12/12/2025
Riders! Please have a read! Great insight on my role and duties as a PT while working with you out of the saddle to improve riding performance!
šThere are traditional aids, classical aids, and different schools of training. How a horse is trained depends on the system the rider and coach use. So saying āthis is the only correct wayā doesnāt make sense when different systems create different conditioned responses in the horse. (Itās also why I donāt get involved when someone says, āRide my horse my way and see how it goes better/worse.ā It will do what itās been trained to do, aids are conditioned responses, so no thank you.)
My job isnāt to teach shoulder-in or travers. My job is to make sure your body can physically do what your coach is asking.
Most riders donāt struggle with lateral work because they were taught wrong. They struggle because they physically canāt do what they think theyāre doing. Sometimes the instruction is an analogy instead of an actual body movement, so the rider doesnāt understand what their own body should do. Other times, riders are taught to ācheatā the movement to make the horse perform it, even though it sacrifices the riderās posture. The horse improves, but the rider doesnāt.
Recently someone asked about pelvic rotation on a circle. If I donāt teach rider movements, why do I say the pelvis should rotate in direction of travel? Because many people confidently say not to rotate the pelvis, yet they canāt explain why. They tell riders to load the inside seat bone, or keep the pelvis straight to āstop the shoulders falling out,ā but this often comes from a rider not being able to execute the movement correctly. The problem isnāt the rotation-itās the riderās inability to rotate correctly.
Hereās why, biomechanically, the pelvis (and upper body) should rotate with the direction of travel:
ā¢ The rider sits on the ribcage, not the pelvis, so āpelvis to pelvisā doesnāt make sense when weāre not on the horseās pelvis.
ā¢ Moving a seat bone forward by ~1 cm to ācreate spaceā for the hind limb doesnāt hold up when the joint that flexes the hind limb is more than 10 cm away from the riderās seat bone.
ā¢ The ribcage and saddle rotate into the bend, so the riderās pelvis should follow that-not resist against it.
ā¢ If the pelvis stays facing forward, the horse bends away underneath the rider and weight shifts to the outside. If the rider faces the direction of travel, equal weight tends to remain over the horseās centre of gravity instead of being pushed outward.
When the pelvis rotates, the hips must allow it. This isnāt about turning the knee out. The inside hip requires internal rotation and the outside hip requires external rotation. If the hips are stiff, the pelvis canāt rotate cleanly, and the rider compensates by:
ā¢ twisting the spine
ā¢ shoving the inside seat bone forward
ā¢ shifting weight
ā¢ collapsing a hip
The issue is rarely a lack of āinside seat bone pressure.ā Itās usually lack of pelvic control and hip mobility. Riders compensate, and instructors then help them ride with the compensation. I want riders to not need the compensation in the first place. If youāre struggling, assess your rotation off the horse first.
Work on:
ā¢ rotating the pelvis in the direction of travel without shifting weight
ā¢ controlling weight distribution naturally, without leaning, gripping, or forcing the seat
ā¢ moving the pelvis independently of the upper body so the seat follows without dragging or blocking
ā¢ using hip rotation correctly (inside internal / outside external) so the leg can position without twisting the knee or gripping the thigh
ā¢ having a mobile spine that follows the horse without bracing, over-bending, or collapsing the ribcage
If you donāt have pelvic control, hip rotation, spinal mobility, and an independent upper body, no amount of cues will produce a correct shoulder-in.
Want help with your lateral work? Book in for a Rider Physio session. Using the saddle and leg sensors plus vide analysis really helps us see exactly what you are doing.
šwww.pegasusphysio.co.uk
