I see a LOT of videos from you – my amazing students. One of the most common mistakes that I see you making is leaning forward and slouching. This is a really bad habit – it puts your horse on the forehand, it makes it difficult for you to absorb the motion of your horse, and it makes you unstable in the saddle and more likely to fall off!
Why do we lean forward? Human instinct is that when we get tense or nervous, we want to curl up into the fetal position. In the saddle, this causes us to lean forward. This is not a good thing to do when you are riding. Whenever you feel yourself getting tense or scared, remember to consciously remind yourself to sit back. Looking down is another reason that we tip forward. Force yourself to feel your horse rather than looking down at your horse and when you do need to glance down, use your peripheral vision rather than turning your whole head down.
Why do we slouch? So much of what we do in our life – typing, driving, looking at our phones – causes us to have bad posture and to slouch. Slouching causes you to disconnect in your seat and lose the contact with your horse. And believe it or not, when the judge gives you a score on your rider position at the end of your test, one thing they consider is your posture!
In order to improve your posture in the saddle, focus on your posture throughout the rest of your day when you are not riding. Sit up straight and tall at your desk and when you’re driving and it will carry over into your riding!
Pay attention to your posture and sitting back as you ride this week. I guarantee that you will see a difference!
Happy Riding,
Amelia
P.S. Want to learn more about rider position? Click here to watch an awesome webinar that I did all about your Position.
