People frequently talk about “seats” when discussing horseback riding. I’ve discovered that when a person rides multiple different horses, it is important to understand how to assess a horse’s previous training in regards to your seat. It is also important to assess how each individual horse perceives your seat, and to know how to adjust it when necessary.
When I think of what I have been taught about “seats” over the years, I consider some of the terms and descriptions that stand out to me. Some seats we talk about are a driving seat, a half seat, a deep seat, a light seat and a two-point seat. All of those descriptors help us understand concepts in communicating with a horse. What I want to discuss is how horses relate to our seat based on previous training and their personality.
Most of us have a basic seat that we adopt either consciously or unconsciously when getting on a horse. Probably many riders have not thought through the nuances of their “go to” seat. It may be that their normal position is created by how they were taught to sit through lessons in the past, combined with their natural body shape and musculature. I have noticed that many riders use this same basic seat in every situation on every horse. It is my belief that our communication with horses can be improved by consciously thinking about what type of seat we are using in a given situation, and by evaluating whether this type of seat is appropriate to use at this time on this horse.
The first basic seat I almost always adopt when getting on a horse for the first time is what I call a “strong” seat. If I get distracted or don’t stop to think about what I am doing when I get on a horse, I usually find that I have subconsciously adopted this position. Although the two mares I currently own have quite different personalities, they both respond best when ridden in this way. My mare, Amore, is timid and responds well to the strong seat because she needs to feel the confidence of the rider. My mare, Valhalla, is a mare that pushes other horses around in the pasture and can be dominant. If you don’t ride her with a strong seat, she will begin to ignore the rider and do what she wants.
My guess is Teddy had a pretty strong seat.
This is how I describe a strong seat: when the rider gets on, instead of being completely relaxed there is enough muscle tension that the horse can feel that the rider is about to signal him to do something. The rider holds an upright posture, has a slight amount of weight in the stirrups and the legs rest lightly against the horse’s side. The rider sits as though prepared to take off at a trot.
There are many horses that are unused to having a rider get on like this, and there are horses that will be overfaced by having a rider that sits down in such a ready position. When I’ve mounted horses that I’ve never ridden before, I’ve had them respond in a variety of ways to a strong seat. Some very well trained English horses either immediately perk up or relax. This seat gives them the impression that we’re either “going places” or that the rider will be able to communicate well with them, which relaxes the horse. For some horses, it also may relax them because they are anxious and want to know a rider will take charge.
However, I’ve been on some horses that had previous training which made this strong seat cause anxiety. Some horses are trained that if a rider gives a cue, they must immediately respond with a quick action. If the rider touches them a certain way with the leg, they must sidestep, pick up a lope or back up quickly. If the rider leans back or forward in the saddle, the horse must speed up or stop. For these horses, I’ve had to immediately change to a neutral seat with my legs completely off the horse, or else the poor horse is constantly trying to figure out what I’m asking him to do.
There are some other horses that also do not respond well to a strong seat. For instance, one gelding I rode had only had passenger type riders and his riding experience was based on following other horses that were being guided by another rider. When I got on him with a strong seat, I could tell by his body language that he was frightened and overwhelmed. He did not know what I might be asking him, and was unused to having a rider actually give him cues.
If you two point on this horse, he might prepare to stop.
Although we often hear things such as we should stay loose and relaxed while riding, we should keep the classic ear-shoulder-hip-heel alignment, and we should follow the horse’s movement, I feel it is also important to consider what our actual “seat” is communicating to the horse, and to be aware of how passive or assertive it is. If you are riding your own horse all the time, then your horse will adjust to whatever seat you use. But when you begin riding other horses that have been trained differently or have different degrees of passive or aggressive personalities, then you need to be able to adapt to meet the horses’ needs.
When I am riding my mares, at some point I will often lean slightly forward, gather up the reins to get a light contact, and slightly lift my seat to prepare them for a fast gait such as a canter. Other horses I’ve ridden have never had a rider go into a half seat or two point, having only been ridden in a Western style where the rider was always sitting deeply. Imagine their confusion when the rider gets light or goes into a two-point position. Some of them will prepare to stop, assuming you are about to leap off and go tie up a cow. In contrast, imagine my horse’s confusion when a rider leans back, sits deeply and goes into what they would consider a driving seat. They would push strongly forward off the hind end, and if the rider did not “collect” them up in the front, would go faster and faster until they were galloping, assuming that was what the rider wanted.
This horse may be used to a deep seat and might not understand a two point position.
If you ride a new horse and he does not go well for you, consider how your seat is affecting him. If he is timid and freezes up, make your seat stronger. Look off at the horizon and ride him as if you two are going to take off on a cross country course in a moment or two. Keep the appropriate muscle tension as if this were actually the case. For many horses, this immediately makes them more confident.
If a new horse seems to be running out from under you, check to make sure you are not sitting on him with a deep and driving seat. Become more light and neutral. If the horse is nervously trying to go in several directions, try sitting down deeper and taking your legs off, just in case he has been trained that your legs are commanding him each time he is touched. If you’re scaring the horse because your seat is too strong, lighten up. To me, the fact that your seat is too strong for the horse should be obvious. If you get on a timid gelding, one you know has been trained to some extent, you’ll notice when you sit down that his eyes get big and he looks like he wants to run home to his mama. That means your seat is too strong, so back off.
Taking into consideration each new horse’s personality and previous training will help you communicate more easily and have a better ride when you have the opportunity to work with new horses. If you have enough chances to ride on different horses, it will soon become second nature for you to assess a horse’s response to your seat and adjust accordingly.