If you’re guilty of slouching when you ride (and let’s be honest—many of us are), it’s time to fix that habit. Slouching not only affects your position and comfort but also your horse’s way of going. When you slouch, your seat can’t absorb the horse’s motion, it is harder to sit the trot, follow in the canter, and establish a steady contact.
In this video, I’m sharing four helpful tips to improve your posture and break the slouching habit for good. Better posture means a better connection, improved comfort, and a happier horse.
We spend so much time driving, sitting at a desk, and looking at our phones that slouching becomes second nature. But riding with rounded shoulders, collapsed posture, and “chicken wing” elbows leads to poor seat connection, discomfort, and inconsistent contact.
Tip #1: Fix Your Elbow and Hand Position
One of the easiest ways to start correcting slouching is to check your hand and arm alignment. Slouching often causes your shoulders to roll forward and your elbows to stick out. Instead, imagine you are holding a coffee mug:
- Keep your palms facing each other
- Thumbs on top, like a little rooftop
- And a straight line from your elbow to your horse’s mouth
This small change in your hand position will instantly improve your posture.
Tip #2: Use a Position Reminder
The Correct Connect Position Reminder is one of my favorite tools. It’s soft, stretchy, and gently reminds you to sit up tall—without locking you into a stiff, rigid frame.
It works by providing just enough feedback so that when you start to slouch, you feel a light pressure that prompts you to realign. It also helps keep your elbows tucked in, preventing the “chicken wing” effect, and encourages more following arms.
Fixing old habits is tough, but having a reminder like this makes it easier to stay aware of your posture while still being able to move and ride effectively.
Tip #3: Look Up and Forward
Where you look affects everything. If your eyes are down, your head drops, and your posture collapses. But if you look up and where you’re going, it automatically lifts your chest, aligns your spine, and improves your balance.
Plus, it helps you ride more accurately, gives you more confidence, and keeps your horse more focused and responsive.
Tip #4: Stretch Outside the Saddle
Improving your posture starts on the ground. Tight pectoral muscles and rounded shoulders are common causes of slouching, so adding simple stretches into your daily routine can make a big difference.
Try doing the “I, T, Y-stretch” on the floor or a foam roller, reaching your arms overhead and out to the side to open your chest. These stretches release tightness and help you build the muscle memory for a better riding posture.
Give these exercises a try the next time you ride, and I know you will see and feel a difference. Riding with good posture is so important as our posture in the saddle directly affects our balance, comfort, and effectiveness. Improving your alignment will help your horse move better, keep your body healthier, and allow you to ride longer with less strain.
Happy riding!
Amelia
P.S. Save the date! Everyone has given me so much positive feedback about my riding challenges (where you can enter to win prize money for improving your riding!) that I decided to create a NEW Challenge centered around one of the most popular topics I get asked about: the canter! I can’t say much more right now, but if you want to be the first to know about it, Click Here and I’ll send you an email right when The Canter Challenge is released later this month.
