Basics of Weight Balance: Rider
Last month, we talked
about understanding the basics and how important it is to build your
technique on sound, workable basics. I ended the article saying that I am
seeing a lot of horses that are light on the back end and heavy on the front
end. Their weight (with rider on back) is not balanced in a way that makes
it easy for the horse to perform effortlessly. Let’s go into some of the
causes for this. Since barrel racing is a team sport, the basics of weight
balance must include the rider, the horse and the two together. I’ll
discuss the rider this month and continue on next month with the horse.
Every human has a center
of gravity. (COG) It will vary a bit for each of us depending upon our
height, weight and build. A person who is tall, or long legged, or long
armed, or huge chested, or large hipped, or heavy, etc. will have a
different COG from a tiny, or thin, or smaller limbed and
smaller built person. We all desire to be good jockeys on our
barrel horses, but we aren’t all jockey weight, build and height. Even if
we are in top shape, some of us would never meet jockey stats. So, we must
do everything possible to understand the dynamics of balancing our weight –
first as an athlete and second as an athlete riding on a horse.
Humans have usually found
a way to walk uprightly and balance their COG by age 1. An easy way to
understand dynamics of weight balance is to watch a baby learning to walk.
If they lean off their COG forward, backward, or left or right, they will
fall that same direction. Once a human masters the walk, they usually have
it for a lifetime-barring any accidents that are severe enough to interrupt
their muscle memory. If muscle memory is disrupted, then humans must have
therapy to re-establish the ability to balance their bodies and walk again.
Back to the child-once the
child learns to balance uprightly and walk, everything else they do is based
upon that basic maneuver. Soon they are learning to ride a trycylce, skate,
play ball, and any variety of activities. They learn to balance their COG in
an athletic stance – just as the baby learned to walk. They learn by
doing. Basically, the athletic stance is learning to balance your body with
the weight balanced over your trunk and perform a variety of moves while
staying balanced. (without falling) Athletes who excel at their sports
spend hours upon hours to perfect their muscle control, strength and
memory. In other words, they build a skill that is based on the simple
basics of GOG balance. Some athletes are more naturally balanced and others
have to work extremely hard to achieve it.
When a human gets on a
horse, our body weight will effect the horse in two ways – side to side and
front to back. Our saddle must place us over the COG of the horse we are on
or we will already be out of basic balance with the horse. And, our saddle
must allow us to remain in an athletic stance at speed, gathering and
turning. If your saddle puts your feet behind you or in front of you, you
will lose your balance very easily and find it difficult to stay centered
and balanced. If you find yourself falling forward or back – check two
things: your saddle and your body fitness. Your saddle must aid you in
balancing your COG over the COG of the horse and your body muscle memory
must be fit and under control enough for you to do your part. These two
things must be correct for you and your horse to perform effortlessly on a
consistent basis.
To check your body fitness
and balance, stand and lift one leg and place it on your back pocket while
holding it with your hand. (Take left leg and hold it with left hand back to
left pocket.) Now try the same with the right leg. When you can
successfully do this, then hold the leg on your pocket and lean forward and
touch the floor. See how far you can get without falling forward, backward
or side to side. You will find it easier to do this while balancing on a
rail or fence just as you will find balance easier on your horse when you
use the saddle horn to aid in
balancing yourself.
If you are truly out of
shape, start now to form muscle memory balance and control. The more
control we have over our body before mounting a horse, the easier it will be
to become one with the horse when riding. Becoming one is to have your COG
over the COG of the horse at all times. We don’t want to ride ON the back
of the horse, (bouncing and out of balance, but to ride IN and WITH the
horse (balanced and flowing with him.)
The point of this article
is simply this: What we do with our body weight will greatly effect how our
horse can perform with us. How much we weigh is a factor of course, but how
we balance that weight on a horse is also a huge factor. The human body can
be trained to do incredible athletic things. Why do many barrel racers
think so much about getting their horse in shape and so little about their
own body fitness? Horseback riding is said to be the only exercise that
moves our muscles in 4 dimensions. That makes our sport one that
requires control over every muscle group. In light of that fact, let’s
spend some time this month on not only fitting our horses, but fitting
ourselves for a balanced weight performance. Our horses will thank us!