Dressage Basics: Straight and True

Sit straight and feel when each of your horse's hind legs hit the ground
by Jane Savoie

Even if you're not a dressage rider, it's still important to sit straight and square in the saddle. Can you tell if you're collapsing at your waist and sitting crookedly?

Are You Sitting Straight?
Ask a ground person to stand behind you and have them answer the following questions:

1. Are your shoulders level (i.e., the same height)?

2. Is your seat in the center of the saddle so that each seatbone (the bottom of the pelvic bone; in technical terms, ischial tuberosity) is the same distance from the middle of the saddle?

If one shoulder is lower than the other, then you're collapsed at your waist and your seat isn't in the middle of the saddle. Let's say you've collapsed the left side of your waist; in this case, your left shoulder is lower and your seat is off to the right.

1. Bring your right seat bone over and place it on top of an imaginary line that runs down the center of the saddle from the pommel to the cantle. You won't really be on top of that line. You'll just end up sitting in squarely.

2. Stretch your left arm straight up so it passes by your ear and your fingers are pointed straight toward the sky. Feel how that elongates your left side.

3. To keep yourself straight and stretching tall as you ride, pretend you have two sticks of equal length between your last rib and your waistband. If you collapse again, you'll get jabbed in the ribs by the stick on the left side, and the stick on the right side will end up on the ground.

Once you're sitting straight, get a feel for your horse's footfalls with the following tips.

Influence the Hind Legs
Can you feel when your horse's hind legs are on the ground? This is an important skill to develop because you want to time your leg aids so that you give them when your horse's hind leg is on the ground, specifically just as it's getting ready to push off. That's the only time you can influence a hind leg.

I feel where the hind feet are by feeling my horse's hips. When a particular hind foot is on the ground, my horse's hip is higher on that side. It feels like my corresponding seatbone is being pushed forward.

Here are some tips to help you learn to feel when a hind leg is on the ground:

1. As you ride your horse at a walk, close your eyes. Focus on, let's say, your inside seatbone. Some people describe the feeling as their seatbone being higher. Others describe it as feeling like it's being pushed forward. Each time you feel your seatbone being pushed forward or higher, say the word "Now." Your walk should be a series of "Now, now, now...." That way you can get into the timing of when that hind leg is on the ground.

2. Ask a friend to call out "Now" each time a certain hind foot is on the ground. Coordinate what your friend says with the feeling under your seat.

3. If you're working alone, sneak a peek at your horse's shadow or a mirror if you have one. Check that you're feeling the right thing by calling out the footfall and looking at the shadow or mirror to see if you're right.

4. Watch other horses and riders and notice where both the horse's hip and the rider's hip are when a particular hind leg is on the ground.

5. Teach yourself how to feel when the inside hind leg is on the ground in the canter by watching your horse's mane. It flips up during the second beat of the canter when the inside hind leg is on the ground. Say "Now" each time you see it flip up. Then you can coordinate what you're seeing and the word "Now" with what you're feeling under your seat.