{"id":1801,"date":"2017-06-26T16:36:03","date_gmt":"2017-06-26T15:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/mise-en-selle-cavalier\/"},"modified":"2021-09-03T14:52:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T13:52:45","slug":"improving-seat-flexibility-rider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/improving-seat-flexibility-rider\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal Strength Training for Riders \u2013 Improving the Seat and Flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We talk a lot about building your horse\u2019s strength on this blog, but not enough about the rider. Let&#8217;s change the subject for a minute to talk about torture exercises and tips to make us, the lazy riders, work a little. Let me warn you, these exercises should bring back memories of your childhood shetland or pony lessons. We often forget about working on our seat and flexibility over time and that\u2019s a shame, so let&#8217;s try a few exercises. We will start with the lightest, and work towards the most intense.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2\">On the same topic &#x1f4da; : <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/sit-the-trot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Improving your ability to sit the trot<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Table des mati&egrave;res<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Exercise-1-Walk-and-canter-without-stirrups\">Exercise #1 \u2013 Walk and canter without stirrups!<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Exercise-2-8211-Trot-posture-variations-without-stirrups\">Exercise # 2 &#8211; Trot posture variations without stirrups<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Exercise-3-8211-Do-nothing\">Exercise #3 &#8211; Do nothing!<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Exercise-4-Laps-around-the-arena-and-ground-poles-in-two-point-at-the-trot\">Exercise #4 \u2013 Laps around the arena and ground poles in two-point at the trot<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Exercise-5-8211-Bounces-without-stirrups-then-without-hands-and-then-with-eyes-shut\">Exercise #5 &#8211; Bounces without stirrups, then without hands, and then with eyes shut<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Did-you-know\">Did you know?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"Exercise-1-Walk-and-canter-without-stirrups\"><b>Exercise #1 \u2013 Walk and canter without stirrups!<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may be basic, but we don\u2019t always think about it (or we forget about it on purpose). What I like to do to work on my seat and lengthen my leg is to do an entire session a week where I completely remove my stirrups. I don\u2019t cross them in front, but simply remove them from the saddle altogether so the reins don\u2019t get caught and the irons don\u2019t hit the horse\u2019s shoulder. Remember back when you were child on a Shetland with no stirrups, even over jumps? Well, I do the same thing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At first, I advise you to do a session without trotting, as walking and cantering are usually easier (it depends on the horse, of course). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My typical session:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 5-10 minutes of walk with long reins, taking the time to relax and chat with friends<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 10 min. of transition work (working walk, halt, extended walk, back, slow, extend, etc.), and stretching (lateral flexion of the neck, raising and lowering the poll, etc.)<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 10-15 min. of two-track movement at the walk: leg-yield, shoulder-in, half-pass, half-turns on the haunches, half-turns on the forehand, side step, etc.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 10 min. of canter in both directions: gait transitions with shoulders forward, haunches-in, etc.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/equisense.com\/en\/motion?utm_source=BLOG&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=ch%C3%A2timents%20corporels_EN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Equisense Motion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can measure and track all of your workouts:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without stirrups, this will be a lot easier (In my opinion), allowing you to work on your position and your seat, and thus be more at ease. Starting off with 30 minutes at the walk will allow you to find your bearings before cantering. Week by week, you can add trotting in. You\u2019ll see that your position has improved, and you\u2019re riding beautifully.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"Exercise-2-8211-Trot-posture-variations-without-stirrups\"><b>Exercise # 2 &#8211; Trot posture variations without stirrups<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an exercise that is beneficial for both you and your horse. It\u2019s a simple matter of sitting at a trot without stirrups along the wall, on a big circle or a figure-eight, and alternating five strides with the poll of the neck at its highest point, then lower the neck for five strides. The pace should ideally stay the same, and you can use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/equisense.com\/en\/motion?utm_source=BLOG&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=ch%C3%A2timents%20corporels_EN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Equisense Motion<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to ensure that it does just that. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll see the trot will feel different depending on whether the poll is up or down. It&#8217;s up to you to adapt your seat to stay in the saddle at all times.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"Exercise-3-8211-Do-nothing\"><b>Exercise #3 &#8211; Do nothing!<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>(<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exercise suggested by <\/span>Pierre Beaup\u00e8re)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHaha, what a joke! The lady says by doing nothing, you\u2019ll get better! That\u2019s a good one!&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well\u2026yeah! I certainly don\u2019t know about you, but personally, I have a hard time doing nothing when riding. This is about trying to hold as long as possible with completely loose reins (held at the buckle), with hands placed at the withers, without the horse accelerating, slowing down, or cutting corners. If necessary, react gently to put the horse back at the right cadence and amplitude, and then go back to doing nothing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This will teach you to sit without moving, improve flexibility, control your reflexes, and also to teach your horse that he can manage himself.