silverunicorn
Active Member
Which seat aids do you use and how? All my lessons up until now have been about a neutral position, but it was recently suggested to me that I should be using seat aids.
Seat aids
- Thread starter silverunicorn
- Start date
stormox
Well-Known Member
I think its more about weight than seat.The faster the horse goes the more forward its centre of gravity so the more forward you have to be to be in balance. If you move your weight back the horse should come back to you to stay in balance.
silverunicorn
Active Member
@stormox I think they meant things like making the horse faster with your seat instead of your legs.
Littlebear
Well-Known Member
follow Sylvia loch on Facebook there’s lots of posts about this and she has a book on the seat aids im sure.
In basic terms when you’re starting to think about seat aids as you’re walking the horse naturally moves you in the saddle and you should be allowing that movement, in walk it’s a left and right swing as they walk.
It’s worth learning the sequence of which legs move in each gait and feeling where they are.
Just as a start feel that movement and swing in the seat and practice swinging bigger to open up the walk and the swinging smaller and slower to slow down the walk.
Then with turning keeping the same rhythm just turning your body with change the weight in your seat, imagine a pole going through the top of your head and down to the floor in a straight line and turn your body on that axis turning your shoulders in the direction that you want your horses shoulder.
Also while you’re walking if you turn your toes out you will feel where your seat bones are and they should be under you, as you turn the toes you’ll feel like 2 walnuts under your bum push down (you can test that without a horse also) keep them under and not too far back in the saddle to focus on being central and balanced.
literally a million more things I could go on about here but just give those a go for starters xx
Mule
Well-Known Member
You can half halt with your seat by squeezing your thighs.
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
Why didn't your RI explain what she meant?
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
^^ this.
i think for someone starting to think about "seat aids" it's important to get clear advice from someone in person because otherwise it can end up with the rider pushing and shoving with their seat, which is not helpful or comfortable for the horse.
silverunicorn
Active Member
@Pearlsasinger it was just an observation at the end that I wasn’t using them, which I take to mean that I should be. It was an assessment lesson.
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
ideal place to start for your next lesson then
there are all kinds of ways you can use your seat to give an aid, so I think it'll be best to get guidance from the instructor next time you see them so you understand the context they were meaning and how to use your seat effectively and in a way that doesn't end up compromising your position or your horse's way of going Seat aids (or weight aids as mentioned above) can be the things that make your aids much more subtle and less noticeable and that's probably the ultimate goal, but sometimes people head off down the wrong track with it and end up being too active in the saddle instead.silverunicorn
Active Member
Thank you everyone. I’ll have a look at Sylvia Loch, but definitely listen to my instructor above all, as she’s the one who can see me riding x
Littlebear
Well-Known Member
sounds positive that the instructor has talked about this from the off - should be great learning about it all x
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
I see. Now she knows what she needs to teach you. I would definitely recommend anything written by Sylvia Loch, who imho explains very clearly.