The Rider's Training Scale

"A rider will either hinder or enhance the horse's movement, depending on their ability to sit correctly, leading to working with the horse instead of against the horse."

-Tanja Mitt on

A rider should never underestimate the importance of their seat and the impact their position has on the horse. If the rider is lacking physical ability they will often hinder rather than help the horse. Therefore, riders should be prepared to take responsibility to improve their own personal fitness and flexibility before expecting too much from their horse. Most riders tend to focus much more on their horse's physical fitness and flexibility rather than on their own.

We all know that a horse can feel a fly landing on their body and they respond by twitching their skin. That also means that the horse feels every movement the rider makes in the saddle. When the rider is stiff, uneven or sits more to one side than the other, the horse is not only uncomfortable but also has to compensate for uneven weight distribution.

Imagine you are carrying a child on your back and the child sits crooked. How would you feel and how would your body react? What if the child does not only sit uneven but also starts moving around? How would you feel now? I think we can all relate to this example and it is easy to imagine how we would stiffen up, lose balance and brace our back to avoid injury.

It is important to understand that the more the rider expects of the horse, the fitter and more flexible the rider should be. This is where the difference lies between a recreational rider wanting to have fun and asking very little of the horse and those wanting to compete, expecting higher performance. Both the horse and the rider should be athletes to achieve cohesive performance.

Let's have a look at the rider's position and what you can do to improve your part of the team performance.

Step 1: Breathing to create relaxation

Breathing is very important, it will create relaxation. Where there is a lack of breathing, tension develops. This is because breathing is part of the autonomic nervous system and happens automatically. Most people do not really pay attention to how and when they are breathing.

Breathing has an instant effect on the body: when we breathe calmly, taking long and deep breaths out, our bodies relax. We can think more clearly and therefore make more rational decisions. When our breathing is rapid, short and shallow, we are automatically tense and tend to make more reactive decisions from a state of stress.

Many riders suffer from nerves and anxieties whether competing or just generally when riding and in both cases breathing will be compromised.

Riders who suffer from competition nerves will often be sabotaging themselves and their riding outcomes by the way they feel and what they think.

Typical thoughts are:

• I hope I don't make a mistake.

• What are others thinking?

• What if I stuff up?

• I am not good enough.

• Everyone else is so much better than me.

• I don't want to let my horse down.

Many riders at all levels and in all disciplines have thoughts such as these when it comes to competition riding. Most riders don't understand these are not simply words they are using, but that each of these words has a negative impact on their riding and ultimately the competition outcome.

Be careful what you wish for!!

There are a number of factors to consider here; firstly, the brain doesn't understand or recognize the words

• NOT

• DON'T

• WON'T

The brain only hears and focuses on the key words in a sentence. For example, when a rider thinks, 'I don't want to make a mistake' the brain only recognizes the words 'make a mistake'!

The brain doesn't recognize the difference between 'perceived' danger (I always forget the dressage test and the judge hates me!) and life threatening, 'real' danger (there is a shark in the water and he looks really hungry!); The body responds to both with an increase of adrenalin and rapid shallow breathing, producing an increase in strength and fighting power.

We are ready to take on whatever threatens our life (shark attack or judge attack).

This situation creates tension in the muscles and affects our energy, of which horses are very sensitive to and able to pick up on, no matter how small.

Horses are unable to differentiate the tension from the rider in relation to 'real danger' or 'perceived danger': a lion that is in the bush ready to pounce or the fear of what other people think of them when at a competition.

So, think twice before you think!

A horse's instinctive response to danger is to take flight.

Breathing therefore comes first on the Rider's Training Scale to allow the rider to relax their body and let go of tension; only then can the rider expect the horse to relax and work softly.

Exercises to develop the correct breathing technique:

• Take a normal, short breath in through the nose and a longer slow breath out through open lips. The rider starts to relax the mind and body when focusing on the breath out. A relaxed body is vital to develop a good position.

• Rather than breathing into the chest the rider must learn to breathe into the abdomen: breathing in, the rider's tummy needs to expand and relax. Breathing out the rider's tummy needs to tuck in and engage. This will also lead into engaging the core.

• When breathing out the rider should have a clear intent of what they are asking the horse to do. The breath out with the intent of relaxation is used to calm the horse and lower the energy in high-energy situations, whereas the breath out with the intent of forward and more energy is used in upward transitions and an increase in energy. The intent is crucial.

