I know how it sounds. I know. But, as a riding instructor I can speak from the experience of having genuinely seen it work in every client of mine that has tried it.

As I've written about on many occasions, having an independent seat is vital for good riding. Common problem areas are tension in the hips/pelvis, stiffening of the back, and stiffness of the arms or shoulders. If you are stiff, tight, or restricted in any of these areas, it will almost certainly impact how you ride; your balance, the refined communication with your horse, and your horse's ability to carry you well.

One of my favourite (albeit newer) techniques to improve tension areas is to "breath into" that area. Some people find it really easy, and it comes quite naturally for them, for others it takes work. As a rider myself, the thing I struggle with the most is actaully remembering to do it!

First of all, please forgive my awful drawing! An artist, I am not! The drawing only serves for illistrative purposes and is most definitely not anatomically or proportionally correct.

As riders, we should always strive for quiet, effective communication which is sympathetic. Foreceful riding, and the all-to-common "kick and pull" approach should be avoided so far as is possible. Most riders know that we should use our seat more than we actually do, but has anyone explained to you exactly how to do that? For a long time, I was told "use your seat, do less with your reins" and everytime I was left thinking "How? What does that actually mean?". Today, I'm going to briefly cover how to use your seat when turning and bending, and why you should use your seat.

Nice, short little post for you today for a change; 4 benefits of using Franklin Balls.

1. Improve your balance, position, coordination of movement, and "feel"
   
2. Improve your confidence due to increased stability
   
3. In the long-term, it may allow you to focus on your horse's schooling, due to not having to concentrate so hard on staying balanced in the saddle
4. Allow your horse to work more correctly, "over the back", with an engaged hindend, due to not being restricted or compromised by the rider's tension, asymmetry, or poor proprioception

Franklin Balls are a branch of the Franklin Method, originally invented to improve the proprioception & suppleness of dancers, but now scientifically supported for use in equestrians.

The use of Franklin balls to improve balance, position, feel, and body awareness is becoming much more wide-spread, not just around the UK but across the globe.

I was a real sceptic when I first heard about Franklin balls. Truly, I thought it was complete nonsense; a mumbo jumbo pseudoscience.
How wrong I was!
If you're interested in trying Franklin Method balls to help your riding, keep reading to see my 3 top tips for getting the most out of your session.

What springs to mind when you think of “classical training”? Dressage? Andalusian or Lusitano horses? Airs-above-the-ground? The Spanish Riding School of Vienna? People dressage up like Napoleon in traditional tailcoats and funny hats or outdated uniforms?

Whilst these things are not, necessarily, wrong. They most certainly are not the whole truth...

Mental health, and mental health awareness, is so important, especially at a time like this! I'm so grateful to UK Coaching for offering this vital training, and making it available to sports coaches from all sports and backgrounds.

Long-reining clinics are pretty popular in the USA, but long-reining is a bit of a dying art in the UK. Most people just do straight lines and circles when long-reining, or believe that it's just for young horses, don't they? The reality is, if you can do it from the saddle, you can do it all from the ground eventually! We can use poles on the long-reins too.

Many, many riders focus on the head and neck when schooling. At Elementary levels upwards, a greater element of collection is needed, but a lot of riders forget that their is an entire horse to collect. Their version of "collection", not that it really is that at all, comes from bringing the head and neck up and in. Meanwhile, the back end trails out behind the horse, who hollows their back and drops onto the forehand.

Shoulder-In/Shoulder-fore
Horse can't bend? Shoulder-in. Horse not bringing the inside hind under? Shoulder-in. Horse heavy on the outside shoulder? Shoulder-in. Pulling in transitions instead of pushing? Ride them in shoulder-in. Needs the wall for balance? Shoulder-in. Not enough expression or suspension in the paces? Shoulder-in.