Move to SIT STill

The first essential aspect of sitting still – the independent seat

Charles de Kunffy calls it the “adhesive seat.”

It is true what they say – that good riders do nothing while the horse does all the work.

At least, that is what we all aspire to make it look like! Hehehe

The best riders are the ones that make it look effortless – they glide along with their horses, always appearing to be in balance, making imperceptible movements that are barely evident except to the educated eye. Yes, the horse just flows from movement to movement seemingly on his own, as if he clearly knows what to do and where to do it. That's not how it happens.

Years of riding and training go into developing the balance, strength and subtlety, never mind the amount of training the horse requires in order to be able to understand and respond to the slightest of aids.

How do we begin to look like we’re sitting still, doing nothing on the horse’s back?

We learn to move!!!!

If the rider is relying on only hand or leg or seat aids for balance and control, it's sadly not going to work.

It’s quite simple, really: the seat must become one with the horse. The difficult part is learning to move so that we can become part of the horse and that means to move!

Where to start?

No blog (however wonderful!) and no book can give you the answer on how to use your seat effectively. That's theory. Unfortunately, you must acquire the help of a competent instructor, and preferably, lunge lessons on a good horse. You need to learn to release your lower back and follow the horse’s movements. You have to develop your abdominals so that you can counter the sway in the canter – to keep your upper body from leaning too far forward or back within the movement.

You must learn to move your seat bones independently of each other, and to be able to maintain soft but controlled legs that do not disturb your balance-in-movement. Once you have movement in the seat bones, you can begin to influence your horse’s rhythm, bend, balance and engagement from the seat. 

After developing the coordination needed to, you will discover that you are looking more and more motionless. But you’ll know how much you are in fact moving, within the movement!