The Weight Aids

Several message board members have asked what is meant by the aids of the seat and weight. Sadly, these aids are rarely taught in this country, and I have even heard instructors saying to pupils, 'Oh, we don't bother with those nowadays' as though they are outdated and no longer relevant. Nothing could be further than the truth! As you progress in your riding, these subtle signals become more and more important, as they are the secret of invisible aids, ones which are clear to the horse, not visible to the onlooker.

The Weight Aids

These are used for turning. They consist of nothing more than advancing your inside hipbone, i.e., tipping the top of the hipbone a little forward, as if pointing it in that direction so that it is slightly further forward than the left.

You can again practise this, sitting on a stool. Tip the top of the right hipbone slightly forward. You should also feel the right seatbone tip onto it's front edge to turn right, advance the right hipbone, feeling a little more weight emphasised on the right seatbone under you. By advancing the inside hip in this way, it also brings your left hip back so that your outside leg is positioned ready for use behind the girth to assist in the turn.

If you try these aids out on a real horse just on a loose rein, you will find that you can turn the horse without any reins at all. The horse does not have to be trained to do this - it is just a natural response to the slight shift in your weight. Of course, this is a very simplified way to turn, and only part of the whole. The hands and legs of course also play an important part in achieving the correct bend when turning the horse. Bending the horse correctly helps to supple his body, making him more manoeuvrable, and therefore safer and more pleasant to ride. We will be looking at the role played by the hands and legs in turning in later pages.

Next, how the seat aids are used.