Centered Riding

Troy M. from Missoula, MT emailed us with this problem:

We had Troy send us various pictures and a video of him riding at a walk, trot and canter and soon discovered the problem. Troy is 6'2" and 205lbs and rides in the heavyweight division in endurance. Troy is like a lot of riders new to the sport that don't realize how important proper body position in the saddle really is.

Centered Riding (right) is the proper way to ride

Troy has been used to a chair seat type position with his feet forward and a lot of his weight in the back of the saddle, We've heard many western riders over the years say "I like to be able to sit on my pockets." (See centered riding illustration.) The saddle is a tool that is most efficient when used properly and that means that the rider's weight needs to be in the center of the saddle side to side and front to back in order to evenly disperse the rider's weight over the length of the horse's spine and ribcage. In Troy's case, we estimated from the video that he was putting somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 to 150lbs in the rear of the saddle and only 55 to 70lbs in the front.

If you are a more casual rider and ride only once a week, an hour or two at a time and mostly walk, you could probably ride in a chair seat position and never see a problem. But the heavier we are, the more often we ride, the longer we ride, and the harder and faster we ride, the more we need to start thinking about the importance of body position. An out of balance rider, under certain circumstances, can sore a horse in a perfectly fitted saddle! The heavier we are as riders and the more we demand of our equine partners, the more we need to think about what we can do to help them. Centered riding is the solution.