The “Gripping Rider”

There is another type of rider that horses recognise immediately.

The rider who grips.

Instead of allowing the leg to rest softly around the horse, the rider holds on with the knees and thighs.

From the outside this may look secure or stable.
But biomechanically it creates a clear problem.

When the rider grips with the knees, the hips become locked and the pelvis loses its ability to follow the natural oscillation of the horse’s back.

The seat stops absorbing movement.
And the rider begins to hold the horse between the thighs.

The horse feels constant pressure around the ribcage.
Not as a clear aid, but as a continuous restriction.

Then the horse reacts in predictable ways:
~The back becomes tighter.
~The stride becomes shorter.
~The movement loses elasticity.

Because the horse cannot swing freely when the ribcage is being squeezed.

A good seat does not hold the horse.
It allows the horse to move underneath it.
A good leg rests. It does not grip.

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

https://www.dressage-isaac.com/young-rider-s-manual

https://youtube.com/@isaacaresdressage?si=rR_EHT_tg-xtts4X