Working in an outline/getting him on the bit

Achinghips

Achinghips

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 December 2009
Messages
3,741
Visit site
I know that the key is to ride from back to front - ie worry about getting the hindquarters active and stepping under the horse, which will push the back up, which will make the head drop down.

The main work should come from legs and seat. Legs create the energy, and the seat encourages the back to come up, and the energy shouldn't come out the front door and be contained, creating almost a "bounce".

Question: What do you do with your seat to encourage the back to come up?

Thanks
 
As you've said, getting the hind legs stepping under lifts the back. What your seat can do to help is to not block, by being light enough.
 
There was a great video posted in CR, about letting the horse stretch and take the contact down and out. This frees up the back and let's them lift. :)
 
OK, now I'm struggling with the term "lighten the seat". Do you mean sitting up straight and tightening the buttocks as opposed to sitting deep by angling the hip towards the belly button?:o
 
Sorry to hi-jack this thread, but I've just looked at the other one, I have a mare that's just come to me, and she's just been pulled up and in and either goes with a very tense neck and nose tucked in, over bent or if I give her the reins just goes with her head up and nose poked out. How do you start to teach the to stretch down? Do you ask in some way or do you just expect them to take it? She will do it at the end of the session in walk and trot if I totally give her the reins, but at the start no chance. She's the same on the lunge etc, I don't want to put any gadgets on her, she does start to stretch by the end of the session, is it just a case of time or is there something I could do to encourage her?
 
Yikes - that really is the holy grail of horseriding I think OP! Don't have sound on this pc so will check out the video on the CR link later.

I've struggled with this for a few years, and still don't necesarily have 'it', although we get more moments now than we used to.

I have realised that I used my horse like a sofa, sat too heavily on him, with tight seat bones and my hips facing down into the wither. Unsurprisingly his head went up, his back went down and he went on the forehand. I've adjusted my balance and seat bones and use my thighs more to balance rather than knees or stirrups, and focus on sitting lightly, with a 'ping' in rising trot and not plopping myself down on the sit in rising trot.

It's taken a few adjustments and I am still a work in progress, but having an instructor who explains these things in plain english has been a revelation!! I had a light bulb moment last week when I finally realised what people meant by "inside leg, outside hand" - which has been shouted at me for years without ever really being explained !! Thank gawd for my instructor and Mary Wanless :)
 
lol Bernster, see I just can't get on with Mary Wanless and her flowery language and visual metaphores

Waaah!!!!! someone tell me how to ride a light seat!!!!! I just can't get it:(
 
Achinghips said:
lol Bernster, see I just can't get on with Mary Wanless and her flowery language and visual metaphores

Waaah!!!!! someone tell me how to ride a light seat!!!!! I just can't get it:(
Click to expand...

Haha - well, maybe not for everyone :) But it's def worked for me to break down exactly what people meant when they were saying (or progressively shouting) things like "contact, take up a contact, more contact" Wah?

I much prefer it if people explain what that means in terms of where do I put my hands/arms, how much pressure do I apply (and then actually take the reins and show me) etc. And a good instructor should be able to explain what a light seat means. Too hard for a forum though I reckon, although maybe that CR vid will do the trick !

The MW visuals do work for me to, they will sound odd if you haven't read the book (uhm, maybe a few times at least hehe) or don't have an instructor to explain, but no odder than the usual rot thrown at me by more 'classically' educated teachers !
 
To get a horse to stretch down try the following:
- activate from the leg through a lot of transitions. If the horse hollows in the downward transitions, forget about the transition and send forwards again in the other pace, e.g. if attempting trot to walk and horse hollows, send on again in trot. Repeat ad nauseum. You can't really do too many transitions. Do the easier, direct ones at first, then move onto indirect ones.

- a lot of circles and leg yielding to get the horse's body bending around the inside leg. As this happens you will feel the neck soften and the contact being taken up by the outside hand.

- it's worth trying slightly lowering both hands, but make sure the hands don't get fixed and stiff pulling the head down, they must still only suggest and guide the energy that comes from behind.

- if you are very careful it's also worth trying slightly opening inside rein, but make sure it only opens, it doesn't pull and it returns back to an even contact.

- I am sure someone else can describe the light seat better, but as far as I understand it, it all comes from the hips. You need control of the fall in the trot, which is done by having strong inside thigh muscles, so that you always lower your body on the saddle never let it drop. On the rise you need to think slightly hip forward and up, but without clenching and becoming stiff. If you are a dancer think of dancing the samba and how the hips swish forwards, not stiff, but fluid. Riders with a seriously effective seat can use this (and a similar feel in sitting trot and canter) to literally raise the horse's back under them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top