Tips for improving rider balance

Tip #1- Body work! From hobby rider to competition riders and professionals, everyone should be getting some sort of regular adjustments. We all need to be self aware of our bodies and the influence that they have on our horses. Most people will have a stronger side which translates into stronger aids, and every weak spot in your posture your horse will have to make up for. Just like all of our horses get routine bodywork, it’s vital we look after ourselves as well. Personal bodywork to correct things like crooked hips, uneven shoulders and muscle tension makes a HUGE difference in your ability to balance yourself in and out of the saddle. 

Tip #2- Personal Fitness. As you probably guessed, rider strength and fitness is completely essential for good balance. Balance starts with a strong core, and good cardio. Your exercise routine doesn’t have to be 3 hours a day everyday but it should include a warm up, stretching, the higher intensity work, and a cool down. I personally like doing a lot of yoga for flexibility and stability, but I also vary in my routine with Pilates, weights, and running. Any opportunity that’s going to make you aware of your weak areas and help you improve is the perfect place to start.  If we took our own training routine as seriously as we took our horse’s training, we could see progress at almost twice the speed. 

Tip #3- The Two Point

For all my students jumping or even just practicing on the flat, I get them to do lots of work up out of the saddle. The 2 point position is fantastic for finding balance in your stirrups, while working on core and leg strength. When learning to jump, you’re bound to get jostled around so it’s very vital that you are comfortable out of the saddle. Any exercises or gaits you ride while seated you should also be able to ride in a 2 point. To establish a proper 2 point, make sure you have an experienced coach to help you get a strong position. They should be helping you stretch into your heels, secure your leg and keep your shoulders tall.  If you don’t do a 2 point correctly, you could accidentally be using your hands to balance off your horse's mouth, or have your legs too far forward or far back which will end up making you less stable rather than getting stronger. Rider position is one of those things where no matter how many times you do it, if you are doing it incorrectly it’s not going to improve your balance. We’ve all heard “practice makes perfect” but when it comes to riding, perfect practice makes perfect.

Tip #4- no stirrup 

No stirrup work is a bit more intense than a 2 point. The objective of riding with no stirrups is to develop a better following seat while again creating very stable core and leg strength. By taking away stirrups, it’s almost like taking away your safety net. Every rider will lean one way and put more weight into one stirrup so this is a fantastic exercise to help you correct uneven weight distribution in the saddle. I usually wait until the rider can already maintain a correct position for the majority of the ride before introducing a lot of no stirrup work to avoid riders balancing off their hands or gripping too much with their legs. We also do most of our no stirrup riding towards the end of the ride so that both horse and rider are well warmed up and the horse has finished the hardest part of the ride. Always work on your horse first and then do no stirrups while you cool down, then work your way up to being able to ride more and more without stirrups. This way you don’t have to worry about keeping your horse together and your own position, and your horse will be exercised enough already they shouldn’t be overly hot or energetic. 

Herbs for horses

Have you ever fed your horse a whole herb plant, plant extract, or plant powder? Although I am not a veterinarian or a certified homeopath, homeopathy is a really fascinating process that I enjoy learning about and using with my personal horses. One of my own experiences was with Chocolate, who always had head and sacrum problems that were making him dull and tired, and giving him difficulty building muscle in his hind end. He was requiring constant adjustments and it seemed as though his body just didn’t have what it needed to maintain himself. Chamomile was recommended to me from a classmate and all it took was a few cups, a couple times a week for just under a month. He had a huge increase in energy, he gained weight and his adjustments went from holding for 6 days to 6 weeks! Ever since, he’s maintained himself extremely well and every few months he gets a small bag of it just to support the process

Exploring movement

Proprioception is the body’s ability to understand its own position and movement. Sounds like a simple enough task but just like any learned skill, it takes years to master and develop. The idea is that we want our horses working over as many surfaces and environments to improve balance, coordination and posture. 

Things that improve proprioception are bridges, hills, grass riding, obstacles and cavaletti. By working with obstacles we can help increase our horse’s awareness. In order to have healthy, athletic, flexible and sound riding horses we need to make sure their mind is always actively tuned in to how they are moving. Horses that are mentally present when training not only perform better but are less likely to injure themselves in and out of the arena. 

What ways can you challenge your horse’s mind and body? How many terrains can you create for them to explore on?