Are you having trouble keeping your seat at gaits faster than the walk?  This could be the solution for you.

Riding bareback can help strengthen the muscles in your legs, giving you a better seat while riding.

The solution is the same for both English and western riders: Drop your stirrups! Every time you ride, drop your stirrups for about five to 10 minutes.  Walk, trot and canter without stirrups.

Your legs will hang down longer, and your seat bones will be closer to the saddle.  You’ll have to relax and move with your horse or else you’ll get bumped around.

Grab hold of the saddle horn or pommel if you’re bumping up and down too much.  You don’t want to hurt your horse’s back.

If your horse is quiet and well behaved, lose the saddle completely and ride bareback for one schooling session a week.  Stick to the walk until you get used to riding bareback.

Work on circles, serpentines and lateral movements with your horse.  Once you feel secure riding with no saddle, you can move up a gait to the jog and then to the lope.

A balanced rider has a strong base of support under his or her center of gravity. Imagine sitting on the edge of a hard chair ready to stand up at any moment. Where would your feet be, in front of you or under you? Likewise, to be balanced on the horse, you need to have your feet under you. You may argue that the saddle is your base of support and you do not need your legs under you. However, the saddle is moving and is not a very good base of support. If you stick your legs too far forward, you will be completely at the mercy of your horse’s movement, like dead weight. If you put them too far back, you will simply topple forward and sit on your crotch and again be at the mercy of your horse’s movement. Having your legs under you is also necessary to efficiently use your thigh muscles during riding.

For more balanced riding tips, be sure to check out the Young Rider magazine and Balanced Rider website!

Junior Master Horseman announces the brand new Level Three curriculum, coming in July. Learn more, plus get your copies of Levels One and Two today!

Trevor Ashcraft
AQHA Youth Intern