The elusive horse riding 'Independent Seat' & how to get one

The subject of rider biomechanics focuses on the rider in detail. A rider wants their horse to be ‘straight’, ‘supple’, ‘balanced’ etc. but a horse cannot be any of these if their rider is hindering rather than helping them due to their own position and balance problems or if, in other words, they do not yet have an 'independent seat'.

A rider must thoroughly examine themselves and be fully aware of what their body is doing if they want to ride to the best of their ability and help their horse go as well as possible.

What is an 'independent seat' when horse riding exactly?

The term is often used to indicate how effortlessly a skilled rider appears when they ride a horse. Watching a skilful rider should give the illusion that they are not moving at all, when in fact they will be moving, but it will be with, rather than against, the movement of their horse.

This apparent stillness is because the rider has an independent seat.

Even though the term independent seat sounds like it is all about keeping your seat on your horse, it involves much more. Yes, it is about how you ‘sit’, but it involves your whole body.

Whatever your riding level, you should aim to develop an independent seat to improve your riding and make the experience as comfortable and safe as possible for you and your horse.

Having an independent seat (when horse riding) means that:

• The rider can stay balanced with their horse through different speeds and gradients.

• The rider does not resort to gripping with the legs or pulling on the reins to help them to balance.

• Each of the rider’s limbs can be controlled independently, enabling the rider to give the aids (signals/cues) clearly and concisely.

All of this of course means the rider is far easier to carry and has better communication with their horse.

Think back to when you were a beginner horse rider

At the other end of the scale, think about when you were a complete beginner rider, or if you cannot remember that, think about a beginner rider you have seen. When a beginner rider uses their legs, their hands tend to move simultaneously; in fact, sometimes a beginner’s hands shoot up in the air whenever they move their legs.

Sometimes a beginner’s hands shoot up in the air whenever they move their legs.

The opposite happens when a beginner rider tries to use their hands to slow or stop their horse; in this case, their upper body may tip forwards, and their legs may swing backwards.

These extreme movements usually disappear quickly, but this example illustrates what the body tends to do, albeit to a much lesser extent, as a rider gains experience and until the rider learns to have full control of their various body parts.

Even experienced riders can still have a certain amount of this behaviour going on when they ride, particularly if their confidence is affecting how they ride.

Symptoms that a rider does not yet have an independent seat include: losing the stirrups, hands that won’t stay still, gripping knees, wobbly (disengaged) legs and bouncing etc. All of these tend to result in a loss of confidence and create a vicious circle of events. The rider adopts the foetal position because their subconscious tells them to do so; this makes them even more insecure, they grip and curl up even more, and so on.

In fact, confidence and seat are linked in that if your confidence is low you will tend to do the opposite of what you would do if you had an independent seat, and vice versa.

Why is an independent seat when horse riding difficult to get?

For many riders, the development of the seat was not a priority when being taught to ride. Therefore, they have developed rider problems that do not go away without some special attention. For example, being told to keep their legs still or keep their hands down will not help a rider do this. The root of the problem must be found and then worked through before a rider can really improve.

It can be difficult to find the right help too because most instructors do not specialise in this area of riding teaching. This is because this subject (rider biomechanics) is relatively new and is not commonly taught in most traditional riding coach curriculums.

Even people who are very good riders themselves cannot always help. Many top riders have an independent seat almost 'naturally' (or appear to do so), it is usually due to very hard work, but also, they are often naturally athletic), so they often find it hard to empathise with the struggles of less ‘gifted’ riders that may have a less athletic disposition. This means that even top riders (and coaches) cannot always diagnose the root cause of the problem.

Being told to keep their legs still or keep their hands down will not help a rider do this.

How do you get an independent (horse riding) seat?

You gain an independent seat by improving your position and balance. The subjects of rider position and balance are inextricably linked, and it is not until a rider has a good position and balance that they have the ability to develop an independent seat. Gaining a good position and good balance is about aligning and balancing every part of your body, from your feet to the top of your head. It only takes one of these elements to be askew to throw everything out of sync. It is therefore important to examine all of these elements in detail and sequentially.

How important is it to improve your horse riding position?

Improving your position is the first step to improving your riding. Many common riding problems, including pain and discomfort when riding, can be attributed to poor rider position (and balance). In addition, many cases of ‘resistance’ in a horse stem from poor rider position (and balance).

