This is Alice Sweeting and her horse Billy. Here is what Alice had to say:

“Billy and I have been a partnership for nearly two years. I purchased him as a green 5-year-old, who was gelded and started late. Billy had a suspensory injury in 2023, so my focus lately has been trying to get more throughness and hind-limb engagement during our rides.”

This photo showcases the partnership between Alice and Billy. Alice is sitting with a light, soft seat, and she is fully focused on her horse. Billy appears to go willingly forward and has one ear listening to his rider.

Improving the Horse’s Roundness

Looking closer, I can see some sand flying up between Billy’s hind legs. This can easily happen when the horse is not lifting the hind legs up enough. He is stepping under and forward, but the movement appears a little flat. 

Activating the hind leg is not always achieved by simply riding more forward. It also needs to lead to more cadence and roundness. Billy’s lack of roundness can be seen in his neck as well. He looks willing and is nicely taking the contact, but his topline looks like a straight line from the shoulders to the poll without enough roundness. Alice’s desire to get more throughness and engagement from behind is very important in Billy’s training, not only to advance in the levels but also to keep him sound and healthy.

Sitting Deep but Light

Analyzing Alice’s position, I like the lightness and the feel but I would love to add a deeper connection with a longer leg that is more grounded to the stirrups. Sitting deep but light is one of the mysteries that needs to be understood and solved to be able to enhance the horse’s movement. By sitting deep and heavy in the saddle, the rider compresses the horse’s back, flattening the movement. Sitting too light gives the horse more freedom but does not help the horse to change the forward impulsion into carrying (collecting) power. 

To work on the concept of sitting deep but light, a rider needs to consider elasticity. Elasticity needs elongation and contrast. Picture a bungee cord that can be used to fasten something on the back of a bicycle. It needs to be stretched (elongated) to hold the objects tightly. And it can be stretched only when it is connected on two ends that have opposing forces. 

In Alice’s case, she has her heels very slightly pulled up due to some shortening tension in the back of her knee. Concentrating on opening the back of her knee and reaching down with her whole leg to the stirrup will help her to connect deeper with an elastic seat. 

Alice should notice the feeling that reaching down to the stirrups lightens the front of her seat, not the back of her seat bones. Then, she can keep her seat bones pointing more forward and under, and her hips will be more open. 

Once Alice feels the deeper connection of her seat bones on the saddle, she can start working on lengthening the upper body. A mental image of this concept is first attaching one end of the bungee cord and then being able to pull on it and achieve more length and an elastic stability. 

Long but Light

“Ride with long heavy legs and a long light upper body” was a favorite saying of an old army riding instructor that has stayed with me over the years. From the seat bones up, the rider aims to be long and light, below the seat bones is the supple long leg with weight. Then, the legs act like a balancing weight hanging from the hips and stabilizes the rider’s position without unwanted stiffness or tension.

To encourage Billy to lift his back as he moves, the lengthening of Alice’s upper body and legs needs to be used with the correct timing. Nobody can sit straight and tall for a long time without becoming stiff. But when this is achieved in a rhythmic, elastic way, the horse’s movement stays supple and easy. Alice should try to feel how grounding to the stirrups helps her to elongate through her spine (a throughness that she wants for her horse as well) and then start adjusting like a volume control, growing taller and releasing without collapsing. 

Tips for Improving the Rider’s Position

In lessons, I sometimes use a resistance band posture training system. This system uses two resistance bands that cross each other from a rider’s shoulders diagonally to the ankles. It gives riders the feeling that even when we release a little, we are still stretching and finding the elasticity. The aim is to stretch more and a little less in a rhythmic way to help to connect into the horse’s movement. Ultimately, every time the horse’s back lifts, the tiny stretch will encourage the horse to improve the cadence of the movement. 

If you look at horse and rider from the side (like in Alice’s photo), you can draw a triangle from the horse’s legs to the top of the rider’s helmet. Imagine a rubber band wrapped around this triangle. Sitting tall while being grounded is the key to an effective seat. The taller the rider sits, the narrower the base of the triangle. The lower the rider sits, the wider the base. To connect the horse more through his body, the rider needs to provide this elongation with connection down to the base. Sitting tall helps the horse to step under more and become shorter in the frame of the body.

To enhance this movement, rhythmical breathing can be used, and half-halts should begin in the body with a small stretch along the spine. Once Alice finds a good rhythm, she can feel how her seat connects not only to the saddle but into Billy’s legs. Then, it will be easier for Billy to lift his legs more and become rounder in his whole topline.

Transitions and Cavallettis

Additionally, Alice should change the tempo within the trot or ride many little transitions from trot to walk and immediately trot again. This will help her learn how she can connect to Billy using her body tension and elasticity through the transitions. In the transition from walk to trot, the horse needs to push off the hind leg and create the moment of suspension. Coming back to walk, the suspension needs to be grounded, and the brake is again the hind leg. Riding walk-trot-walk-trot transitions is like charging the battery of the horse’s engine—the haunches need to start working more. Alice will be able to feel that simply by stretching up more, the horse will follow up into the trot. Then, lowering her center of gravity in her seat can be enough to ride the transition to walk. The less she needs her legs and hands to ride the transitions, the more effective she will become in her seat. 

Working with some poles and cavallettis can be valuable as well. Stepping over a pole or cavalletti will automatically make Billy lift his hind legs higher. As a rider, you learn how this feels, and then you can recognize a better-quality movement and try to maintain that quality. Also, gaining strength in the horse’s topline helps to reduce stress on his tendons and legs.

Since they already are a harmonious pair, I am sure Alice and Billy will be able to advance and explore dressage as a great training system. Hopefully Billy’s suspensory injury is behind him, and they can enjoy many happy years of their partnership.

About Susanne von Dietze

Susanne von Dietze is a leader in equestrian biomechanics. A physiotherapist, licensed Trainer A instructor and judge for dressage and show jumping, she gives lectures and seminars throughout the world, including at the prestigious German Riding Academy in Warendorf. She is a native of Germany and now lives with her husband and three children in Israel, where she competes at the international level. She is the author of two books on the biomechanics of riding: Balance in Movement and Rider and Horse, Back to Back. 

Watch training videos with Susanne von Dietze on EQUESTRIAN+.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Practical Horseman.