• It is very important that the rider engages their core on the breath out. This automatically happens towards the end of the outward breath. Thinking about 'breathing out from your core' can be a good focus.

Blowing bubbles!

A great exercise to practise correct breathing is to blow bubbles. Remember the little 'bubble blowers' kids get at birthday parties?

Imagine if you took one of these bubble blowers and tried to blow a bubble by breathing out through your nose. How do you think you would go?

Now imagine you tried to blow a bubble by blowing out a short, sharp breath. Do you think you would get good bubbles? Probably not. Now imagine you took a big breath in before breathing out, holding your bubble blower close to your mouth as you take the big breath in. How would that go??? (Sorry if you ended up with a mouth full of dish washing liquid). Now imagine you take a short breath in and a long slow breath out. How do you think you would go this time. Do you get an idea of how you need to breathe out?

Well done everyone [??]

Relaxation develops confidence and is the most important aspect of riding horses. The relaxation has to start with the rider and flow onto the horse. The rider's breath needs to feel like it sits low and deep in the body, around the belly button or even lower. This will help the rider to relax and let go of tension throughout the body as well as soften the hips. If the breath is high up in the chest area, the rider will generally tense the shoulders, the groin, the inner thigh and the hip area. This has a blocking effect on the horse, causing tension and resistance.

Too often riders and coaches blame the horse for being tense without realizing that the tension comes from the rider. Horses generally match the rider's breathing, which means that a rider who holds his breath will create a horse that holds his breath too therefore building up tension.

It is also important that the rider relaxes the jaw when breathing out as many riders hold a lot of tension there. This will also assist the horse to relax their jaw and improve the acceptance of the bit (step 4 in the horse's training scale).

Step 2: Core engagement & sternum/head lift

What is the core?

The core can be thought of as a simple box with the deep abdominal muscles (Tranversus Abdominis and the Oblique muscles) making up the front, the Erector Spinae and Gluteal muscles making up the back, the pelvic floor and hip girdle muscles (Iliopsoas) making up the bottom and the diaphragm making up the roof. All of these muscles have extensive connections with the connective tissue and spine, which connects the arms and legs.

Core muscles belong to the group of deep postural muscles that attach directly to the spine and pelvis. They are responsible for providing stability of the lumbar spine at a segmental level during movement. Lying more superficially (the outer abdominal muscles) are the large muscles (including Rectus Abdominis – 'the 6 pack' muscle) that produce movement of the trunk and provide general trunk stabilisation.

The diaphragm provides stability to the lumbar spine and core when contracted. It contracts as you breathe in and relaxes as you breathe out. Therefore, when you breathe out deeply "below your belly button", the core muscles contract and increase the pressure within the abdominal region, supporting the spine.

How does the core function?

Core stability describes the muscular control of the lower back and pelvic region to maintain functional stability; the core muscles make up a 'muscular corset' that works as a unit to stabilise the spine and torso. All movements are generated from the core and allow efficient movement of the arms and legs.

The core muscles can be engaged by gently drawing the belly button towards the spine. When the core is engaged, we should see the rider's lower back flattening out rather than being hollow which is often the case in many riders with a non-engaged core.

As the rider's lower back flattens out we can also notice that the pelvis slightly rotates; the tailbone should tuck under and the pubic bone needs to be slightly raised. This means that the rider is now sitting more on the seat bones and has less weight on the pubic bone.

Head and sternum lift

It is important that the rider looks up and straight ahead which will help the rider to maintain a head and sternum lift and a straight upper body.

When the rider looks down it generally causes the sternum to drop and the rider's upper body to collapse. This is called a 'slouching' position.

Common upper body issues are:

• A rider who sits with a hollow back, which is caused by lifting the sternum too much without engaging the core first.

• A rider who leans back, again a lack of core engagement and pelvis rotation.

• A rider who slouches which is generally caused by collapsing in the sternum with or without looking down.

• Head too far forward, collapsing in the sternum and not enough sternum lift.

The rider's upper body needs to be the same length front and back with a straight line from the rider's ears through the shoulders to the hips.

In order to develop a stable and balanced upper body the rider should be able to engage the core as well as maintaining a sternum and head lift. The rider's upper body needs to stay straight and strong yet maintain a degree of softness and suppleness to avoid tension.

Here are some great exercises:

Pelvic floor

Your pelvic floor is the muscle at the bottom of your core; visualize the muscle when you do the following exercises.

• Imagine you are stopping the flow of urine and hold the contraction for 5-8 seconds and then relax.

