The Art of Natural Dressage

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:29 pm 

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:05 pm
Posts: 20
Hello everyone!

You people offered me so much to think about and to learn from through this forum. I’ve only been a member for a short time an already received so many useful tips. So I really wanted to contribute something that might be helpful for some of you. So that’s why I made this video about body posture.

In this video I’m not going to tell you something new. It is not an instructional video. We were probably all told to sit up straight when we started riding. Ears, hip and heal one line and thumps on top etc. Ad least I was but it took a lot of lessons, clinics, books etc before I figured out why we are supposed to sit this way. And I noticed a lot of people I know didn’t new why either. So in this video I’m trying to show you why we should sit on a horse the way instructors tell us to. I won’t be telling you how to ride your horse but just want to show you what will happen if you do and if you don’t have a good body posture. Nothing new but maybe for some of you an eye-opener.

http://youtu.be/5YyfonzodhU

http://youtu.be/YKlrVYMFaTY

I just noticed I forgot to mention pulling the heels up in this video. Pulling the heels up is one of the most dangerous thinks to do while riding. When you pull up your heels it is going to tip you forwards and you are very likely to fall of forwards when your horse suddenly slows down or jumps aside.
You are more likely to pull up your heels when the stirrups are too long. Some people are told to ride with longer stirrups because that would help them to get a deeper seat and a longer leg. This is not working and even dangerous because you will reach down with your toes to try not to lose your stirrups. When your toes reach down your heel will come up which will actually shorten your leg and tip you forward instead of deepen your seat. Also you will be trusting on your stirrups when you need them to help you maintain balance like when your horse spooks, but they won’t really be there. Your foot might even slip through the stirrup because your toes are reaching for them which is of course very dangerous. What does work to get a deeper seat and long leg is ride without stirrups.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:43 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:42 am
Posts: 2147
Location: Vienna, Austria
Thank you Tabitha for sharing. I just realised that I've never sat in a saddle again since we got our own horses, because we only used bareback pads so far :green:. But we are planning on getting saddles soon. Maybe just for Lily at first - we'll see.
I'm very curious as to how a saddle will change my perception of riding...

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:36 pm 

Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:05 pm
Posts: 20
Yes I think that might be a whole new feel for you and your horse :yes: . Bareback pads are good for your own seat usually but do not distribute the weight as good as a saddle does. My horse’s physiotherapist recommends not to ride without a saddle to often as it might damage the horse’s back on the long term because of the lack of weight distribution. I’m also very curious about what you and your horses are going to think of riding in a saddle. :yes: :D

I think a good saddle can really improve the riders body posture and help to apply the aids better. So a good saddle will contribute to a better and clearer communication. But to find a saddle that fits both, the rider and the horse well is very hard. You either have to compromise be very lucky or pay a large amount of money :funny: .


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:49 pm 
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Location: Vienna, Austria
Tabbladen wrote:
So a good saddle will contribute to a better and clearer communication. But to find a saddle that fits both, the rider and the horse well is very hard. You either have to compromise be very lucky or pay a large amount of money :funny: .
That's exactly what kept me from buying a saddle so far. It's quite an impossible task and a very expensive as well :sad:. On the other hand with Mucki's notorious sharp turns and side jumps, I'd rather have a bit more stability when I go hacking with him...
Problem is, I'll likely buy a treeless saddle for now - at least for Lily, as she really has not the back for a standard tree saddle. But I'm not really convinced of treeless saddles. Well, we'll see :smile:.

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