Connecting well with your horse when riding requires two things:
1. Clear external cues, such as leg, voice and rein aids that your horse understands
2. Supporting internal cues, such as breath, weight aids and focus that your horse responds to innately
Both of these need to be in alignment for your horse to be relaxed and able to respond well. For example, if you’re asking your horse to go forwards with your leg and/or voice, your body needs to support that forwards movement. Tension in your back, gripping with your legs or hands or losing your balance will all inhibit your horse’s forwards movement and he won’t be able to respond well to your forwards cues, no matter how much you reward it. This video is all about building awareness of your internal cues to strengthen your position and support your horse.
I’m passionate about combining positive training with aligning the rider’s body position to reach the lightest, most harmonious ridden relationship possible.
This video covers some common rider faults and gives you tools on how to improve your body awareness to connect through your seat. You can see how clearly these small changes help or hinder the horse, too!
Let me know if this video helped you and if you have any questions in the comments section!
Simply becoming aware of your breath and releasing tension through your seat will begin to make a big difference to your sensitivity as a rider and the relaxation and connection with your horse. The rest of the lesson (and loads more tips!) is available to CT Club members in our jam-packed Riding with Connection Online Course. You can find out more about the CT Club HERE. We hope to see you in there! 🙂
A big thank you to Sophie Pickard, Equine Body Worker, and her mare, Elfine, for demonstrating these lessons!
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That was great! What a wonderful horse, she was so tuned in to her rider! 🙂