by Dr H. L. M. van Schaik

The most important part of the rider’s position is his seat.
The rider may have a very elegant position, but if his seat is not functional then the elegant position is worthless. That is the reason de Pluvinel made the distinction between ‘the elegant rider’ and ‘the good rider’.

As I see it, the seat has to have three qualities to be functional
A. It has to be secure
B. It has to be light and immobile, and
C. It should be able to act as an aid

A -The only way to be secure on a horse is to be in balance. All the muscular efforts to stay on a horse cause rigidities and make it impossible for the rider to give the correct aids and to feel the horse. One of the principle parts of the human being which helps keep balance is the spinal column, because by swinging the spinal column, forward and backward, one can influence the centre of gravity, which helps in balancing.

It is evident that the rider can do this only if he prevents his back from collapsing, which is what happens if he lets go with his abdominal muscles.

B – The rider should do his utmost to be light on the horse and try to avoid all unnecessary movements. It is evident that the less of a burden the rider is for the horse, the better and the longer the horse will be able to serve his rider. The only way a rider can make himself light on a horse and avoid unnecessary movements is to make himself tall by using the abdominal muscles. This will prevent him from sitting like a sack of grain on the horse.

There is a wide spread misconception about the deep seat:

It does not mean that the rider should press his seat into the saddle; it does mean that he does not tighten the muscles in his seat to such an extent that it becomes rigid and puts him on top of the saddle. The seat becomes deep, when he de-contracts his seat muscles so that all of his seat is in contact with the saddle. It is also evident that the rider should not, during the sitting trot, bounce in the saddle. In the first place, it is necessary to use a horse that has had so much schooling, that he is able to use his back.
On a horse that cannot use its back correctly, the rider should only rise to the trot.

There is a school of thought claiming that the rider can absorb the shocks by contracting and relaxing the loin muscles.

If he makes these movements in order to absorb the shocks, the result is that he then lets the abdominal muscles go and performs a kind of belly dance. This is not only not functional , but it is also very unaesthetic.

From my own experience, I know that the stretching of the spine, by using the abdominal muscles and at the same time avoiding blocking the joints, will eliminate bouncing in the saddle and will also avoid the bobbing of the rider’s head.

I never understood why the stretching of the spine would eliminate the bouncing. I think I have found the answer to this question in Plaisirs Equestres, No 155 in an article written by Louis Fabre. This author claims that because of the cushioning potential of the discs between the vertebrae, the shocks will fade away, vertebra after vertebra, during the stretching of the spine. I am awaiting the verdict of the medical profession on this thesis.

The book, Das Gymnasium des Reiters by H. and V. Schusdziarra (a father and son combination, both are MD’s) has taught me that the back part of the seat bones pressing in the saddle or, for that matter, on the horse’s back, is what has an impulse creating influence. By using his abdominal muscles the rider can tilt his pelvis forward and upward, which makes the seatbones, where they are widest apart, push into the saddle.

The reader will have noticed that for all three requisites, A, B, and C, I have stressed the use of the abdominal muscles. The teachings of the Alexander Technique have confirmed me in the conviction that only by making oneself tall, using the abdominal muscles can one be secure, light and still on a horse and able to create impulse. In other words, one can only stretch the spine by using the abdominal muscles.

In order to clarify the above, I shall now give a short description of three totally different approaches to the problem of the functional seat and explain why I can not agree with them.

Sylvia Loch who wrote an excellent book about the Iberian Horse, called The Royal Horse of Europe, has in Britain, and in The Horse Magazine, gave staunch support to the three point seat: the two seat bones and the pubic bone.

I could make the discussion very short by quoting the Schusdziarras: “Sitting on both the seat bones and at the same time on a third bony part on the front side of the pubic bone is ANATOMICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.”

Sylvia Loch claims that she does not mean that the rider is all the time on the three points; she mentions that in order to slow down, or come to a halt, the rider should tilt the pelvis in such a way that he is more on the pubic bone. I think that the rider should avoid any unnecessary movements in the saddle, and this movement is not necessary.

Every horse will slow down or come to a halt when the rider makes himself tall by taking a deep breath, using the abdominal muscles and closing the calves, The inhaling makes the back muscles increase the resistanceof the hands, thus avoiding putting on the handbrake, which is what happens when the arm muscles are used. When the rider takes a deep breath and makes himself tall, the tone of his leg muscles will increase, this helps closing the calves, which is necessary in order to keep the hindquarters engaged, and this will prevent the horse from falling apart.

