Riders need to know how their own body works to make their horse’s body work. The biggest bang for your buck to improve your riding can occur when you improve your own functional movement patterns and physical conditioning.

This can be caused by one sidedness / asymmetry in the rider’s body brought about by tightness and / or weakness in a variety of areas in the body such as the pelvis, spine, shoulders and legs.

Based on the very positive feedback I receive from my Clients, yes, I would say it is highly likely that I can. During my off horse Biomechanics Clinics I carry out screening of a rider’s range of movement, symmetry, balance, strength, visual skills and breathing. I then prescribe specific corrective exercises over a period of time to help them ride in a much better position.

Increasing a rider’s cardiovascular fitness helps to keep enough oxygen flowing to the brain and muscles. This not only allows the rider to think and act in “the moment” but it is also a lot easier to keep communicating with our horse when we are not completely out of breath.

Balance is a complex interaction of several sensory modalities. This information is processed by the brain and then a muscular response occurs. Any dysfunction along this chain will affect your balance on a non moving surface, nevermind a horse. The good news is balance can be improved through training.

Excessive wear on a chap is usually caused by gripping with the lower leg. If the rider’s pelvis moves to one side more than the other (normally to the outside on one rein) the rider will feel like they need to hold themselves on with the inside lower leg, causing wear to the chap.