Study Shows Link Between Posture of Rider, Horse
Good riders knew this all along, now science proves it.

Your mother was right: Sit right and spare your back. And now scientists at the equine behavior research center at the University of Rennes have confirmed it: Poor posture can be a real pain in the back--not just for you, but for your horse.

By comparing certain riding positions of amateur equestrians and the neck positions of their mounts to the kind of back pain those horses experienced while in the stall, the researchers concluded that how you ride makes a big difference in equine welfare.

"Our data infers that improper riding postures have a strong effect on horses' postures at work that also lead to chronic vertebral problems," said Clemence Lesimple, PhD candidate, researcher at the University of Rennes in northwestern France, and primary author of the study.

Lesimple and her colleagues studied 19 horses in two riding centers as they were exercised during beginners' riding courses. The positions of the riders' hands and legs, and those of the horses' necks, were recorded, as well as the kinds of corrections given by the riding instructor. The horses' back pain at rest was evaluated by two independent equine chiropractors (whose conclusions were 94% consistent with each other).

They noted that riding with high hands and elevated heels tended to cause the horse to maintain a high and often hollow neck position, and that these horses were most likely to have severe back pain. They also found a considerable difference in back pain between the two riding centers: in the center where the instructor tended to correct riders' positions regularly, the horses were significantly less affected by vertebral problems.

Even so, 74% of all the horses in the study were found to be severely affected, and only one horse was considered pain-free. All the horses that were mildly affected or unaffected were in the riding stable where riding position was addressed by the instructor.

"The present findings clearly show the kind of impact human actions can have on their mounts," said Lesimple. "For the sake of equine welfare, instructors should be paying more attention to teaching proper technique to beginner riders."

Future research will focus on the effects of global postural positions, including seat and balance, she said.

Thanks for posting that - interesting research.

It sometimes looks to me as if the very basics of riding and posture have gotten completely lost. As the research indicates not even professional riding instructors correct poor riding enough.

I have a pet project to help a neighbor's daughter and grand daughters. They had been taking "lessons" for a while. When I mentioned "heels down" they looked at me like I was from Mars. In three months they never had been corrected for riding with their heels up.
Do I have to mention that they also never had heard about shoulders hips and heels in one line?

The fact that you cannot correctly ride a horse without proper posture obviously did not stick - maybe it helps to learn that this actually hurts the horse. We have seen all kinds of so called "animal cruelty" campaings. Lets go to the show ring and excuse everybody "riding a horse like an ape sitting on a wet stone" (old German saying).

GC

I agree. Riding in the correct position also helps the rider to maintain their balance. (and the horse as well) When I was being taught to ride by my cousin she was constantly reminding me to keep my heels down and hands down. Now where this is so ingrained into how I ride when my heels rise I start loosing my balance in the saddle. When I push my heels back in to the correct position my balance comes back. (My cousin taught me huntseat.) Riding in the correct position (or frame) definetly benefits horse and rider. It also helps the rider develop an independent seat. This is some thing that a lot more instructors should address for the welfare (and safety) of horse and rider. Once you learn to ride correctly, your posture - heel position - hand position, should (and does for me) come as second nature. Just my two cents

Wolf-gang: baha I agree but then half of the young ladies my girls compete with at shows would be disqualified. Oh, and can we talk about the current trend of grinding your ahem... pelvis into the saddle while cantering or loping. what is that!?!

Ltc4h: Thanks for this little feather to stick in my cap. As an instructor i know my students get tired of hearing me say "heels down, hands down" which i have a habit of repeating to the beat of the trot they are posting, Hoping it will become the mantra they hear in their sleep. Maybe if they realize they are actually hurting their ponies they will try a little harder.

Well, if half the entries at a show would be disqualified, that might be a good start.

I am not sure where this stuff came from and where it goes. But if I get the Morgan Horse Magazine and look at the ads from the big fancy outfits promoting their super horses with people riding like ..... - I sure wonder.

Back to disqualified. I used to do a lot of combined driving and by now you get disqualified if you do not wear a helmet - but you can get by with jerking your horse around like an idiot in a driven dressage - go figure.

GC

Yes it is very important, one should be careful with the riding styles.Style should be perfect then only ride can be enjoyed.

I am new this forum so i 'm enjoy read theard.
Thanks for all to sharing about riding style.........