The only movement of the pelvis I allow is when changing direction – a rotating movement – caused by the rotating of the spinal column. Furthermore I suggest an alternating pressing of the seat bones when the rider asks for an extended walk (invisible to the eye of the spectator however).

Anthony Crossley criticized Sylvia Loch’s emphasis on the use of the pubic bone. He was very blunt in mentioning the danger to the genital parts. Through my practice as a teacher, I know how right he is. Because of the delicacy of the subject, I shall not elaborate.

…but we will, this wonderful historic exchange is reproduced at the end of this article…

Danny Pevsner in the very first issue of the excellent new British Dressage Review, has written an article putting very much emphasis on the ‘bracing of the backbone’. I think that the expression ‘bracing the backbone’ was introduced into the dressage vernacular by the incorrect translation of an expression used by Müseler, ‘das Kreuz anspannen‘ literally translated, ‘tighten the small of the back’. There is one picture in Müseler’s book, showing an arrow pointing to the small of the back. The text, explaining the picture, says that during the tightening of the small of the back, the lower part of the spinal column, the sacrum (the bone that connects the spinal column with the pelvis) is being put forward. This results in the pelvis at the back side being pushed downward, and in front, upward. A second arrow pushes downward and could have influenced the translator in thinking that the sacrum was supposed to do the pushing.

It always has been my understanding that bracing, as the Dictionary describes it, is imparting rigidity. That is, of course, a concept that has no place in classical equitation. Müseler realizes the importance of the back of the seat bones, but perhaps unwillingly, he gets the sacrum involved and he does not recognize the importance of the abdominal muscles. This has caused a lot of misconceptions.

Pevsner claims that he does not mean the moden German way of bracing the backbone, and he gives a very correct description of the dangers this can cause to the correct seat. But why then, I ask, does he use this ambiguous terminology. Steinbrecht, Seunig and Handler wrote in German, for them this problem never came up. It is the faulty translation that caused the misconceptions, and that is something we have to avoid by all means. If Pevsner had emphasized the importance of the abdominal muscles and had explained that the back muscles have no function in this process, his article would have been excellent.

*** See below for the explanation of ‘bracing’ in the 2007 revised edition of Riding Logic 

Sally Swift, the Guru of Vermont, wrote a charming book, pleasant to read because of its ‘imaginative images’ and I like very much the distinction between the ‘hard eyes’ and the ‘soft eyes’. However I call Sally Swift’s Centred Riding a snake in the disguise of a butterfly; it is all dreams and fantasy but the basic philosophy is wrong. A rider should never be centered. The title Centred Riding carries the condemnation of the contents.

There exists a book, The Centred Skier, this makes sense, because the skier has to be solid on the ground, so have the practitioners of the martial arts, they have to be rooted on the ground – with the exception of those who practice Zen, because they use bow and arrow and the sword.

In riding, it is the horse who needs to be solid on the ground. We teach him this by making him get his hindlegs under the load, so that they will not only propel, but also carry his and his rider’s weight. The rider will be solid on the horse when he is in complete balance, being light on the horse, and one with the movement of the horse.

Sally Swift speaks about building blocks and about massaging the back of the horse with the rider’s seat. All these suggestions are the opposite of what, as I see it, are the basic requirements for a functional seat and flout the basics of classical equitation.

I hope that it has become clear where the three authors, cited above, have failed. None of them describes a light and still seat, nor a seat that can create impulse. The trouble is that, in most of the literature, the authors talk a lot about the back and the legs, while the emphasis should be on the abdominal muscles and the seat bones. Because it is only by their skillful use that the requirements of the FEI can be fulfilled, namely: “a horse that gives the impression of doing of his own accord what is required of him” and “all the movements should be obtained without apparent effort of the rider”.

More on Bracing the Back follows

Müseler on Bracing

This is how bracing is explained in the revised edition of Riding Logic, published in German in 2006, and in an English language version by J. A. Allen in 2007. The text was updated by Major Kurd Albrecht von Ziegner:

Bracing the Back

Bracing or applying the back muscles, in an equestrian context, is of the utmost importance in being effective and in giving aids, so much so that is hardly possible to give a proper aid if it has not been mastered.

One only knows how it feels when one has achieved success with it, and then only from a position of relaxation can one experience this special feeling. It is worth making the point that there must be no hint of stiffness in bracing the back. In practicing this activity the rider is recommended to converse, whistle or sing if he wishes. In fact he should do anything that will help him to avoid stiffening up.

