Improving my seat (so I can try and fall off a little less)?

Girlracer

Girlracer

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Well since falling off and breaking my leg back in May, more than once I've been told I need to improve my seat so I can stay on board and not break any more bones (online)!

I've never been bucked off, never come off when he's stood upright and he has done plenty of 'airs above ground' in the time i've had him and i've never had a problem. HOWEVER, he un-fortunately has a good spin, drop the shoulder and sod off in the opposite direction manoeuvre. Which gets me more or less every time, he's pretty sharp and doesn't give me much warning. It's knocked my confidence a fair amount as I just can't beat it, I'm on the floor before I know what's happened most the time. It isn't all that regular but when he does it I definitely fall off.

So these couple of 'helpful' comments have left me wondering... am I just useless?! And if so, what can I do to improve my seat? I wish I had a photo of him doing it, as honestly the horse does just disappear from under me.

Here are a couple of photos of us, so you can see how we look!

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This is the closest photo I have of the dreaded manoeuvre.

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Always results in this -

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Absolutely any helpful tips would be really appreciated, as I think if I felt as though I had a way of dealing with it I'd be more confident. Or should I just get used to the fact I'm probably going to fall off fairly regularly lol?
 
I'm no professional but in the pic where you're not jumping I'd say you could do with putting your strips down quite a few holes!!

and that last 2 pics cracked me up!! horsey looks rather wild hehe!
 
I wish I had your long legs, but I would agree longer stirrups would help and a more upright posture! I am an expert at falling off... but I blame a wonky leg.... a good dressage saddle has really helped with position and security!
 
jesus, that's a sharp stop! if mine did that i'd be tempted to ride more defensively with my heels further down and kept slightly more in front of me, at the moment it seems like you pivot on your knee at times

What kind of saddle do you use? its hard to see in some of the pics. I have an albion k2 and i find the blocky kneepads excellent for giving a bit of support during sharp spins or stops.

You are a brave woman riding a horse with a stop like that tho!
 
First thing I thought was your stirrups are too short, making you perched above him. With a longer leg position and putting your heels down more, you will be able to "wrap" your legs around him to become more secure.

Mary King spoke of this lower leg position with your heels down and said when you get it right "You shouldn’t really fall off unless your horse falls over.”"

:)
 
spinning is a really hard thing to sit so dont feel too badly......my only comment on your position is that you look like you are riding very short....i know you need to ride a little shorter forjumping but you look a little bit "perched" to me. i am more of a dressage rider so maybe your stirrups look extra short when compared to mine. does he always spin in the same direction? if so carry your whip in the opposite hand and slap him down the shoulder as he starts to go (if you are still on top!!!!! ha ha). i know how you feel as my mare used to do the same and drop me but i now get an idea when she is going to do it and have managed to stop her going too far....hope im not tempting providence now!!!!!!
 
My only thought was that your stirrups look a wee bit short. But I ride long and feel very insecure with shorter stirrups so that may just be me!
 
My current saddle is a Jaguar XJ, but in the one where I'm falling of it's a Jeffries Flyover, then when I fell off and broke my leg I was in a K2. Nothing seems to help lol!

He tends to only do it if he stops (he can't just grind to a hault, he is a prima donna!) so I tend to be riding shorter as I'm jumping? I do ride fairly short, but that's possibly because the saddle is so forward cut so it's more comfortable? If that makes sense? Oh I don't know, I just wish he hadn't learnt this move..!
 
splashgirl45 said:
spinning is a really hard thing to sit so dont feel too badly......my only comment on your position is that you look like you are riding very short....i know you need to ride a little shorter forjumping but you look a little bit "perched" to me. i am more of a dressage rider so maybe your stirrups look extra short when compared to mine. does he always spin in the same direction? if so carry your whip in the opposite hand and slap him down the shoulder as he starts to go (if you are still on top!!!!! ha ha). i know how you feel as my mare used to do the same and drop me but i now get an idea when she is going to do it and have managed to stop her going too far....hope im not tempting providence now!!!!!!
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having read the other posts i dont feel so bad about the stirrup length.....also if there is a mechanical horse near to you , that would help to get your position more secure without worrying about spinning....
 
