Here's an exercise I have my students do on a mounting block (though a chair works just as well).

Sit on the edge of the block, feeling both seat bones. Shifting your weight from side to side can help you locate them. Deliberately arch and round your lower back by tilting your pelvis forward and back, as if your seat bones are on rockers. Find the neutral position, where your lower back feels filled out.

Align your rib cage and head over your pelvis. Maintaining this alignment, slowly and with control, tip the mounting block forward and back. Keep your upper body moving as a single unit, with your seat bones doing the tilting. Ensure your chest doesn't lead the movement or lag behind; this will reveal the same tendencies you exhibit on horseback. You'll notice your hips engaging to accomplish this.

Next, extend one leg back, feeling your weight shift to a single seat bone. Repeat the exercise, focusing on one seat bone at a time. This will also demonstrate how your inside seat bone should come forward first in a canter transition.

Through concise and engaging videos, you'll discover how your seat bones influence your horse's movement and how to use them for improved communication and connection. We explore practical exercises including simulating riding on foot, utilizing a posture sling for alignment, the "backward bicycle" for pelvic mobility in the sitting trot, trampoline work for supple legs and directed energy, and a yoga ball exercise to connect your pelvis and ribcage while developing shock absorption through the hips.

Why is Going with the Movement important?

It enhances your horse's engagement of their thoracic sling and proper use of their body to carry the rider's weight. Correct movement starts with rhythm and suppleness at the very beginning of the training scale. If you have tension in your hips, and are collapsing or hollowing your back, you'll disrupt your horse's rhythm and prevent them from developing suppleness over their topline.