Training Tip: Canter With Confidence: Sit in the Saddle Correctly

At some point, all equestrians experience the unsettling feeling of riding the canter. Getting comfortable and confident riding your horse’s three-beat gait takes practice. You can master the canter by setting yourself up for success..

Tip #2: Sit in the saddle correctly.

When you’re sitting properly in the saddle, you should be able to draw a straight line from your ear, shoulder, hip and down to your heel. Your heels should be down with your toes pointed slightly up. You want to sit in such a way that if your horse was suddenly yanked out from under you, you’d land on your feet. Now, you won’t achieve that form when you first start riding, but when you develop and hone your skills, you will. You should be able to comfortably ride with your heels down and your toes up. A properly fitting saddle—one that’s not too small or too big for you—will greatly help keep you in the correct position to be the most effective.

It’s also important that your stirrups are the correct length. To check your stirrup length, stand up in your stirrups. You should be able to fit about four fingers between you and the saddle. If you feel like you’re reaching for your stirrups, there’s a good chance they’re too long. Stirrups that are too long have a tendency to push your toes down and your heels up because you are reaching for them. Imagine standing on your tiptoes, reaching for something on a top shelf that’s just out of your grasp. That’s what happens to your body when your stirrups are too long.

Read the first tip in this series, Canter With Confidence: Use Correctly Fitted Tack.