10 Commandments Of The Rider When Overcoming Obstacles

1. Head up, rider looking forward.

2. The shoulders are extended.

3. Hands from the shoulder are freely lowered down and bent at the elbows.

4. Straight line from elbow to bit.

5. The body is located as close as possible to the bow of the saddle, the seat during the jump frees the saddle, and you should not push the body too forward on the horse's neck. An imaginary vertical line drawn through the stirrups should leave the lower torso on the other side of the legs as a counterweight.

6. The body is tilted sufficiently forward to help balance on the feet.

7. The inner thighs, knees and upper calves are in light contact with the saddle and sides of the horse. This contact becomes more intimate during the jump and the horse's last strides before it.

Related article Biomechanics of Horse Movement: Jump

8. Legs from the knees "go back" a little, but only so much that the harnesses are strictly vertical and the legs are pressed to the horse's sides immediately behind the girths.

9. The foot is slightly turned outward so that the soles of the boots are visible to a person standing on the ground. This helps to keep the knees against the saddle and the feet against the inner arch of the stirrups.

10. The feet are pressed against the inner arches of the stirrups, the stirrup platform is under the wide part of the foot or slightly behind, the heels are down, the toes are only slightly turned (approximately 20-30 °).