July 8, 2024, 2:57 am | Read time: 6 minutes
Riders warm up their horses before training, but often not themselves. This would reap great benefits for them in the saddle, as would regular exercise at home or in the gym.
Riding appears effortless, especially for experts: a rider sits nearly motionless on the horse, subtly communicating with their horse. “These finely tuned movements are very demanding in terms of coordination,” explains sports scientist Marcel Andrä from Trostberg in Bavaria, who works with Olympic dressage champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. These fine movements are only possible with a correct rider’s seat, and learning this is a major task, but one that can help both humans and horses in the long term.
Following the horse’s movements whilst in the rider’s seat
A rider needs good balance and appropriate body tension, whilst never tensing up their muscles. This is important because a healthy and trained rider also ensures the horse’s health in the long term. The worse the rider sits, the more unhealthy and crooked the horse will be.
“”The core is crucial for this sport,” says sports scientist and equestrian trainer Corinna Nerz from Gerlingen in Baden-Württemberg. The pelvis must be able to move freely in order to follow the horse’s three-dimensional movements.
The rider also needs strong back and abdominal muscles to ensure a stable seat. Core exercises are therefore beneficial for all riders; Nerz notes that many lack sufficient abdominal muscle strength. The resulting instability can, for example, lead to the rider pressing their knees against the saddle, tilting their upper body backwards or buckling at the hips – all of which have a negative effect on the horse.
If the exercise feels uncomfortable, keep going!
Andrä recommends exercises for a stable and balanced core, such as the forearm and side support, this may also be done by lifting an arm or leg so that the body has to stabilize itself. Simultaneously extending one arm and the diagonal leg from the quadruped position also trains the core well.
Each position should be held for around 30 to 45 seconds. “It’s better to do it for a shorter time and do it correctly,” says Andrä. For example, in the side plank, the pelvis should not bend downward, but also not be held too high; the body should be as straight as possible.
It is a good sign if the exercise is not easy, but feels uncomfortable. According to Andrä, this shows that the body is benefiting. A slight pulling sensation should be felt during stretching exercises.
Everyone’s rider’s seat is different
When putting together an individual training plan, both experts recommend first researching your own weak points in the rider’s seat. Is my problem more with flexibility or stability in the saddle? Do I have the right saddle for me and my horse? Do I pull my shoulders forward? Are the tips of my feet pointing outwards? Do my knees pinch? Is my upper body unsteady? Am I sitting crooked in the saddle? These and similar questions should be asked and answered, preferably with the help of a riding instructor or video recording.
Because if the rider is unbalanced and tense, they end up working more with leg pressure or reins to correct their postural deficiencies. As a result, both rider and horse become increasingly tense and rigid.
Using video analysis to find weak points in the rider’s seat
Your own body feeling, on the other hand, is not a good guide because it is often wrong. For example, the rider may feel like they are sitting straight in the saddle, but in reality they have a hollow back and are pulling their head forwards. “If you watch video recordings of yourself in slow motion, it helps enormously in analyzing and training your own body awareness,” advises Andrä.
In his experience, women usually have good mobility in their hips, but have less core stability. For men, it’s often the reverse: they tend to have greater core stability but less flexibility. However, both are important in order to find a good fit.
The training program is based on the main difficulties in the saddle. Once these have been resolved, other problems can sometimes be solved. For example, Nerz advises deep lunges as a gymnastic exercise for shortened hip flexors, so that the muscles are stretched.
Movement from the hip
A rider can recognize if they have short hip flexors if their legs are too far forward in the saddle, because a shortened hip flexor brings the pelvis into a sitting position. If you slump with your upper body, you can stand against a wall for training. For example, by placing your forearm against the wall and then rotating your upper body in the direction away from the placed forearm. This stretches the chest muscles.
To stretch shortened hip flexors, you can pull one foot with your heel towards your buttocks. Circling your shoulders backwards is also recommended, as it ensures an upright posture. “If you do warm-up exercises before riding, you’ll notice the positive effects straight away in the saddle,” promises Andrä.
Train the rider’s seat regularly
Andrä recommends short training sessions of around five minutes, ideally every day, but at least five times a week. You will notice a clear difference after just four weeks, he explains. The lower your performance level, the quicker your results will be.
Nerz recommends doing stability and mobilization exercises every other day, either at home or in the gym. Swimming is also recommended, as it works many muscle groups similarly to riding, she explains. Endurance sports such as running can’t do any harm either, and yoga and Pilates are also good options. “They focus a lot on the core muscles and also train body awareness,” says the expert.
According to the two sports scientists, it makes a lot of sense to warm up before riding, especially if you have spent the day at a desk. This is because the upper body slumps, the shoulders and head move forward, and the back becomes rounded. Anyone who has sat this way for eight hours, then mounts a horse, will likely struggle to sit correctly in the saddle, with a relaxed pelvis and an upright upper body.
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Warm up: Move your pelvis, chest, and head
If you don’t disturb the horse by sitting incorrectly, it can stretch its back better and remain supple. Horses arch their backs to work with the rider. As a rule of thumb, rider and horse should form lines, with shoulder and pelvis in line. Warming up before the ride is also important.
While in other sports, warming up before training is part of the compulsory program, it is more of an exception for riders: they warm up their horse, but not themselves; this is the norm in the sport. However, according to Nerz, this is slowly being rethought.
There is no need to unroll an exercise mat in the stable aisle for a warm-up; the two experts highlight several simple exercises that can be done standing or during a walking ride. These include moving the pelvis, rib cage and head in all directions.
With material from dpa