Seat Aids

[unicorndanca]

Please excuse my ignorance by asking this question. Can someone help me to understand what my seat(muscles) must be doing when eg asking for halt? When practising sitting trot without stirrups or bareback and I slightly lose balance my seat(muscles) instantly tense :(  which causes my horse to scoot out from under me which causes me  to tense more(even though I am mentally yelling at myself to relax ) Is she just increasing pace due to discomfort or am I unintentionally telling her to go faster.

[chapsi]

When asking for halt, simply tight your buttocks cheeks (as well as putting your weight back). It is an invaluable seat aid. I learned this with Heather and it does help my horse a great deal with stopping square.

[Heather]

Hi there Unicorndance,

The aids of the seat that I teach are tightening of the buttock muscles for decrease of pace, as in downward transitions - see new article I have just put up on the site.Dont think that your mare going faster is due to discomfort.  I think that your horse is only speeding up due to your lack of balance when this happens. Ninety nine percent of horses will slow down rather than speed up when the buttock muscles tighten.

Heather

 

[unicorndanca]

Thanks Chapsi and Heather. After practicing again today I noticed she is likely to do it in the same spot each time even if I feel I am balanced,although am not after she rushes foward and grab heavily at the reins, guessing that is her falling back onto her forhand? Am thinking it may also be a touch of an authority problem. Everything else aside it is such a great feeling when I am balanced and she works so nicely and I feel like we are floating around. I'm positive I must have been glowing. If my buttock muscles tighten to slow/stop what do they do for more forward movement and how do I ask for more forward without getting the rushing. Is it just better balance on my part, although I feel I only lose balance when she rushes? Thanks agian for your help.  

[chapsi]

My horse is lazy little swein. Having said that, if he is in a good mood, to get him to go forward, my weight eases and goes backward, releasing his front end. At the same time I open my fingers and squeeze my legs (I try to wrap them around him, although difficult because my legs are short).  

[Heather]

Sorry unicorndance, hadnt noticed Chapsi had said to put your weight back at the same time as closing your buttocks. Sorry Maria, this is likely to make the horse hollow-, and many horse will not halt, but will walk out from under the pressure. If you put your weight back, it will be over the reflex point that causes the horse to either lift or drop his back. We want to horse to lift his back through transitions, not drop it, so sitting totally upright, and closing the buttock muscles, so that the seat is light and allowing the backto roundup into it, will effect the halt without a problem.

Heather

[chapsi]

Chapsi had said to put your weight back at the same time as closing your buttocks.

Sorry Heather, but you misread this thread. I mentioned SOLELY tightening my buttocks to halt the horse.

Shifting my weight back and opening my fingers is another thing, which I tend to do to release the horse and get him to go forward.