Whether you ride western or English, you
should have a well-balanced seat. Some would
call it the “Natural” seat, but it is not
very natural for most of us. We have to
learn the “Natural” seat. I am mostly
getting this information from Breaking
and Training the Stock Horse by Charles
Williamson. This is a book that, when it was
written, was way ahead of its time. I highly
recommend reading this book.
Williamson addresses the fact that most of
us are not well balanced on a horse. We do
not naturally balance correctly on a horse,
and as a result, the slightest unexpected
jump, turn, or spook by our horse has the
potential to unseat us, myself included. We
need to learn the correct way to sit and
balance in the stirrups and then it will not
matter what style saddle you ride. I am
guilty of riding carelessly sometimes and
falling off balance when my horse did
something unexpected, but I have been
working to better my seat and my balance.
One of the things that Williamson says to
help improve your balance is to, while the
horse is standing still, stand in the
stirrups with your knees bent slightly, your
heels down, your hands holding the reins
loosely, and your back straight. He
recommends holding this pose whenever you
get the chance so that it becomes natural to
you. Williamson wants a rider to be able to
move with the horse without being
unbalanced. To do this we need to get
“ahead” of the horse’s motion just a little.
Leaning more foreword, with your heels bent,
when the horse is going faster is a way to
get “ahead.”
One of the ways to better your seat is just
to ride a lot. It does help though to know a
little how you are supposed to ride. You
should be riding in the saddle relaxed with
your back straight, but not stiff. Your legs
should mostly be relaxed in the stirrups
with your heels relaxed enough so that your
heels are a little lower than your toes. If
you are not stiff when you ride, you will
have a much better chance of not ending up
sore at the end of the ride.
Learning Balance
One of the ways that I improved my balance,
and as a result, my confidence was to ride
my horse bareback (preferable in the
winter). Once I felt confident riding
bareback on level ground, I spent a lot of
time riding on an incline. Our land has both
a hill and a level riding area for this.
Riding on a hill, especially on a trotting
horse, requires quite a bit of balance and
not a little bit of leg strength. If I have
to grip with my legs, I usually will grip
with my upper legs and my knees, not with my
lower legs. Once you can trot competently on
the hill, at least being able to turn and
stop without falling off, you will find that
riding on a level area will be much easier.
I must say, though, that I do not have the
balance or the confidence to trot my horse
down hill. This is mostly because before you
get to the bottom of the hill, there is a
barbed wire fence. I would rather not crash
into it, as you might imagine.
I find that riding bareback will really help
you learn balance. This does not mean that
you will never fall off (that mud on my
pants came from playing with my brothers,
right?); you probably will at some point. I
find that I would rather ride bareback than
with a saddle most of the time. If I were to
go trail riding or do a lot of training, I
will ride with a saddle.
I hope that this lesson will help you learn
better balance. Do not be disappointed if
you do not learn this in a week or a month.
It took me the better part of the winter
riding bareback to acquire the balance that
I have now. With practice, though, I am sure
that you will improve.
