If you follow Solid in the Saddle you probably know that most of the exercises I recommend involve your leg, core, and back muscles. Ever notice what’s missing?

Your arms.

That’s because you correctly ride a horse with your seat and legs. Your hands use the reins to guide the horse; NOT to balance on or use as handles.

So, let me ask you this. When you get done riding, are your legs tired? If not, you’re probably relying too much on your reins for balance. Here’s why:

A study performed in 2015 looked at riding using two different arm positions. In position 1, participants held on to the saddle with both arms. In position 2, participants crossed their arms with hands resting on their shoulders.

Muscle activity was measured by  electromyography (EMG) sensors that were placed on three different muscle groups: rectus femoris, (front of thigh), biceps femoris (back of thigh), and hip adductors (inner thigh).

The study found that in posture 2 (arms crossed) there was higher activation in all of the muscles, and significantly higher activation in the inner thigh muscles. 

So what does this mean?

If you don’t use your arms to stabilize your trunk and seat while riding a horse, you use your leg and abdominal muscles more. When your abs and legs are weak or tired, you often compensate and use your arms to stabilize your trunk.

And we all know the third option. If you don’t use your legs, core, OR arms, you’ll be bouncing around on your saddle like a floppy jackhammer. 

This is exactly why we have to strengthen those muscles; we want to be able to stay on without hanging on our horse’s face all the time.

So, to save your horse’s mouth here's a video of an exercise to get your legs fired up and strong! https://youtu.be/dVpG4c8YnqE

P.S. This one's going to burn. Expect to be sore!