The “Driving Seat”

There is another riding habit that often appears in modern dressage.

The rider who is constantly driving.

Instead of allowing the horse to carry its own balance, the rider keeps pushing with the seat and legs in every stride.

From the outside this can look energetic or powerful.

But biomechanically it creates a problem.

When the rider continuously drives with the seat, the pelvis stops following the natural oscillation of the horse’s back.Instead of receiving the movement, the rider begins to push into it.

The horse no longer organises the movement from its hindquarters.

It starts reacting to the pressure from above.

Very often the result is predictable:

~The rhythm becomes faster.

~The steps become flatter.

~The horse begins to run instead of carrying.

Because impulsion does not come from constant pressure.

True impulsion is created when the horse organizes its own balance and pushes from behind.

A good seat does not constantly drive the horse.

It allows the horse to move freely and only intervenes when necessary.

Impulsion is created behind, not pushed from above.

Many of these problems appear simply because nobody ever explained how the rider’s seat actually works.

In my “Manual for the Young Rider” I explain in a simple way how to develop a seat that helps the horse instead of blocking it.

Isaac Ares