The final in this series of articles about rider problems (and solutions) isabout putting it all together and about improving the hands.

If you have been following the previous articles you should now be able to stand in thestirrups and balance on the horse as the horse is walking and trotting in a circle. By thisstage you should be able to balance standing in trot without the need for the neck straphowever it is still a good idea to keep it in place and hold on to it lightly (along withthe reins) so that you can use it if you need to and save your horse getting a pull in themouth if you do lose balance.

You can now practice maintaining this position as you practice various school movements,i.e. figure of eights etc. Then you can also practice alternating between sitting trot,rising trot and standing trot, to gain even more control of your body and further improveyour balance. If you are able to maintain your horses rhythm (keep him moving at the samespeed) and control his direction whilst alternating between the three trots (sitting,rising, standing) you have come a long way indeed. If you trail ride you can also practicealternating the three trots over various gradients. This is an excellent way of improvingyour balance.

If you have not done so before, now is a good time to check the fit of your saddle. If thiswork is making you horse’s back sore then you probably have saddle fitting problems and youneed to seek expert advice. Expecting a horse to work with a badly fitting saddle isunreasonable and is akin to us having to walk in shoes that do not fit.

It is also a good idea to get a friend to look at you sitting on your horse from in frontand behind. They need to look to see if your shoulders and hips are level, if you have equalamounts of your body on both sides of the horse. Sometimes, if a rider has been ridingcrooked for some time the saddle will actually have compacted on one side more than theother. Thus even when the rider tries to sit straighter, the saddle prevents them from doingso. Again this is a saddle fitting problem and needs expert attention.

It is now time to start working on the hands. You may be thinking surely they should havebeen sorted out much sooner. The problem is, until a rider has an independent seat (i.e. thelimbs are able to be moved independently of each other and the trunk) they cannot be stillwhen required, or move fluidly to give aids without the rider experiencing a certain amountof loss of balance. When the seat is not independent, the limbs of the body are used tocounterbalance any movement in any other part of the body. An extreme example of this iswhen a beginner rider uses the legs, their hands tend to shoot up in the air. In moreexperienced riders these moments of loss of balance are much more subtle but they are stillthere and they prevent a rider from developing good hands.

Good hands should follow the movement of the horses head in walk and canter and be still introt. In rising trot the elbow needs to open as the rider rises up, and close as the ridersits (kneels) down again. This is where many riders have the most problems with their handsin trot. One solution is to lengthen the neck strap and hold it in the hands along with thereins (see photo). This teaches the rider to keep their hands still because they actuallyfeel the pull as their hands try to go up when they go up. Be careful to keep the backs ofthe hands facing outward (turning the hands downward as if pushing a pram brings the elbowsout and rotates the scapula off the back). By practicing riding this way you will start todevelop still hands as your brain begins to file this new feeling.

Your hands should have a soft but steady contact with the horse’s mouth therefore yourfingers should curl gently around the reins. Watch that you are not riding with the fingersopen or tightly clenched.

Now that you have an independent seat you can pay attention to the small things, such asuntoward movements of the hands and fix them. You can pay attention to the feeling under theballs of your feet and if it is not even from side to side you can make small adjustments sothat it is. If you do happen to lose a stirrup you can get it back without even having tostop the horse. All of these benefits and many many more are yours to enjoy once you have anindependent seat!

Disclaimer: While the author and publisher have taken all appropriate care to ensurethe accuracy of this articles content, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage fromor incurred as a result of any reliance on the information provided in this article.

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