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QUOTES BY E. F. SEIDLER: (page three)
On the Rider's Seat<
"I am assuming that a rider who wants to train a horse has received regular riding lessons, that he has acquired a good seat with which he does not have to struggle any more, that he is not only able to ride a trained horse in every respect, but that he also possesses knowledge in the training of green horses, and that he has some familiarity with the necessary movements and their aids. "
(1837, translation: TR)
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"Those who want to train green horses must possess the necessary qualities. Among them are:
A good, quiet, firm, yet unconstrained seat, equestrian tact in the seat and hand, appropriately coordinated leg and rein aids that always begin with the lowest possible intensity and can be increased as much as necessary.
Deviations from these qualities are immediately reflected by the horse's behavior. An unsteady seat and noisy hands make the horse's head and neck carriage unsteady and unreliable in all gaits. A stiff seat and hard hands makes the horse stiff in his poll and all his limbs. Sudden, abrasive movements make the horse nervous and spooky. Good qualities of the rider make the horse soft, supple, trusting, and obedient.
Suppleness, flexibility of the body, which leads to the decent, unconstrained posture and which enables the rider to follow quick, irregular movements and lateral leaps of the horse, or to resist when necessary, without losing the stability of the seat. It allows the rider above all to influence individual body parts of the horse more or less with his body weight without losing his seat or visibly altering his posture."
(1837, 1f., translation: TR)
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"The seat of the rider is the pivotal point around which the horse is raised in front and lowered in the back."
(1837, 7, translation: TR)
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"A natural, straight seat, naturally hanging calves with the foot resting in the stirrup, will occupy the center of the horse with regular conformation.
Pushing out the chest a little, tucking in the abdomen, a slight lowering of the head, stepping into the stirrup which causes the seat to lift somewhat, will relieve the hind legs.
An imperceptible retracting of the head, flexing the shoulder muscles, bracing the back, lowering the seatbones, calves hanging longer and more passively, will load the hind legs considerably more."
(1837, 106, translation: TR)
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"The more active calf pressure consists not in a stronger gripping of the calves, but in a moderate and repeated stronger touching of the calf. The horse becomes as used to rigidly gripping legs, which are called dead calves, as to the tight saddle girth to which he does not pay any attention."
(1837, 106, translation: TR)
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"The rider's appropriate posture supports all of the horse's gaits advantageously. Especially the canter and the transitions to a lower gait and the parade (full halt, TR) benefit from it. Those who do not maintain a correct position at all times should at least take care to fix their seat first in these moments, to bring their seat bones well into the saddle, to take the horse well between their calves, to keep their shoulders a little back and to lower them, to bring the horse back to the lower gait or the halt in this seat, this position. Otherwise, the down transition will never be executed on the haunches. However, suddenly throwing the torso back has to be carefully avoided so that the load is not thrown onto the hindquarters all of a sudden. The same thing applies to stretching the calves forward, pulling up the heels and lowering the toes, because the latter transmits the load to the forehand via the stirrups."
(1837, 270, translation: TR)
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"The seat of the rider is the pivotal point around which the horse is raised in front and lowered in the back."
(1837, 7, translation: TR)
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Last Update: January 13, 2007