Actually...I think you have a very good seat...and a norty pony:)
However...I do feel your saddle is quite a way back from the horse's shoulder ( I may be wrong but it looks like a jumping saddle to me?) and therefore you are sitting behind the centre of gravity of the horse.....making it difficult for anyone to sit with when things go wrong.
Hope this helps as you look like a great partnership:)
Best wishes
Bryndu
 
Hi, a ginger horse bless them they seem to be so quick. Well done for keeping going with him, the only advice I can offer is watch a video of Mary king ie ride slightly behind the movement. Use your core and keep the weight in your lower leg forward, not technically correct but who cares when they do that. Also do you have any one locally who is stronger poss a pro who could ride him through it a few times. Good luck. I gave up quick gingers now I have a slow grey connie.
 
no advice other than to say i feel for you as that is exactly the kind of stop blue had and i came off him all the time. As you say, one minute they are there and in the next split second the shoulder is gone, and they are facing the other way. Mine used to work in a twist and rear and in some pics you could see he virtually sat down. The only thing that ever helped me was getting an RI to jump him to get a feel for him and then getting regular lessons to ensure i never ever dropped the contact before a fence. We did a lot of work on my position , a defensive seat, heels down and legs pushed forward, bum back and RI wold shout ‘hold hold hold’ coming into a fence so my hands were up, ready to give over the fence but holding the contact and not allowing any tipping forward or dropping hands. Also feeling as if you are actually leaning back coming into a fence, right up to take off helps with that too. Good luck! I never solved it, never stopped coming off but the above did help me sit more of them than i did before haha.
 
Yup another here who would agree with the stirrup leathers, i have sat some pretty quick spins and bronc/spins since i lengthened mine .... helps you sit a bit more astride rather than perched on top. Is it possible for you to do some stirrup-less riding as well? i find that helps relearn balancing points :)
 
I'm no expert but your saddle looks to be too far back and, as others have said, stirrups too short. Well done for sticking with him.
 
Thanks for the replies!

Interesting re the saddle, I'm just wondering if it looks far back because of the polypad sticking out so far in front and him being quite short in his back? Here he is stood tacked up without polypads, I'd say I always put the saddle in the same place.

Will try dropping my stirrups a bit and see how we go. Thanks everyone :)

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Girlracer said:
Thanks for the replies!

Interesting re the saddle, I'm just wondering if it looks far back because of the polypad sticking out so far in front and him being quite short in his back? Here he is stood tacked up without polypads, I'd say I always put the saddle in the same place.

Will try dropping my stirrups a bit and see how we go. Thanks everyone :)

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saddle looks in the right place to me in this pic! he does have a really short back though!
 
No advice about position, but more useful kit!
I've fallen off a couple of times in the past year due to spins, but only when I'm in normal breeches, if I wear full seat breeches the extra stickiness helps me stay on!
Also a lot of people swear by the Acavallo gel out seat savers from Horse Health for extra stickability!
Hope this is of some help?
 
No advice re seat but have you tried an RS-tor or something similar, not sure if it would help but may give you a bit more support/ confidence and stop you getting tipped forward and off the side.
 
Just a quick reply but in every jumping picture your contact looks quite lax. In the stopping picture you have dropped the contact completely right in front of the jump. This can cause/encourage the horse to stop as their balance point has been compromised. In addition it allows him to spin. I'm not saying he won't if you keep a firmer contact but he will find it more difficult. It might also help you keep your hands nearer the neckstrap so you can grab it!

Do you have an instructor helping you?
 
