - it's to stop her bolting. I made an overly big thing of it to start to make it clear to her that I wasn't going to hang off her mouth.
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Its natural to do this when a pony is a problem. My daughter started not only sitting like that but riding like that when her pony started bucking, hopefully its a habit that doesn't stick.
I dont feel in control if I lean back, if they do take off and your already leaning back, how much leverage have you got left?
I'd personally sit more upright and shorten reigns a bit, but thats just me and how I feel in control :D x
 
Steorra said:
What happened with the horse? Did your friend manage to rehabilitate her?
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Friend had to sell. She bought her not knowing she bolted, and although she came on in leaps and bounds, all we had was a field and our limited knowledge. Shame though, I'd have her back tomorrow. She's a darling little thing and didn't bolt with me once!
 
missyme10 said:
Its natural to do this when a pony is a problem. My daughter started not only sitting like that but riding like that when her pony started bucking, hopefully its a habit that doesn't stick.
I dont feel in control if I lean back, if they do take off and your already leaning back, how much leverage have you got left?
I'd personally sit more upright and shorten reigns a bit, but thats just me and how I feel in control :D x
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Good point!

It's hard to describe, but it's more of a back and down feel... I was taught to halt by breathing out and letting your weight pass on the message. By leaning back, I was putting my weight into my lower back so she knew I meant stay slow, but I had enough weight to lower to say halt. It was just me stopping my weight being too high up.

But, as I said, good point!!
 
Hi

I am by no means an expert so am not going to comment on much, except to say try roping a friend into being your 'horse'. Sit (lightly) on their back whilst they are on all fours and recreate the position you're in, then switch to neutral, then slightly forward. Don't tell them what position you are in - get them to guess! Hopefully you'll find the results quite interesting and might change your ideas of how the horse perceives our weight.

Also, if you are already leaning back, aren't you in danger of being behind the movement if she spooked, and are then more likely to hang off her mouth?

I'm genuinely interested in how people believe it best to ride a known bolter so will follow this post with interest - not sure i'd be up for it so you're more gutsy than me!

And you are by no means obese!

Trina x
 
I can see where you are coming from as regards to rein length, op. I've ridden horses that panic and run from the contact, and the more you hold the more upset they get. My part loan horse rushes off and I found that the way to get her to settle was to give her the reins and slow her with my seat. I'm pretty sure it's a trust thing as we are three weeks in and she does it much less often now. I can see that this mare might be the same (albeit to a more exaggerated degree).

You obv don't want to be tipping forward, but sitting upright with your core engaged would put you in a more secure position (like missyme says). It would allow you to go with the movement rather than sitting behind it.

Last year I learned to row, and one of the key things about rowing is 'sitting' the boat. To make a boat sit balanced in the water, you engage your core. No matter what your arms arms and legs are doing, or how fast the boat is moving, if your core is engaged you can keep the balance and hold the rhythm better. The same applies to riding. I hope that makes some sort of sense!

When you see a rider who looks glued to the saddle, absorbing all the movement from the horse, this is a big part of what they are doing.
 
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