The Rider’s Weight Aid Explained

Credits: Illustration by Sandy Rabinowitz

What is the rider’s weight aid?

The rider’s weight aid a communication point between horse and rider. When it’s light, the horse can listens to such subtle balance shifts. When it’s forced or too deep, it’s more like a handbrake or a nutcracker grinding against and restricting the movement of the horse’s entire body. A lack of balance and body control can cause some riders to fall from one position to the next which can block the horse’s movement

I was lucky to be originally taught this concept by a coach who asked me to just think about what you want your seat to do. Connecting my brain and seat to bring a subtle aid. And still today I think it’s amazing that the horse can listen and be in tune with the most subtle of weight directions.

The Independent Seat

We make many small balance shifts in the saddle and bring many unique pelvic alignments to the saddle. There are many definitions of the Independant seat. “Moving the seat independently from the rest of the body” is one. The definition of independent is “free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority”.

Nothing could be further from the truth when talking about the body. As all your body parts above the seat and below your seat affect your seat and weight aid. Your posture where your parts sit affects the distribution of weight through the seat, the weight aid isn’t isolated to the seat area. The whole body works as a team and has to allow and support the many movements of the seat.

Rider Seat Position

If you think about the surface area of your seat and how it filters the subtle distribution of your weight to communicate with the horse. Now think about your posture. If you, for example, have a slight head tilt, tension in the back, your ribcage slightly twists one way or is thrust upward, forward head posture, etc.

All these restrictions affect your movement through your seat. You may have tension in the pelvis itself, maybe sit in a chair seat or one of the many other variations. Have tight hamstrings or calves, stiff ankles. Anything in your leg and foot will affect the way you use your seat. As it pulls and pushes your body’s natural alignment.

The Riders Seat And Weight Aid

Many riding trainers talk of a neutral or upright pelvis and the pelvis tipping forwards and backwards, as shown in the wonderful photo above. But this is only 3 of the many postures riders bring to the saddle. Which has been crafted by the way the rider moves and don’t move through their day and the environment they do this in. Previous injuries and footwear choices to name a few.

To improve seat control, we want an upright or neutral pelvis to be our baseline that we can easily move in and out of through all the ranges we need to. This is a whole body event and you may beat yourself up because you just can’t master it.

But what I want you to realise is how you use your body throughout the day has largely given you the posture you BRING to the saddle. And also your seat may not be the problem as you can see how the rest of your body affects your seat. And often the areas we repeatedly struggle to correct are the end of a line of a pattern of adaptation not the root cause.

I am demonstrating a few on this reel.

Horse rider hip positions

Improving Your Seat

Ive put a free guide together that will give you simple layered strategies that take very little time. That will get you more connected with your seat and help your alignment. You may have some interesting finds! Comment GUIDE below to receive your guide⬇️