FireFly29 said:
No advice about position, but more useful kit!
I've fallen off a couple of times in the past year due to spins, but only when I'm in normal breeches, if I wear full seat breeches the extra stickiness helps me stay on!
Also a lot of people swear by the Acavallo gel out seat savers from Horse Health for extra stickability!
Hope this is of some help?
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I had started thinking this recently and have asked for some full seat breeches for christmas. Will look into the seat saver. Thank you.

I can't currently afford lessons, but when things are sorted I will look into having some lessons. Finding a decent instructor isn't always that easy mind you!
 
In photos 1, 3, 5 you look to be sitting rather defensively and slightly behind him but your reins are too long which give him an opportunity to duck out if he chose to, in the one where he stops your hands end up really far up his neck, you are out of the saddle as the breaks go on putting you in a position that is hard to recover from, your position in this scenario should be to sit back, heels down, hands back and look up ie. defensive.
I think having shorter stirrups is usually safer, you should remain closer to the horse and have less chance of losing them by being able to keep more weight in your heels but I would like to see your reins much shorter with a clearer release over the fence.
To avoid the stopping and dropping you he needs to be properly in front of your leg, really working into the bridle your hands can then hold him straighter but allow by straightening through the elbow when he takes off, I would do loads of grid work with him varying the fences, distances until you feel he is taking you genuinely forward into every fence.
He seems to have plenty of ability but between the pair of you the slight lack of confidence just requires some building up to get a real partnership going, a good trainer would really help get you both on track with ideas for exercises that will benefit you both.
 
Girlracer said:
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I would say your shoulder, hip, heel line is out. Not by much but it makes your 'base' of seat and 2 lower legs unstable and not allow to to have full movement of your body and hips. You also grip with your knees and upper thigh slightly.
You need to move your heels back about 2/3 inches and lengthen your stirrups...your heels will then go down. You also need to remove your knees from your knee blocks and have air between them, heels will go down more!......Your lower legs and ankle must act like a spring, while your knee and thigh is clamped this won't happen. Feel like you wrap your lower leg around the horse while remove the knee and upper thigh, in the shape of the horse. When springy you can then lift your bum out of the saddle and 'brush' the saddle with your seat while going with the horses movement....this is done in a slightly forward seat.... But not over the shoulder of the horse, keep your own balance.

Also, I feel your pain...... It's always to the left!!!
 
Definitely get some full seat breeches -- I recently hunter trialled in "normal" (knee suede) breeches and was horrified to find myself almost fall off several times. Turns out I've been super-glueing myself to the saddle for years. I intend to continue doing so!
 
Thanks for all these replies, really interesting.

He spins either way, when I broke my leg he went right!

Would you say i'd be better off with a jumping instructor rather than dressage? And where's best to find a good one?
 
I'd find a BE coach, personally!
I've found the more versatile approach very helpful than "pure discipline" trainers.

That said, any trainer worth their salt should help you develop more core strength and perfect that seat
 
Girlracer said:
Thanks for all these replies, really interesting.

He spins either way, when I broke my leg he went right!

Would you say i'd be better off with a jumping instructor rather than dressage? And where's best to find a good one?
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I would find an event rider/ trainer, they are super keen on jump safety and can help with flat work that links to jumping technique, you can also have a lesson that is half flat half jumping which will be more beneficial if you are trying to keep spending down. Look on the BE list of accredited trainers, there should be several in your area, then possibly ask for recommendations of which one to try.
 
I'm just a happy hacker with a sharp spinney mare and I'm not into jumping tbh, but if I were you I'd be inclined to get the tack right and stop the stressy fast work until you and ginge are in riding harmony. You do look like he has one agenda and you have another? you don't look together as a team, he doesn't understand what your asking of him and is confused. He needs to use you for a confidence boost and in those pics he's not getting it as your defensive and dropping the contact?

Get out and have fun with him just cantering over fields without jumping if you can. Learn to read each other, he should feel like your own legs, an existention of your body and he should understand and trust your judgement. Get the basics in place, your heels down and you'll get there, just be patient.

Well done for not giving up!
 
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