Gravity Helps

You would reasonably think that the best way to stay on a horse is to grip tightly with your legs. This does not work.

It is the beginning of a vicious circle of problems that all beginners face. If you grip the horse with your legs he will interpret this as a signal that you want to go forward with more energy. You then get worried because the horse is going faster than you were expecting and so you become more tense and so your grip increases..... It gets worse - because at the same time as you tense your legs your security and stability in the saddle declines (known as your 'seat') which also increases your tension and so on and so on.

Tension

To see why this happens find a drinking glass or tumbler that will just fit between your stretched first and second fingers. Grip the glass gently between these two fingers and then increase the tension and see how the glass shoots away from your grip. Replace the glass with the horse's body and the fingers with your legs and you can see how increasing grip will push your bottom away from the horse.

Rider and Gravity

In fact gravity and balance keep you on the horse not grip.

As you advance and your muscles adapt to allow your legs to hang better around the horse's body you can use your legs to greater effect.

I know this is easy to understand in theory but reprogramming your instinct, which has faithfully looked after you up to this time, takes a while - I'm still working on it. The key is to relax.

Also remember that as a novice rider you are going to be put on the safest, steadiest horse the school has. He'll have seen it all before and will be very forgiving of your clumsiness and mistakes and will not do anything unexpected or silly

Comments

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Cathie 9th Jun 01

This site is wonderful. The practical, common sense information provided has helped me in so many aspects of my riding. You have a very easy to understand way of explaining - I read and it's like the light bulb goes off in my head and I say "Ohhh, I think I can do that," and it works. Thank you so much. I also very much respect the kindness to your partner approach that you maintain in all you do.

Doug 26th Nov 01

what a logical explanation of a confusing situation.
Thanks

karen 29th Jan 02

Any tips on relaxing in the saddle I always seem to want to grip on with dear life.

amy 13th May 02

Great site. Decided at the age of 20 to begin horse riding and was a bit nervous. This has definately inspired me to give it a go and not be too embarrassed at the first attempt. Thankyou!

Andrea 17th May 02

Karen,here are a few tips: 1. Go at your own pace,don't do anything you don't feel safe doing. 2. Try doing the "end of trail exercise": Stand in your stirrups and sit lightly on the pommel(this is not the jumping position,keep your back straight as if you were still sitting in the saddle). Let your legs(naturally) slide back a little(don't overdo it) and sit down,keeping your legs in place. 3.Try putting a strap through the D rings on the front of the saddle. This helped me to relax(I used to have the same problem) and now I have a completely better posture after only one time of doing this(but feel free to use it longer if you need to)! A detachable purse strap(leather) works great. You will most likely find that you don't need to pull on it. It just makes you fell more secure, balanced,and relaxed! I hope this helps you! Happy riding! Bye!=)

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