The Riders Seat And Balance

A practical guide to using reward-based training techniques to create a true partnership with your horse. This leads to lifelong connection, effective problem-solving and joyful performance.

Widely known for her innovative teaching philosophy stressing body awareness, the value of "soft eyes," proper breathing, centering, and balance, Sally Swift has been a pioneering riding instructor for half a century. In book form for the first time, her methods enable horse and rider to achieve harmony, working together naturally, without pain. Unlike traditional teachers, Sally Swift does not believe in forced training techniques that cause stiff bodies and tense riding. Instead, through the use of vivid, unusual, and highly creative images that transcend mechanics ("Pretend you're a spruce tree; the roots grow down from your center as the trunk grows up"), plus a thorough knowledge of human and equine anatomy, this wise and inspiring teacher enables the conscientious equestrian to reassess habitual responses, in order to ride in natural positions, break through frustrating plateaus, and achieve ever-rising goals with comfort, vitality, and precision. Precise illustrations and photographs never before used in riding books explain anatomy and image work to give mind and body new and relaxed approaches to the inner process of riding. Centered Riding is for those with little experience all the way up to world class.

Why is the seat of the rider so natural und yet so complicated? Why is it so easy to develop an incorrect seat position and influence on the horse but then so difficult to correct these problems? What is actually meant by a riders’s “fine feeling” and how can this be perceived and developed? The art of successful riding is the development of harmony to such a degree that, to the onlooker, horse and rider perform in total unity. The rider's key to this ideal is not a static seat but, one that is capable of adapting to all movements of the horse. The closer the seat follows the movement, the better it can influence that movement and remain in perfect balance with the horse. First published in 1993, Balance in Movement has long since become a classic in equestrian sports literature. This completely revised new edition has been supple¬ment by useful maxims, hints and exercise ideas as well as 200 new photos and drawings. It is in indispensable source of advice for all who would like to have a better understanding and command of the rider's seat, teachers and pupils alike.

This book is about developing that 'perfect understanding'. The aim of The Balanced Horse is to confirm in people's minds what they should be doing for each request, and what they must avoid.

Attributing the art of successful and harmonious riding to the ability of the horse and rider to perform in total unity, this video reveals how to develop such unity and explains where and why problems and faults occur in the rider's position.

Riding with seat aids is based on two principles - the mutual transmission of body oscillations between horse and rider and the mutual, mostly subconscious perception of the body. Accordingly, riding with seat aids is traditionally also learned subconsciously, preferably in childhood by practicing on a horse acting as a teacher. Modern science, however, can explain how it works to ride with seat aids only. Whoever understands the biomechanics of the body oscillations of horse and rider can become aware of the communication via body perception and thus also consciously learn to ride in movement symbiosis with the horse.

Balance in Movement shows how to develop horse-and-rider unity: the key to the art of successful riding.

Discusses bits and saddles, describes the physical and mental abilities of horses, and demonstrates various riding skills, including stops, rolls, and spins

With three full exercise routines for riders at beginner, intermediate, and advanced fitness levels, this guide helps you achieve a good basic riding position that is centered, aligned, balanced, and relaxed. There are clear explanations and photos of each exercise plus three tear-out workout guides, so you can exercise anywhere. An improved seat enhances your riding experience, helps eliminate back pain and post-riding soreness, lessens fatigue, minimizes the risk of injury, and improves your performance.

Within riding exists a fundamental conflict of interest: The rider needs to have control—her confidence depends on her ability to control the balance of her own body as well as that of her very powerful horse. The horse, by nature, needs to feel free—free in both mind and body to express himself through movement. In When Two Spines Align, author Beth Baumert, writer and editor at the equestrian magazine Dressage Today, resolves the freedom-control enigma by taking a close look at the individual components that make up riding and dressage and providing practical ways riders can learn to harness the balance, energies, and forces at play. Readers will discover how to use “positive tension” and their body’s “power lines” to become balanced and effective in the saddle. They will then find ways to understand and manage the horse's balance and “coordination challenges.” Ultimately, the rider learns to regulate and monitor the horse's rhythm, energy, flexion, alignment, bend, and line of travel by properly aligning her spine with his. When the center of gravity of a balanced rider is over the center of gravity of a balanced horse, that place where two spines align becomes the hub for rider and horse harmony.