There are different reasons for owning a horse and riding. Not that any are wrong, you need to decide for yourself what your motivation is. Do you just want to be carried around, do you have goals you want to reach or is it an art form for you. And as I have mentioned before, you need to find a horse that matches your desires. For those who just want an occasional ride to get outside and enjoy the day, you will need a very well broke older horse whose desire is to take life easy. For the goal setters you may want a little more challenge, a horse that has the desire to learn and advance with you. And for those who see riding as an art form, you will want to find a horse that has plenty of talent and train-ability in the discipline of your choice.
A good seat and proper balance help the horse advance in it's training by allowing it to move freely.
No matter your focus, for your horse’s health and comfort, you need to learn how to balance, relax and follow your horses movement. Your seat is the vital key to all three. The more educated our seat becomes the better your riding becomes. The better your riding becomes the responsive to you your horse becomes. And no, I am not implying you need to be a smarty pants.
Without a balanced, relaxed and following seat, you will be unable to properly influence your horse in any way. Even the weekend rider will find benefit in developing their seat as it will allow the horse free movement while alleviating stiffness and soreness in the rider. At the core of balance is finding your center. Once you are centered, balancing is effortless. Balance itself cannot be forced. Balance has to be allowed by repeated relaxation, breathing, centering and through an awareness of your own body. When you are able to balance you will be able to relax and explore how your body is influencing your horse.
For example, if you quit breathing, you will tense up an so will your horse. If you clench our jaw your horse too will tense his jaw. Your horses movement will mirror your own. The more aware you become to your influence on your horse the better you will become at dissipating tension in yourself and thus the horse.
You will also find that as you balance, center, relax and breath your seat will relax and follow the horses movement. When you are able to follow with and not be pushed by the horses movement you will be better able to influence your horse through your seat. By simply slowing your movement your horse will slow and when you increase movement (energy) you will find your horse increasing its movement as well. And while this is merely a taste of what it means to educate your seat, for those wishing to expand their riding ability, the seat is the foundation to all you will do. Develop it and many doors will open for you to explore and play with.
