Horse Riding Tips: Letting Go of Physical Tension

 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 a majority of the tension they had been unintentionally carrying.

The simple act of mentally shifting their focus triggers a physical release in any heaviness, holding, or containment of their aids. This creates a positive trickle down effect of creating a release towards the horse of any continuous imposed, unclear pressure.

The softening of the human's muscles is usually immediately mimicked in changes in the horse's behavior. It can frequently be seen in an immediate 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 the individual to mentally regroup. It decreases any potentially overwhelming anticipation. This influences the timing and energy used in their aids.

Self-awareness and real-time "reset" adaptability in the rider is a learned skill. It affects the clarity and specificity to effectively communicate, and address the horse's feedback, while building the equine's confidence, as well as their own.