All About That Base!

Improve your performance by strengthening your base of support.

- Sherry Cashman

Great equitation requires a great base of support. By that I mean your lower body position is solid and strong from your feet to your waist. The ball of your foot is balanced nicely on your stirrup iron and your weight is down in your heel. We equitation trainers feel like broken records constantly reminding students to put their “Heels down!” But there’s a good reason: It all starts with your heels. If they’re far enough down, your feet will stay steady on the stirrups and you’ll be able to keep your balance.

Working up from the heels, we want to see your lower legs steady against your horse’s sides just behind the girth, never slipping forward or backward. Your knees should operate as a pivot point so that their angles open and close, for example, when posting to the trot. They should stay in light contact with the saddle without gripping. Your thighs provide the strength necessary to either hold your seat in the saddle—for example, at the sitting trot—or support your upper body when it’s out of the saddle in two-point or jumping position. At the same time, your core abdominal and seat (buttock) muscles constantly work to correct your balance and hold you in the middle of the saddle.

Why do you need this strong base of support? For starters, it’ll save you from “eating dirt”—it’s the safety net that keeps you from falling off when the going gets tough. But that’s just the worst-case scenario. Whether you’re in the show ring or not, every aspect of your riding performance goes hand in hand with a good base of support. Here’s how: