Montreux Farm Stables is a small livery yard in Wrington Nr Bristol/Weston-super-mare. Viewings welcome.
11/03/2025
A very true read….. the importance of balance and correct posture.
“If I am now sitting straight, why do I feel so wonky?” - this is something I’m often asked when looking at correcting the rider position.
Now let me just add that we are all a little asymmetrical and that is normal. The perfectly symmetrical human or horse does not exist.
But our bodies do compensate for the forces that we put on them through daily life, be that sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day, always lifting heavy hay nets over the same shoulder or sitting twisted on the sofa to watch tv at night.
Compensatory changes in posture happens when the motor pathways (the motor nerves control your muscles) are reinforced by repetitive compensation so if you are consistently and repetitively working in an asymmetrical position, these neural pathways strengthen and this becomes the new “normal” for you. When we then go to correct the compensatory position it feels abnormal or wonky as it deviates from what the body now considers to be a normal position. This takes practice and persistence to retrain the body back to the more symmetrical normal.
And of course our imbalances and restrictions will affect our horses too. They are creatures of balance and if we ride them whilst we are asymmetrical, our horses will compensate as well and you both end up compensating for each other!
How can you help yourself to correct these compensation patterns? Going to the gym and lifting lots of heavy weights and doing the most strenuous exercises to “get stronger” will simply reinforce the asymmetrical pattern: the stronger compensatory muscles get stronger and the weaker muscles get weaker. Instead, go back to basics with something like Pilates and build up core strength in a very controlled and precise way. Body work such as osteopathy or massage can also help address the imbalances and get you moving better.
So next time you get in the saddle, rather than purely focusing on how your horse is bending, have a think about how you feel: are you balanced and able to move with ease on both reins, do your stirrups feel level, are you tipping forward or backward or off to one side? If you notice any of these things, get the pilates mat out or book yourself in for some bodywork, your horse will thank you for it.
If you or your horse want help to feel more balanced when riding or improve your movement drop me a message to book yourself in.
www.theequineosteopath.co.uk