• Next time try and hold the contraction for 5-10 seconds and then relax.

Core exercises

Planking is a great way to engage your core but make sure you engage your deep core muscles the entire time and you keep your body in a straight line from your feet to your shoulders.

• Holding a plank from your knees and elbows. This is a great way to start with a basic plank. Start out with 10-20 seconds.

• As you get more advanced hold your plank from your toes to your elbows. See if you can hold it for 2030 seconds.

• For the very advanced you can hold the plank from your toes to your hands.

For the pros, try to work your way up to holding the plank for 60 seconds or more.

Sternum lift exercises

The sternum is a long flat bone in the centre of your chest, also known as the breastbone.

• To stretch your pectoral muscles, rest the left forearm flat against the doorframe at shoulder height. Step through with your left leg, taking weight onto it and rotate gently to the right. Feel the stretch through the front of your shoulder. Hold for 20 seconds and then repeat on the other side.

• Roll a large bath towel, lay it on the floor and lie on it. Make sure the towel is running lengthwise up and down your spine. Spread your arms into a T-position, palms up and let the arms hang down stretched out. Take big deep breaths and feel your ribcage expand. Hold this position for a few minutes.

Head lift exercises

The head is often either too far forward or the rider is looking down at the horse's head.

• Stretch your head forwards as far as you can, then bring your head back as far as you can and then find the middle that is ideal for your head position.

• When riding, look above your horse's ears and make sure you focus ahead to where you want to go. To maintain your focus become aware of what is going on around you without getting distracted.

Step 3: Pelvic motion

Following on from step 2 of the Rider's Training Scale, to further stabilise and balance the upper body, the rider has to learn to rotate the pelvis. By tucking the tailbone under, the rider's body is more engaged and balanced. This allows the horse to engage and balance without having to compensate for a rider who is blocking.

To engage a horse, activating their hind legs and encouraging them to lift through their back, the rider firstly must allow their hips to follow the horse's hips; the rider must activate the horse's hind leg when it is in the air and encourage it to step under. To achieve this, the rider's hips must move in harmony with the horse's hips and this can only be achieved when the rider is soft through the hips and maintains a stable, balanced body.

The rider's hips and horse's hips move in harmony.

For the horse's hind leg to come through and the back to stay soft the rider must make sure he/she is not blocking the horse through tightness in their own hips and inner thighs.

If the rider has a hollow back and stiff hips the horse cannot lift his back or come through from behind, but will instead develop a similar posture; a hollow back and stiff hind legs.

Horses have to compensate for the rider and this leads to horses often adopting the riders posture. This is where riders must realise that horse riding is a team sport, each team member affects the other and to achieve success both have to be an equal athlete.

Supple rider, supple horse

The rider's pelvis needs to be slightly rotated so that the pubic bone lifts up. The pubic bone should have a lighter contact to the saddle than the two seat bones, which carry more of the rider's body weight. Engaging the core and tucking the tailbone under will achieve this rotation.

The rider needs to be able to stay soft in the pelvis, maintaining the rotation without hollowing the back to go with the horse. This will enable the horse to lift the back and swing as well as move the shoulders freely.

In the walk and trot the rider will feel movements of 'up and down', a 'forward and backwards' and a 'side to side'. The rider's pelvis must be able to follow these 3 movements without restricting or blocking the horse. To achieve this, the horse and rider's pelvic movements must be synchronised:

• As the horse's hind leg is in the process of stepping forward (the leg is non weight bearing) the horse's hip drops down.

• As the horse's hind leg is on the ground and in the process of stepping back (the leg is weight bearing) the horse's hip comes up.

• In the horse's forward stepping motion, the rider's hip drops, the groin relaxes and allows the thigh to openly rotate, allowing the horse's back to swing freely through without blocking. The calf comes on and encourages engagement of the hind legs. The weight of the rider's seat bone on the side stepping forward increases momentarily without tensing the seat (this movement leads to step 4 and 5 of the Rider's Training Scale).

As the rider relaxes the groin and rotates the thigh out there is a 'feeling' of a slight half-moon (side to side) movement of the rider's hip as the thigh opens. This is not an actual movement of the seat bones but rather a relaxing of the inner thigh. (step 4 of the Rider's Training Scale) In the horse's weight bearing, backward stepping motion, the rider's hip rises up and the thigh relaxes as the horse's hip also rises (this movement leads to and overlaps with step 4 of the Rider's Training Scale).