Are you as fit as your horse is?
	Most of us would never dream of riding our horses in competition unless they are physically prepared to endure the stresses of competition.  Do we take the same approach to our own level of fitness?  Are we as fit as our horses to ride our best?      Here are some questions to ponder:   Do you get tired after riding twenty minutes? Do you have difficulty holding your position at the walk, trot and canter? transitions? Do you stay with the motion of your horse before and after jumps? Do you often get frustrated that your horse is not doing what you want him to do? Do you find that you often blame your horse first? Do you experience back pain during and after your rides? Are you already an accomplished rider who wants to take it to the next level of finesse? If you answered yes to any of these questions you could benefit from fitness training off your horse. It comes down to this. The greater the ability to control your body, the better the communication with your horse is. Any motion of the rider tells the horse what do.   Riding a horse is a dynamic process. As the horse moves the rider must have the ability to control their body at all times to adapt to the ever changing motion of the horse.   The first step toward improved communication is the rider’s awareness of what their body is doing.  Unfit riders often have poor body awareness. They often do not know when they are moving unnecessarily. This causes confusion in the horse because the rider is sending mixed signals. The horse is usually given a correction instead of the rider checking their body position first. This results in a lot of frustration for the rider when they are unable to solve the problem. Even more frustration results when the trainer tells the student just do this…the riders response may be my body can’t do that.   Being able to successfully communicate with your horse depends on your ability to maintain correct position, follow the horse’s motion while coordinating the aids. This involves keeping one part of your body stable while applying aids with another part of your body. The rider must learn to control their body through different kinds of motion; forward and back, up and down and side to side. Better body control starts with a strong and steady torso. The best way to improve stability is by strengthening the deep core stabilizing muscles of the abdomen, lower back and pelvis. These are the transversus abdominis in the front of the spine, the multifidus in the back and the pelvic floor muscles at the base. The core muscles provide a “corset of stability” for the lumbar spine which allows the rest of the body to move freely.   Stability ball (balance ball) exercises are great for equestrians. Riders can mimic the up and down, side to side and forward and back movements of the horse. Exercises on the ball help the rider to learn proper use of their hip joints that carryover to horseback. This is great because you can work on yourself and not worry about what your horse is doing!   Here are some stability ball exercises that are beneficial for the rider to find correct pelvic alignment in the saddle, to engage the core stabilizing muscles and practice following the motion.  Get a stability ball that is the right size for your height. Find Neutral Pelvic Alignment, Pelvic Tilts:  Sit on the SB, weight evenly distributed on both sits bones, feet parallel, shoulder blades relaxed down your back, hands on hips. Tilt your hips toward your ribs, then away from your ribs. Find a happy medium where your hips are parallel to the floor. Breathing Exercise: Put your hands on the sides of your ribcage. As you inhale through your nose feel the rib cage expand sideways like an accordion while keeping your shoulder blades melting down your back. Exhale through your mouth through pursed lips while you feel your ribcage come closer together. On the next inhale expand the ribcage, then on the exhale bring the ribs closer together while pulling the belly button closer to the spine (drawing Abdominals in). Basic Bounce: Start bouncing in a controlled manner on your SB.  Keep your feet parallel, sits bones even, neutral pelvic alignment, abdominals drawn in and shoulder blades melting down back. Try other motions on your SB such as moving forward and back (pelvic tilts), side-side, and hip circles. To learn more about how stability ball exercises can help you ride better, call Lori to set up a clinic at your facility! Lori Nelson is a NASM ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Pilates Instructor with 25 years of riding experience in the disciplines of hunter/jumper and dressage. She can be reached at lori@equestrianbalance.com  (951) 378-9531