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try to close your eyes as long as possible to focus on your feelings in the saddle.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"Exercise-4-Laps-around-the-arena-and-ground-poles-in-two-point-at-the-trot\"><b>Exercise #4 \u2013 Laps around the arena and ground poles in two-point at the trot<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Too easy!&#8221;&#8230; Okay, so try to do three laps around the arena at the trot without tightening your knees with perfect shoulder-hips-heel alignment, and then we\u2019ll talk. This is the kind of exercise that we make beginning intermediate riders do, and then we never do it again. So, shorten those stirrups by three holes and stay in two-point as long as possible! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To complicate it a bit, spread out some ground poles with 1.30 m in between. It&#8217;ll be a little shaky because it changes the rhythm, so you\u2019ll have to be flexible to get it. Here\u2019s a classic little tip: fix your eye on a point in front of you to help keep you from tipping forward. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" src=\"http:\/\/equisenseblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.48.28-300x197.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.48.28-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.48.28-411x270.png 411w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.48.28.png 684w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-629\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" src=\"http:\/\/equisenseblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.50.47-300x222.png\" alt=\"Poles on the ground or staggered at the two-point trot. Equisense video screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.50.47-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.50.47-365x270.png 365w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Capture-d\u2019\u00e9cran-2017-06-26-\u00e0-16.50.47.png 563w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption>Poles on the ground or staggered at the two-point trot. Equisense video: screenshot of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=438WaSx7W7M&amp;utm_source=BLOG&amp;utm_medium=ARTICLE&amp;utm_campaign=Chatiments_EN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Waterdrop<\/a> video<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"Exercise-5-8211-Bounces-without-stirrups-then-without-hands-and-then-with-eyes-shut\"><b>Exercise #5 &#8211; Bounces without stirrups, then without hands, and then with eyes shut<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s go! We\u2019ve saved the best for last! I often had to do this exercise when I was little (thank you, Diane Strat!). I don\u2019t know if I could do it now, but I challenge you just the same: set up an 80-cm bounce or line, then go through as many times as needed without stirrups. When you feel comfortable, knot the reins and jump without stirrups or hands. When that becomes second nature, go without stirrups and with your hands over your eyes three strides out. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Believe me when I say that you will learn how to wait for your jumps, release only as much as needed, and count your strides! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-626\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"http:\/\/equisenseblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC0934-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"I challenge you all to do the same without stirrups and with your eyes shut! \u00a9Equisense\" class=\"wp-image-626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC0934-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC0934-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC0934-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSC0934-406x270.jpg 406w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption>I challenge you all to do the same without stirrups and with your eyes shut! \u00a9Equisense<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"Did-you-know\">Did you know?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Luciana Diniz<\/strong>, the Portuguese rider who achieved a fine 10th place at the Tokyo Olympics,&nbsp;<strong>works regularly without stirrups, even in jumping<\/strong>, to have a perfect position and optimal balance so as never to hinder her horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She shares this training secret in the masterclass produced in partnership with Equisense. You&#8217;ll also find there other very rewarding tips, as well as a very complete explanation of the method she has developed and that has allowed her to have such great results at the highest world level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/equisense.com\/products\/luciana-diniz-masterclass-dynamic-butterfly?utm_source=Blog&amp;utm_medium=Image\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CARTE-IN-APP-LUCIANA-DINIZ-EN.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31060\" width=\"569\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CARTE-IN-APP-LUCIANA-DINIZ-EN.jpg 690w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CARTE-IN-APP-LUCIANA-DINIZ-EN-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CARTE-IN-APP-LUCIANA-DINIZ-EN-453x270.jpg 453w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 569px) 100vw, 569px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Discover Luciana Diniz&#8217;s Masterclass and explore in detail her Dynamic Butterfly method that allowed her to reach the top 10 at the Tokyo Olympics. Click on the image to learn more.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Everything ok?<br>Send us pictures of your results \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned.<br><strong>Camille Saute<\/strong><br><strong> R&amp;D Manager at Equisense<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We talk a lot about building your horse\u2019s strength on this blog, but not enough&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/improving-seat-flexibility-rider\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6179],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[6987,783,752,780,777,785,781,784,778,758,786,1049,774,749,779,757,751,775,763,776],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31069,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions\/31069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}