In the normal position the spine curves in several places. One can verify this by feeling one’s own spine and those of other people. In bracing the back, the lowest portion of the spine – that which includes the sacrum, the link between pelvis and spinal column – is displaced forward. This has the effect of pushing the rear of the pelvis back and down, and the front of the pelvis upwards and, in this,the two seat bones are pushed forward. The opposite effect is brought about by the rider having a hollow back. Here, the pelvis tips forward and the seat bones end up too far back.

It is possible to apply back-muscle pressure on both sides of one’s body or just on one side, so that both seat bones or just one is pushed forward. It is the reactions of one’s horse, particularly if it has a soft and sensitive back, that will tell a rider when he has learned how to brace his back.

The explanations that follow should clarify for the beginner what is involved in back-bracing. Applying back-muscle pressure on both sides (pushing forward both seat bones):

• On a swing, one braces the back to make the swing go forward and relaxes it for the backward movement.
• If one stands in front of a table with a book resting on the table but projecting from it and touching one’s body, one can push the book wholly on to the table without use of the hands by bracing the back

The second example illustrates most clearly the difference between a braced back and a hollow back. Bracing the back pushes the seat forward, which is a requisite for riding, while hollowing the back forces the seat to the rear. Pushing the chest forward and bringing the shoulder blades together are a corollary of a hollowed back.

• If one lies flat on the floor, one raises one’s buttocks only by bracing the back muscles
• If one sits on a chair leaning against its back, thighs and buttocks can be made to slide forward by bracing the back.
• If one sits on a narrow, light stool, one that is easily rocked, with legs apart, much as one might sit on a horse, one can tilt the stool forward by bracing the back. It is emphasized that the legs must not rest on the floor in front of the center of gravity but be placed to left and right of it. If one sits on the front edge of a heavy chair, one can, in the same way, make it tilt. However, it is not sufficient for a would-be rider to listen to these explanations and understand the illustrations. Understanding the movement is no substitute for feeling the action. It needs to be practiced and when one feels one is mastering the art of back-bracing it must be practiced on horseback until it can be done naturally and completely successfully.

Bracing the back muscles on one side of the body (by pushing forward one only of the seat bones):

It is just as important to practice bracing the back muscles on one side of the body as the complete back-muscle structure. Achieving collection, turning and sitting at the canter can only be attained when the rider has learned to push forward his inside seat bone or hip. This must also be repeatedly practiced until it can be carried out in a definite manner.

• A swing can be made to move with a twisting motion by pushing forward one side of the body.
• A person lying flat on the floor can choose to raise just one seat bone from the floor by bracing the appropriate back muscle.
• A person standing in front of a table over the edge of which a book projects can, without using his hands, push the book in a twisting direction from one corner back on the table by using either his left or right back muscle.

It is no more difficult to practice bracing the back in the initial stages of riding than later on. The back muscles can be braced in varying degrees just like any other set of muscles and it is therefore obvious that aids may be given with infinite degrees of muscle action.One can push one’s seat strongly forward or less so, or one can simply brace the back just enough to prevent the seat sliding backward: the back can equally be completely relaxed. But all this is part and parcel of the same exercise.lt is stressed that repeated practicing is essential: it is not sufficient to know about it intellectually.

It must never be forgotten that back bracing is the foundation for a correct seat, for walking on and halting. Aids cannot be given without back-muscle action – a halt then becomes a matter of tugging at the reins. Without back muscle action one cannot sit properly: if the seat is bad one cannot be effective. And on such a shaky basis one has no chance of correcting faults or disobedience in a horse.

The faults that occur in bracing the back are as follows:

• The rider does not practice the movement sufficiently on foot, believing mistakenly that it is enough to have understood what will be required when he is mounted. However, when he is mounted he does not know how to use his muscles.
• The rider does not concentrate on back muscle bracing on horseback to the extent of mastering it. It can only properly be acquired when it is rigorously applied in each walk on, trot on and halt. And it must be borne in mind that the thighs must, at all times, be in contact with the horse’s body. If the rider does not succeed in these aims on one particular horse, he should change to another until it begins to feel right.

It is often said that a rider has a “lot of back”, that he has “a definite back” or that he has “no back.” These expressions are somewhat misleading. All horsemen are endowed with much the same amount of “back,” but they will not all apply it equally. In most people the musculature is of such a strength that it will not give way when unusual demands are made.

Real back pains come into a different category. These may occur through the rider being thrown about at the trot, by riding for too long and similar over-exertions. However, such pains can rarely be attributed to too strong an application of back-muscle action and the pushing forward of the seat.

1. Normal seat; 2. Braced back; 3. Strongly braced back; 4. Hollowed back (incorrect)

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