The Importance of a Connected Seat and Independent Hands

Hold on tight, because this one may rock the boat a little. I’ve had a relatively successful lesson program for about a year now and I’ve noticed some rather concerning trends along the way that make me a bit worried for the success of young riders in my area. (Oh, there it is, I’ve triggered you haven’t I?) Now, clearly I don’t have a boatload of teaching experience, however I’ve had the pleasure of learning from many trainers, and observing how many different people teach over the years. It’s that experience that rolls into the mountain of teaching expertise that I feel that I have. Note the difference there – It’s a knowledge level and “expertise” in riding, NOT teaching experience. I am now gaining real hands on teaching experience that has helped me develop and expand that expertise and knowledge more. In some ways, perhaps what is lacking in some other programs is a difference of perspective. Barns become so focused on their teaching methods and their process that they fail to take the time to observe others and take lessons themselves to see new advancements and methods of teaching that might far surpass what is now considered “old school”. I don’t think that is the only issue, but let’s move on. The purpose of this article is the importance of a connected seat and independent hands anyway, isn’t it? We’ll touch on teaching issues more a bit later.

A connected seat is perhaps your most valuable tool in your tool box when it comes to riding horses. If you cannot feel a connection with the horse through your seat then you are missing out on what riding is really about, in my opinion anyway. Your seat should be your primary method of communication with your horse. You can use your seat to drive the horse forward, to maintain the rhythm in the gaits, to slow the horse or stop the horse, to steer the horse, and so on. The seat seems to be a bit underrated by some other programs. I teach a bit backwards I think compared to most in my area. I make my students develop a connected and fluid seat before they learn two point/jumping position or learn to post the trot. Most programs would teach the post first because it’s “easier” for most people to learn and that is not wrong. However, the problem is if you teach a child to post and you don’t take the time to teach them to sit, they miss out on just how valuable their seat truly is. Once you give someone the easy way out, they’ll always take that route. Even the most advanced riders would rather post than sit because physically it is easier. BUT those advanced riders know how to use their seat and connect it when needed, even in the posting trot, and that is the difference!

What I’ve found a lot of people don’t realize, even those who have been riding for years, is that you can also use the posting to control the rhythm and speed. So many riders come to me with no control over their post and while I’m not going to say “they flop around like a fish”, they certainly don’t post with any sort of precision or control. Something I learned from a local hunter trainer was to focus on how I land from my posting, which I think was probably the most valuable lesson she ever taught me. I’d always known you could control your posting to control the rhythm and speed, but I had never even thought of how I was landing on the horse. If you can post and barely touch the saddle when you are in the “down” of the post, how much happier and more comfortable do you think your horse will be? Have you ever taken the time to pay attention to how hard you land on the horse’s back? If not, I encourage you to think of that. Your horse will thank you! And the best part is, even when you’re landing lightly, you’re still connected with the horse – just much lighter and more fluid than you were when you were flopping heavily on their back.

Now a lot of what I’m talking about now has to do with body mechanics, strength, and general rider fitness. A strong and solid base (and connected seat) make a great rider, no matter their experience level. In order to achieve such a connected seat and strong base, you have to push yourself further fitness and strength wise, even outside of the saddle sometimes. People who ride every day may not feel like they need an added workout, but those who don’t ride as often can benefit from exercises outside of the saddle to strengthen and supple the muscles used in the saddle. Once you have a strong and steady base, having independent hands is a walk in the park! I’ll be vulnerable for a minute here, and be completely honest. I have been riding for 17 years, and it took me 15 years to find my real and true connected and steady base. I would hate to admit to you the number of times that I was thrown by “dirty stoppers” at jumps. It’s downright embarrassing, BUT no one ever took the time to teach these body mechanics to me. I had to learn on my own through careful study and practice. And what did I learn? Well, I learned just how important it is to not hollow your back and to instead engage your core and roll your hips underneath you. Now – this is a little different for women than men, because we do actually have a different bone structure. TikTok, of all things, is actually what finally explained everything I needed to know. Men don’t have to tuck or roll their hips underneath them, because their pelvic structure already puts them in the right spot. Women on the other hand have to tuck their hips under so they are actually sitting on their butt/seat and have a flat/straight back. So, if you come to me for lessons, and find yourself being knocked down a few levels, that’s because I do not allow anyone to advance or continue to ride at their level until they learn how to ride in the most safe and connected way they can. I’m sure I’ll upset a few people along the way, but I urge you to trust the process and press on. In most cases, those who truly commit will be back to the level they were within a month or two. It’s just a matter of having an open mind and being wiling to embrace something new.

And without further delay, let’s discuss independent hands. I don’t think I need to go over the importance much here other than to say you need to be able to carry your hands to effectively use the reins as an aid. What I have found in students that come to me from other programs is that they rely heavily on their hands for balance. This means that their balance is too much in their upper body and they don’t have a solid base to work with. If a rider comes to me and is holding themselves up in two point with their hands I am genuinely concerned. Especially if that rider tells me they’ve already been jumping. Have other programs lost sight of the dangers of jumping ahead, being too heavy in your hands, and general safety? This is what concerns me. If someone comes to me and is jumping in their current program, I expect that they can at the very minimum, stay in two point without resting their hands on the horse’s neck for stability OR that they are not pulling on my horse’s mouth to hold themselves up. It makes me genuinely feel bad for the horses they must be riding elsewhere, because their mouths are taking a serious beating.

So here’s my hot take on when I feel the rider has “independent hands” and is capable of riding off the lunge line – the rider must be capable of sitting the gait without holding on with their hands at all before I will allow them to migrate off the lunge line. This means, they could literally be doing the disco with their hands while the horse is walking, trotting, or cantering without issue. Obviously, you’re not going to “disco” while you ride, but I like to use that as an example, because truthfully, if I hand you a glass of wine and send the horse off at a canter, you should at least be capable of sitting and holding it – regardless of whether or not there is wine in the glass when you stop. In fact, my favorite challenge is the coffee mug challenge, where I give each rider two mugs full of water and have the horse walk, trot, and canter. We see how much water is left at the end, and whoever has the most wins. (Each rider is only asked to do the level they are currently at, so we have a walk group, a trot group, and a canter group). Riders that have come to me from other barns who are currently cantering and jumping, cannot even fathom walking and trotting in this challenge, and that is a HUGE red flag! That means, they don’t have independent hands, and have a really rocky base.

Now we’ve circled back to my original point at the beginning of this article. I am genuinely concerned with the success of young riders. If we are skipping teaching them solid basics, a connected seat, and independent hands, what are we actually doing? They’ll never rise through the levels that way – regardless of whether they intend to be an amateur or a professional. Sure, I’ll bet that 50% of the people in lessons are just doing it for “fun” and don’t intend to compete but for god sake they should do it safely! It makes me sad to see riders cantering and/or jumping with such an awful and unsafe position. Regardless of the discipline, the rider should be taught the same basics. Stop this nonsense of “stick your butt out” over the jump, which is hollowing the back and severely limiting range of motion. Teach riders to engage their core! Teach them to have a connected and well developed seat! And most importantly, teach them to carry themselves! We cannot ask the horses to carry themselves if we cannot do the same for ourselves. And more importantly, we shouldn’t ask the horses to carry us if we cannot have enough body control to not harm them in the process. Regardless of the goals of the rider, a good connected seat, and independent hands are the most important things they should learn. Even if all they want to do is walk down trails.