Balance: The Essence of Good Riding
The goal of under saddle training is to bring the horse into balance in motion, at the halt, and in the different movements. The prerequisite for accomplishing this is a rider who is balanced in the saddle him- or herself.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl explains: „It is important to me to be able to optimally sit all my horses so they can exhaust their full movement potential. However, it’s not only about not disturbing my horse: I want to be able to shape him. And that requires good dynamic balance. If we are well balanced ourselves, we are better able to help our horses find their balance. It enables us to sit ‘in’ the horse.“
Fitness coach Marcel Andrä describes balance training as one of the three integral elements of the foundation of a sustainably high-achieving body. But how does balance come about? „The brain is constantly busy processing peripheral sensory information and devising motor programs,“, the fitness expert explains. „The more time we spend sitting or lying down, the worse our sense of balance gets.“ Especially in older people, worsening balance is one of the main causes of falls and injuries. Many of those injuries could be avoided if their balance was trained regularly because the training effects are clearly measurable at any age.
The tailored DressurFit® Workouts and Homework help you gain strength and balance. You’ll also become more supple and thereby develop better body control. If you additionally work on evening out the differences between your left and right sides, mobilizing your hips and hip flexors, and loosening your thigh muscles, you can develop a supple yet stable seat.
These three DressurFit® exercises help you develop better balance in the saddle:
Identify your individual strengths, weaknesses and imbalances with our fitness test for riders. Click here to take your first fitness test for free!