How to Keep From Bouncing While Horseback Riding
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Diagonal legs moving together at the trot.BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
Know the gaits. Most horses have four gaits: walk, trot (jog), canter (lope) and gallop. As you ride, practice counting hoof beats out loud to memorize the gaits. The walk is a four-beat gait, meaning a rider can hear and feel a distinct 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4. The trot is a two-beat gait. The horse moves its legs in two diagonal pairs. As you ride you can count 1-2 1-2. The canter is a three-beat gait. The canter beats sound like 1-2-3-pause, 1-2-3 pause. The gallop is an extension of the canter, with four beats and a pause: 1-2-3-4 pause, 1-2-3-4 pause. By understanding your horse's gaits, you'll know when its legs will hit the ground and you can stay soft for the impact. - 2
Sitting the canter.Thomas Northcut/Lifesize/Getty Images
Relax. Tension can be a nasty downward spiral for a horse and rider. Tension makes your back stiffen up and causes you to bounce. Tension is also communicated to your horse. When your horse is tense, its back flattens out and its head goes up, making it harder to sit. As you bounce more, you become more nervous and the horse gets harder to ride. If you're nervous about riding, try changing what you're nervous about. If trail rides bother you, practice your seat in the arena. If a particular horse makes you nervous by its behavior, practice your seat on a horse you trust. Again, a good seat can take hours and hours of practice. - 3). Work on your lower back and pelvis position. While riding, focus on relaxing your lower back, which will allow it to absorb impact. Tilt your pelvis forward a little bit, using the same abdominal muscles you use to do a situp, then relax. Instead of sitting on your seat bones, try sitting on the pockets of your jeans while in the saddle.
- 4). Practice good pelvis position while out of the saddle. Simply stand up with your feet about shoulder width apart. Then tilt your pelvis forward; it'll almost feel as if you're doing an abdominal crunch.
- 5). Take some lessons on the lunge. Have an experienced equestrian control your horse from the ground using a lunge line, while you ride the horse in a large circle around him. This will allow you to relax and work on your seat without having to control the horse. Get assistance from a good trainer to do lunge-line exercises -- riding with no stirrups and no hands, or riding bareback, for example -- to improve your seat.
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