No matter what type of saddle you ride, it is important that the movement of your hips, pelvis, ribs can match the movement of your horse when walking, without any resistance. Moving with the horse’s movement makes riding more comfortable, clearer for your horse and gives you confident confidence. If you want to move, you don’t want to be limp or stiff, either condition can cause pain and discomfort. You want to feel balanced, and for your horse to feel balanced, you want him to feel the same freedom in his hips that you feel in yours when you’re striding across the ground. When we have no resistance in our body and we touch someone without resistance we move in unity and it’s like we’re one—our nervous systems can’t tell the difference—and that’s a good feeling, like dancing.

To be in unity, you want good contact with your horse while allowing your torso movement to go with your horse’s stride. As your horse stands on his hind leg, his hip lifts up and pushes one side of his butt forward and up. The movement of walking is often described as like a bicycle pedaling backwards, each seat bone moving alternately forward, backward, and downward. His hip drops when the helmet is off the ground. You can get familiar with this move by getting help from someone on the ground. Ask them to tell you that every time your horse’s inside rear leg hits the ground, you will feel his hip lift. If you like to do precise movements like dressage or trail running, do it until you can feel the movement and know when you step on your foot.

How well you follow this movement is related to the balance of the head on the spine, the way the ribs can flex and open to each side as the pelvis (sit bones) move, the way the ribs slide under the shoulder blades and the ability of each hip joint to open and fold. If you are stiff or your entire pelvis is moving back and forth, you will tell your horse not to move as much and you will feel pushed. If you are stiff on one side, either in the hip joints or ribs, you will tell your horse to shorten the stride on that side.

Below is a seated lesson that is just about the movement of the sit bone (pelvis) and the subtle movement that goes up the entire spine when one side of the pelvis is lifted. After realizing how each seat bone moves and getting free movement on each side, he is ready to bring that awareness to the horse.

Perfecting the entire movement while sitting in a saddle makes it clear not only to your conscious mind but also to your brain and neural pathways to the muscles involved, then it is much easier for the movement to be unobstructed or follow the horse’s movement.

When going into a corner, you’ll want to keep this motion fluid as you use your aids to bend the horse, put weight on the inside seat bones, roll your shoulders, and look around the corner – the pedaling rear seat bones continue the motion as you go. you do what you have to do with the aids, or they will inhibit the horse’s pace.

EXAMINATION OF THE BONES OF THE SEAT FOR WALKING

(you should spend about 30 minutes on this scan and rest as often as you need):

Sit on a hard stool or bench, back flat, thighs parallel to the ground, feet hip-width apart, feet planted on the ground. first turn and arch your back several times and discover the place where you are not arched or rounded and the sit bones point down. From this neutral position, begin to slowly slide your left seat bone back and forth, perhaps just a few millimeters. find out what it’s like to do this. after about 10 slow reps, pause and then slowly begin to slide your sit bone back a bit. Is it easier or more difficult? different?

Again, after about 10 reps, pause, and then begin to slide the seat back and forth. As you go through these movements, begin to bring your awareness to other parts of yourself: the pressure on the soles of your feet, the muscles of your back or abs, the movement of your chest, the tension in your neck. Rest for a minute, lying down or lying on the floor.

Sit back down and slowly begin to lift the left seat up, slowly raise and lower it and feel for movement or tension in your ribs, sensations in your collarbones, neck, feet. raise and lower your seat bones slowly many times and find out if you lean in any direction or if your back arches or bends.

Now, begin to very slowly slide your left seat bone back and forth, then back and forth, back and forth several times. Finally, slide the seat bone forward, up and down, make the vertical circle very slowly, and find out which parts of the circle are easy. Where are there flaws? Where is the movement not so clear? Can you feel the sensation of the movement up to your head? Allow yourself to exaggerate the movement in your torso and then tone your torso more so that your pelvis does the movement but your head and shoulders are relatively still, as if you were riding.

Rest again and then get up and walk around, feeling the difference between left and right.

Sit back down, with your feet flat on the floor and hip-width apart. Do the movement sequences on the right side, paying close attention to differences in hip movement, rib flexion and expansion, back or leg muscle engagement, and what you do with your head.
Rest once more.

Finally, alternate between sliding each hip forward, up, and down, as if you were riding a walking horse. If you were on a horse, would you feel resistance or would you feel your whole being absorb and follow its movement while staying in balance, with the weight being even on each seat bone? Can you feel visually in sync with your horse’s movement, therefore more confident and secure in your seat? Then try it on your horse and find out how aware and balanced it is.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, and Happy Riding from Sit The Trot!