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Horse trainer J. P. Forget states "a most fundamental requirement of success is accepting responsibility for your own achievements and failures. Making excuses and blaming others, or the horse, will never result in improvement of your horsemanship skills." There are no bad horses, just riders with something still to learn. Fortunately horses are patient with our shortcomings and are quite willing to work with us until we get it right. They probably have more patience that most people you know. If you remember to treat them with the respect and kindness they deserve, they will be more than happy to let you be a part of their world.
Good balance is the key to good riding. Trying to use you muscles to stay on the horse will make it impossible for you to feel his movement. You are in balance when you have the same amount of body mass to the front, rear, left and right of your base. As you travel on the horse, he will continually shift his center of balance to keep you in proper riding position. It is your responsibility to aid him in your placement. You should keep your shoulders and upper body stable and your midsection supple. Your thighs should remain in contact with the horse's sides and your legs should remain still. It is also important that you are able to easily move your shoulders, neck and arms without throwing yourself off balance. If you do not feel in balance the first few times you ride, do not fear... balance is developed over time. As you go in and out of balance your nervous system learns to control your muscles' reactions so that you remain in harmony with the horse's center of gravity. When sitting on the horse, try to keep as much of your seat in contact with the saddle as possible. This is accomplished by pointing your heals towards the ground.
When seated in the saddle, imagine a straight line running from the ground at ninety degrees. This line touches the back of your heel, and passes through your hip, your shoulder, and your ear. When in this position your center of gravity, which is located just in front of your spine and below your rib cage, is placed above your seat bones. Sit tall in the saddle with your shoulders square. They should be in line with your hips and kept relaxed. Your hipbones should be kept directly above your seat bones with your buttocks resting in the bottom of the saddle rather than against the cantle. Your thighs should fall loosely against the saddle and your knees should be relaxed. The stirrups should be adjusted so that there is a bend in your knee, bringing the heel in line with the hip, shoulder and ear. Your stirrups are the correct length if, when you stand in them, you can place your hand between your seat and the saddle. Your lower leg should remain in contact with the horse at all times. That does not mean applying pressure, but lightly resting against his sides, allowing you to follow his movements. Your foot position should be with the toes turned slightly away from the horse. The stirrups should rest under the balls of your feet with your heel lower than your toes. Allow your ankles to remain flexible. Your elbows should fall naturally at your sides and your hands should be relaxed. Keep your reining hand at the same height as the horn and slightly ahead of it. Your free hand is best relaxed at your side or flexed at the elbow with your hand near the swell of the saddle.
Gentle hands are the most important tool for guiding the horse. All actions of the hands should be slow. Jerking the reins will scare the horse and lead to stiffness or resistance. As soon as the horse responds to your guiding hands you should open your fingers slightly and release the tension on the reins. This is called yielding, and it is very important as it is the only indication you can give the horse that he has responded properly to your command. If the horse does not respond, or tries to evade your guide, you must tighten your fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulder joints. This is called holding. As the name implies you are not pulling on the horse's mouth, but holding yourself still until he complies with your request. As soon as he does as you ask you must yield. Although a rider must have steady hands this does not mean that you should cause the horse to jerk against the reins as his head naturally bobs . Your hands actually follow the horse's head through the relaxed muscles of your shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands. The term "steady hands" really refers to the ability of the rider to move with the horse without using the reins to maintain balance. Unless the motion of the horse is absorbed by your hip joints, knees, ankles and lower back, your shoulders will jump, resulting in bouncing hands and soreness in the horse's mouth. Long exposure to this will cause him the resist your guides, toss his head, and become harder to control. Hold the reins in one hand, allowing enough slack so that the mouth is not pulled. To turn the horse right, move your hand so that the left rein applies light pressure on the left side of his neck. The horse will move his forequarters away from the rein as he bends his neck slightly in the direction of the turn. Do not cross the mane line with the neck rein hand. This would cause a pulling on the outside of the horse's mouth. The left turn is just opposite. To stop, pull back on the reins smoothly and gently until the horse stops. When he has, release pressure on the reins. Portions of the above adapted from a book by J. P. FORGET,
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Attitude
