Hello (and help!!)

[fizzbar]

Hi everyone,

I've just registered here - I've been having a look through this forum and it seems really nice and friendly, so I thought maybe you would be able to help me with my problem?

I am having lessons at the moment, and we are doing some canter work. On a good day I can sit to the canter fairly well, and manage to control my horse. Our instructor has said that she thinks we will soon be able to start cantering when we go for hacks (1 in every 4 lessons are hacks) but that we need to be able to have a forward seat first.

So at the risk of sounding silly, please can someone explain to me how to get a stable forward seat?? Our instructor told us to stand up in the saddle and hover over the pommel, but when I did this I went off to the right and almost fell off!! I felt totally unbalanced and just couldn't cope.

I don't think I can be doing right, please could someone explain how they manage to do it??

Many thanks.

[stormchaser]

Hello and welcome to NR!

I would suggest practising the forward seat at walk when you have your lessons... stand in the stirrups and walk for a few circuits around the arena. Your legs will hurt but you need to develop those muscles and a sense of balance. (It does feel weird at first! :p)

Shoulders need to be a bit forward, butt a little bit back. Hang on to a bit of mane if you need to. Don't hover too high.

[Rojeth]

you dont necessarily need a forward seat for riding out - one horse i ride it is just as comfortable to sit to the canter as it is so smooth. i take it you have been practicing forward seat in the school in canter? this is a good place to start, as it is a controlled space.

first try it in walk, then trot, as you will feel much more comfortable with these. dont throw yourself forwards up the neck, or you will feel off-balance. push your heels down, keep your knees bent and just rise out of the saddle a little. it doesnt matter if you lose balance because you will fall straight back on your bum again. think about hovering over the seat of the saddle, not the pommel else you will throw yourself forwards. it will come in time, just ask your instructor if you can practice

[fizzbar]

Hi

Thanks for that - would I be right in thinking it is something similiar to the position used when jumping? From what you are describing this is what it sounds like?

Yes we had a practise at it at the end of our last lesson in the school and this was when I went way over to the right. I think I must have been trying to stand up too far forwards if that makes sense, which is why I probably lost my balance (and I doubt Sonny, the horse I ride, was too happy about it!). So do I still keep my upper body fairly upright?

I will give it a go next lesson as we are not due to ahck out for a fortnight.

[bexj]

Hi Fizzbar - welcome!

You are right, it is the jumping position, and I too have a tendency to lean forward over the horse's shoulder too much. I tend to think of it as pushing your bum back in the saddle and folding from the hip, rather than standing up in the stirrups. Either way, it is difficult to get the hang of at first, and its also very tiring on the leg muscles.

Hope you enjoy your next hack out!

[julia gulia]

Don't think about standing up, instead think about sinking your heals gently down, don't force them and what ever you do, don't use the reigns to balance yourself as you will hurt your trusty steeds mouth. Hold on to the mane if you need help to balance. This is also called a half seat. Good luck, you can do it!!!!! Just practise as much as you can.

[Pink's lady]

You're instructor telling you to hover over the pommel is really misleading and will just cause you to tilt forward and land on a heap on the neck. Have you ever seem XC riders? they ride in a forward seat. This this a bit of an extreme forward seat
http://www.midatlanticsporthorses.com/Grey%20TB.jpg
when cantering, you've probably have something a bit more like this - me on Pink, with her tearing round the course at top speed. It's a defensive seat, as she was really galloping and motor-biking round the corners :rolleyes:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Pinkslady/Pink/ravilrigshow025edit.jpg

All you are really trying to do it take the weight off you bum and transfere it into your heels. Think about putting your legs into a classically correct poistion (heels down/level, legs directly under you etc), then take your weight into you legs, tilt your body very slightly forward. You bum should be brushing the saddle, but someone should be able to put/pull a peice of paer out from under you. Don't grip woth your knees, as it will cause you to tip forward.

Practise will help you find the right position - it feels a bit like the riding phase of trot.

[Nimrod]

Pink's lady..I'm struggling with this standing in the stirrups thing..good advice but mainly....what a gorgeous horse!!!! You lucky thing!

