All movement begins in the brain. When you learn a new dance move, you have to think about where you place your feet and hands before you take that first step.
The same goes for learning to ride, whether you are a beginner, an intermediate rider, or have reached an advanced stage. We’re always learning something new, or trying to improve on what we have learned.
So the sensible way to learn or improve our riding is to start by teaching the brain.
“A Good Seat is the Alpha and Omega of good riding.”
—Egon von Neindorff
How do we earn a Good Seat? By focusing on The Basics.
“The Basics” include balance, flexibility, independent body parts, full range of motion, and “feel” – the ability to use our senses, even blind-folded, to maintain awareness of where our bodies are in space and in relation to the horse.
“Feel” also means being capable of sensing what the horse’s body is doing. Is he balanced left to right and back to front? Or is he loading one shoulder, escaping with one hind leg, tensing his back or his jaw?
Is he bent correctly from ears to tail? And so much more!
Did you know that while beginning riders yearn to do what intermediate riders can do, and intermediate riders long to do what advanced riders can do, advanced riders always focus on “The Basics.” Once you’ve got “The Basics” down, advanced work comes easily!
When you ride better, your horse automatically goes better, too.
A crooked rider will always produce a crooked horse. But a well-balanced, flexible rider with “feel” can help straighten a crooked horse with selected exercises, repeated in a thoughtful way over time.
The Rider’s Seat Doctor can help you understand what kinds of exercises to use, under what circumstances, as well as what to do when things go wrong. So if you are a rider who is serious about mastering your own body before you attempt to master your horse, you’ve come to the right place – The Rider’s Seat Doctor!