Rider Stability and Balance - part two
Oct 10, 2024
In my last blog, we looked at the challenge of becoming balanced on a horse, and how easy it is to believe you are balanced when you aren’t.
I hope you found time to check your position. If you have any questions, let me know!
In this second blog, we will delve more into stability.
So, not only do we need to be able to sit upright in a neutral spine with a shoulder, hip, heel
alignment which presents a level of challenge in itself, but as the horse moves forwards, backwards,
and sideways, we need to do something to stabilise ourselves against the forces that are exerted by
those movements, in order to remain upright and stable and not get ‘left behind’.
The strength in our core muscles is the means by which we are able to stabilise ourselves whilst on
board a moving object, whether it is a unicycle or a horse. Similarly, imagine you are the passenger
in a car, and there is no back support to your seat. You can’t use your hands either. As the car
accelerates and decelerates, how are you going to stop yourself from getting left behind or falling
forward?
First of all, you must know where the balance point is, as I have already described in last week’s
exercise (Briefly – can you stand up in your stirrups and maintain balance at walk, trot, and hopefully
canter too!) Next, when you move in any direction on a horse, a force is exerted on your body which you must match, otherwise you will topple and get left behind. A lot of people match this force by balancing on the reins for brief moments, or even permanently balanced on the reins. In order to be truly independent, you have to create a counterforce within your body so that you can ‘go with’ the
horse.
How to use your core muscles when horse riding
This involves using your core muscles to stabilise you. First, you must firm up the muscles around the front of your belly. This is similar to how we might organise ourselves for yoga or pilates. If you find this hard, press your fingers into your belly, and then clear your throat or cough and you will feel
them switch on. Once you have these muscles switched on, you need to create a push within your
abdomen, from the back to the front, and to do this, imagine that the muscles you have firmed up
are now a wall, and then think of pushing your guts against that wall. It will feel weird to start with,
and you may think it’s impossible to breathe, but in fact this is what balanced and stable riders are
doing all the time without knowing it, within their subconscious skill set. Kids usually do it without
thinking!
The irony is, that the balanced, independent rider, who looks at ease on a horse, appears as if they
are not doing anything. In reality, this is not the truth, just as in the same way that a good ice skater
appears to be relaxed, we know that can’t be true either, as it takes great balance and stability to
look elegant on ice skates.
Ideally, balance and stability are something that we need to work on all the time. One of the best
riding lessons I ever had was when my coach asked me to do all my upwards and downwards
transitions without my reins. It truly was an eye-opener that I was using them for balance, even
though I consider myself to have very light hands.
There are lots of gadgets out there to develop balance, such as wobble boards; but the cheapest and easiest way is to buy a physio ball and when you sit down to watch the TV, sit on your physio ball for a short time instead of the sofa. You will need a ball where your feet can just about touch the
ground, and to begin with, can you lift one foot off the ground and not lose balance or have the ball
move out from underneath you. Then change to the opposite foot. This is a very simple exercise, but
it is a vital basic that all riders should master. Eventually, can you take both feet off the ground and
stay balanced? Let me know how you get on!
Join the discussion in my Facebook group, Groundwork for Humans with Sally Ede - I look forward to meeting you there!
Learn about breathing for you and your horse with my free download, Five Powerful Breathing Exercises to Connect You and Your Horse. Get your free download here!
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