02/27/2026
I am currently devouring Bent Branderup’s “Academic Art of Riding”. In a horse culture where so much thought and focus is given to rein & leg aids .. it is refreshing to read historical references & modern teachings explaining the rider’s seat!
Have a listen: “During the baroque period .. Riders were brilliant on horseback, and demonstrated a relaxed seat in which the balance was completely centred on the seat bones. The spine was placed in a natural position, the legs hung long towards the ground, without pressing the heel downwards and without creating pressure.”
Pressure in the stirrups and brace in the legs (from hip to feet) interrupts & interferes with the seat preventing harmony and communication with the horses movement. The seat is the centre of it all!!
And yet there is a blatant avoidance of helping riders find, understand and use their seat as the primary communication point with their horse. The persistence of instructors still teaching “heels down!” is one piece of evidence supporting this gap in understanding.
We need to create a higher level of instruction in our horse world that provides riders with the understanding and practice of how the human body interacts, harmonizes and communicates with the horse. Across all disciplines.
