Riding a tense horse can be difficult and may even ruin the beautiful experience. There are many ways to relax a horse, and in this article, we will share a few easy and effective methods of helping a horse to relax to improve the quality of your ride.

A horse may sometimes become tense. Even if there are no behavioural signs of pain, tension may be seen through the horse’s body combined with an inability to relax. This often occurs at the start of a ride when the horse hasn’t physically or mentally loosened up. It is important to address this issue early on in order to make the ride not only more enjoyable for yourself, but for the horse as well.

Why is relaxation so important

If the horse is tense during a ride, it can have several negative impacts on the quality of your ride. To name a few, the rhythm could become irregular, the tempo may become too quick, the horse may become cooked and the harmony between the rider and horse is lost. Relaxation in both the horse and rider are necessary for a good experience of both the rider and horse.

Seat location

Finding your seat bones is very important to ensure better responses between the rider and the movements of the horse. You should check throughout the ride your weight distribution and the position of your seat bones. It is possible when riding for your alignment to become crooked. This can cause the horse to develop a crooked frame as the horse’s movement is limited around the rider’s saddle position. This can also cause the horse to become unbalanced. Both issues combine to create a far worse experience for the rider and the horse.

To fix this issue, first find the seat bones on the saddle. Then check this with your position and weight distribution. Once aware of your seat bones, attempt to balance your weight evenly though the left and right seat bones. This will allow better movement with the horse and make for a more pleasant ride.

This small adjustment will allow the horse’s stride to lengthen. You will also see the horse relaxing and losing the tension that was hindering your ride.

Tense rider

When the rider is tense, this can translate onto the horse causing its muscles, joints and ligaments to tighten. These tensions can be due to knees gripping the saddle (this pushes the seat up and away from the horse), locked hips which don’t flow with the horse’s movement and tension in the legs, creating a bounce in the saddle. These are just a few examples.

It is important to remember when riding that the horse is essentially an extension of yourself and so often if you relax, the horse will follow in your footsteps. Work from your head down and relax your body regularly throughout your ride. Even slight things like a clenched jaw can cause your shoulders, neck and upper back to become tight and so it is important to relax your whole body.

Your mind can control a lot of your nerves and tension. It is important to focus and concentrate to keep your body aligned and balanced correctly. The focus will in turn relax your body and this relaxation will extend to your horse. Breathing exercises can help with this as well. When riding you may breathe quickly, tensing your muscles in your chest and making your body stiff. Slow your breathing and take deep breaths.

We hope you found this article valuable. Tension can hinder the enjoyment of a ride and so we help this page will help to rectify your problems and improve the valuable time you spend with your horse. At Hive Equestrian, we understand how amazing it is to have your own horse, but we are also experienced with what can seem to be an endless list of problems that always arise when caring for your horse. Our Pegasus package alleviates some of the stress and problems that come with owning a horse. We provide several services from lessons, to booking vet appointments to name a few. If you are interested in solving many of your equestrian related problems all in the same place, click here now. We also offer many other additional services that are easily found here. Our Pegasus Package members will receive a 10% discount on all of these services.