[Pink's lady]

Thanks :D she's horribly fat in the picture - was kicked into restricted grazing after that show ;)

it's all about practise - when ever you get the chance, practise standing in you stirrups when ever you get the chance - -once you can manage it in trot, it's easy in canter;)

[fizzbar]

Hi Pinklady

Thanks for those photos - they really help me visualise what I am aiming for. It looks as though in the second one that you are still lightly sitting in the saddle, just more weight in your toes and tilted very slightly more forward...I presume this will be easier to maintain balance like this and perhaps it is a better starting point for me (just concentrating about getting the weight down into my toes, away from my bum) - then once I have got that established I would then think about getting properly out of the saddle.
I had such a 'Eek, I'm going to fall off moment' when I last tried it, I want to take it slowly next week!!

Love your horse too - she's got that real 'I'm going somewhere Mum' look about her!!

[ConfettiPony]

I think Pink's Lady and everyone already covered pretty well, but in case you wanted another pic to help visualize it some more...

http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL64/1713187/8358450/124203654.jpg

This is at the trot, not the canter, but it's basically the same position. I'm a bit too far into the saddle, but that's because I was working as a counselor at a camp at the time. We were riding with the campers playing a game (ride a buck) where you put a piece of paper under your leg and try to ride without losing it. So I didn't want to get too far out of the saddle and lose it.You can see the very tip of the paper at the right top corner of my half chap. Now, back onto the actual topic...

This position should be basically your jumping position, but less exagerrated. You want to focus on sliding your bottom back into the saddle and folding from your hip, while pushing down into your heels. Don't hang on the horse's mouth, etc.

Oh, and let's also ignore the extremely weird look on my face. I think I was laughing/saying something? Or I'm just cool like that. :cool:

[Pink's lady]

Confettipony's picture is perfect - exactly what you want to do in trot - heels down with weight in them, not gripping with the knees, bum back far enough to balance (if you come too far forward you fall over the mane), looking up and ahead. And most importantly, holding onto the mane - that's what it's there for ;)

Confetti - you're not really too close to the saddle - I'd guess that photo was taken mid-stride, where the horses back comes up to meet you - as long as you're secure and not banging the horses back with every stride, you're fine

It looks as though in the second one that you are still lightly sitting in the saddle, just more weight in your toes and tilted very slightly more forward...I presume this will be easier to maintain balance like this

I'm actually a little more outta the saddle than it looks, Pink's just meeting me halfway. And weight in the heels, not toes ;) If you stand on your toes you're knees grip and lower leg swings back. Thta's the position I find easiest to balance in, and I can also quickly revert to a full seat if I need to (i.e trying to control her :rolleyes: )

[ConfettiPony]

Confetti - you're not really too close to the saddle - I'd guess that photo was taken mid-stride, where the horses back comes up to meet you - as long as you're secure and not banging the horses back with every stride, you're fine

Thanks for the nice critique. :)

And that actually makes perfect sense. Somebody else took these pictures and I couldn't remember what I could possibly have been doing when he took the picture. He was going back and forth taking pictures and since we were playing games, they were constantly telling us to different things (switch gaits, take our feet out of the stirrups, etc.)

Oh, and by the way, I know I'm technically too big for that pony. But he's a school pony that really never gets out much anymore because he's too naughty for the beginners and too small for most other people. (I love him though, rode him last night actually. There are advantages to being 5'2 at your adult height.)

[fizzbar]

Thanks again everyone for all your help - just one more question, you mention holding onto the mane - is this normal/allowed?? I have always been told 'not to interfere' with the horse.I have been thinking about it and think it would help prevent me from becoming too unbalanced...if it is fairly common to do this when getting a forward position then I think I will try it and see if my instructor notices!!!

I'll think about 'brushing ' the saddle too, instead of sticking my bum way out of it!!

I'll let you know how I get on!!

[ConfettiPony]

Holding onto the mane is both normal and allowed. Horses/ponies have literally no feeling in their mane. You could pull as hard as you wanted on it and they wouldn't care at all. Grabbing mane is good tactic for keeping yourself balanced. You shouldn't be pulling on the mane to keep yourself up, but if you slip a bit it'll help you regain your balance and push yourself back where you should be. :)