In this article, I will outline just a couple of important points regarding the correct position.

There should be an imaginary straight line from the rider’s ear, through the hip, to the ankle. The arms should hang at the waist or slightly forward of the waist, and there should be an imaginary straight line from the rider’s elbow to the horse’s mouth.

There should be two imaginary straight lines.

In terms of position, this is what you are aiming for. Not just because it looks pretty but because:

• It is balanced.
• It is more secure.
• You are easier to carry.
• You can apply the aids correctly.

As already mentioned, if areas of your body are out of line, this will cause problems. For example, the correct positioning of the rider’s legs is crucial for good balance. If they are positioned too far forward, the rider sits too far back, putting too much weight on the weakest part of the horse's back. If the rider's legs are positioned too far back, the rider's upper body tips forward; this unbalances the rider and makes them very insecure indeed. In addition, if the legs are incorrectly positioned, they will not be in the correct place to apply the aids.

If areas of your body are out of line, this will cause problems.

The upper body should be upright with the head positioned directly over the body, not in front or behind. This is particularly important because the human head is very heavy. If it is not balanced on top of the body, it unbalances the rider greatly and uses unnecessary energy.

When in the correct position, a rider should actually be sitting/standing across a horse in such a way that if the horse were to disappear in a puff of smoke, the rider would land on the ground with their knees slightly bent but still in perfect balance.

How important is it to be aware of what your body is doing when you ride a horse?

Awareness of your body position is another important step to improving as a rider. Often riders are not actually sure of what is happening to the various parts of their body. This is partly because riders cannot see much of what their body is doing when riding (unless they have mirrors available) and partly because riders are not commonly taught what they are meant to feel. Learning to become a better rider is about developing an awareness of what is happening to your body when you ride.

When in the correct position, a rider should actually be sitting/standing across a horse in such a way that if the horse were to disappear in a puff of smoke, the rider would land on the ground with their knees slightly bent but still in perfect balance.

How can you learn more about rider biomechanics?

A rider should be aware of what they can feel, right from the soles of their feet upwards. So, for example, they should be able to feel the balls of the feet with equal pressure from side to side. The stirrups should be in the right position on the feet so that the rider can properly ‘engage’ the lower leg, with the heel positioned slightly lower than the toe.

In this position, the heel can dip further when necessary to absorb the movement generated by, and is travelling upwards from, the horse.

In this position, the heel can dip further when necessary to absorb the movement generated by, and is travelling upwards from, the horse.

Each area of your body plays a very important part in achieving a good position and maintaining that position (and balance) on a moving horse.

How important is it to improve your horse riding balance?

After improving your position, improving your balance will make you a more secure and confident rider. Improving your balance is the key to further improving your riding.

Good balance comes easier to some than others; generally speaking, the older you are, the more you have to work to have good balance.

Children tend to balance more easily and ‘naturally’ whereas older riders often have problems with their balance. This is because children tend to carry out activities that use their balance on a daily basis; adults tend not to do so.

This can be very frustrating if you rode as a child and can remember what it used to feel like! Sometimes it seems that the harder you try, the more unobtainable those quiet legs, still upper body and good hands become. Struggling to gain the same feeling you had as a child (rider), and failing, is one factor that erodes confidence in a mature rider.

You can greatly improve your balance, and riding correctly is a great exercise to improve your balance in general. But you need to ensure you are practising the correct behaviour every time you ride by maintaining or even improving your balance, rather than practising the ‘wrong’ behaviour and getting better at doing it wrong!

Improving your balance involves utilising certain mounted exercises. So, if you are one of the many people having problems, there are several things that you can do to improve the situation. Such as exercises that train you to get just the right amount of weight going down through your legs; these include standing in your stirrups in all three gaits (walk, trot and canter) and through speed changes within the gait.

Certain exercises can train you how to get just the right amount of weight going down through your legs.

Think about what happens when things start to go wrong. The lower legs start to creep upwards (in addition you may start to grip - which just increases the problem!).

The key is to learn how to properly engage the lower legs so that they stay in the correct place no matter what the upper body does! So, learning to keep the lower legs ‘engaged’ underneath you is imperative, to say the least.

Learning about how to keep your lower legs ‘engaged’ underneath you, improving the stability of your lower legs, and improving your position and balance are at the heart of The Horse Rider’s Mechanic books and Horse Rider's Mechanic online course

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