A deep seat is essential for the correct application of the aids. Without a balanced position, independent from both the hands and the legs, a rider has little hope of influencing the horse correctly.  By independent, we mean a rider who can sit in balance without hanging on with either the hands or the legs.

If you rely on your hands to hold on with, you have neither brakes or steering. If you grip constantly with your legs you are telling the horse to go forward all the time, which means it will either be constantly taking off (ex racehorses especially) or learning to ignore your legs completely (the average riding school horse).

So, how do we obtain this amazingly deep, well balanced independent seat?

First you must realise that you can't have balance without relaxation. Conversely, you can't relax if you are not balanced...try relaxing when you are hanging off the side of the horse and you'll see what I mean. The best way to approach the issue is to obtain relaxation first, and then the balance will usually take care of itself.

Think of the humble bean bag. If you hang it over a rail or the back of a chair, it will balance happily, with half the beans on one side and half on the other. This is because there is not tension in a bean bag. The rider, however, tries to hang on with both legs and, immediately pushes his or her bottom out of the saddle.  Like a tube of toothpaste, if you hold it upright and squeeze, the toothpaste comes out the top. If you don't squeeze, it stays put.

Let us start now, with relaxation.

The best way is to have a quiet, but obedient lunge horse. Then sit on the horse with someone holding it. Have the stirrups crossed over the front of the saddle or removed altogether. The reins are best tied in a knot with the buckle done up around the front dee of the saddle; this allows some brakes and steering in case of emergency. It also stops the reins falling over the horse's head if it puts it too far down.

The first thing to attend to is your breathing. When we are tense or nervous our breathing becomes fast and shallow with the upper chest and shoulders doing most of the work. When we are properly relaxed, the breathing is centred much lower, below the ribs, at the diaphragm. If we focus our breathing in the abdomen, rather than high in the chest, our centre of gravity is lower. The lower the centre of gravity, the deeper the seat.

Your breathing should be slow, controlled and regular. As you work on your breathing you should be aware of a relaxing in your body. Try to make your body feel heavy, so that you can feel your weight in the saddle.

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