I think my cutting horse trainer (nearly a lifetime ago) taught me to
put extra weight in my stirrups. It really helps when riding questionable
horses which I did lots of… horses that weren’t trained yet, or supposedly
trained but would still do a 180 turn and start running, or come to a sudden
stop if they thought something was in the bushes. If you have more weight on
your rear end when this happens, you usually get left behind or go over the
front.
A funny incident happened last spring on the trail between Sterling Pt
and Rattlesnake Bar and the rider behind told me about how it looked. Sonny was
trotting fast, we hit a slick spot on a turn, a legs all slid out to one side,
I stayed up perfectly balanced in the saddle, both my feet just a few inches
from the ground, then Sonny righted himself underneath me and kept on trotting.
If I’d had too much weight in my rear end, I’d have caused him to
go down.
Yep, rider balance is very important to help the horse keep their
balance.
Kathy
Ranelle wrote:
Worked on being more centered on my horse with less of
my weight on his front end, and more weight in my stirrups.
