Riding Tips - Letting go of Physical Tension

A rider's physical tightness usually starts with clenched seat bones. This tension, creates rigidity that travels up the spine between their shoulder blades, into their neck and shoulders, down the upper and then forearm, ending with gripping in their fingers on the reins. From the seat down, there's often a shortened leg position, with an outward turned knee and toe, and a clamped hamstring and calf.

When I'm teaching a student, if a tense moment arises, many times I will instruct them to pat their horse. 

This is not for the horse's sake or being "touchy-feely," but for the release that occurs within the rider's brain when their focus is redirected as they touch their horse. 

Without realizing it, they will often audibly exhale the breath they'd been unintentionally holding. 

The rider will inevitably smile; this creates an emotional calming, causing them to drain the tension they had been unintentionally carrying. 

The simple act of mentally shifting their focus triggers a release in the heaviness, holding, or containment of their aids. This then offers the horse a release from the continuous imposed, unclear pressure. 

The softening in the human's muscles is usually immediately mimicked in changes in the horse's behavior and can frequently be seen in sighing, chewing, dropping of the head, rapid blinking, passing manure, and overall deflation in posture.

The pat, smile, and release in the human, allows for them to mentally regroup and decrease any potentially overwhelming anticipation. This influences the energy used in their aids.

Self-awareness and real-time "reset" adaptability in the rider affects the clarity and specificity to effectively communicate and address the horse, while building both his confidence, and their own.