Pilates for The Equestrian
Judy and Bella. Photo courtesy Geoff McLean - Gone Riding Media and Consulting
To get the most from your riding, whether it is dressage, eventing, western or pleasure, you need to have a properly aligned spine, pelvis and shoulders. If there is incorrect posture or imbalance when riding, your horse will be getting mixed signals; your body will fatigue quickly and you may even have pain as you try to force your body into position.
Many people think that Pilates is about mainly strengthening you core, which is made up of your deep abdominal muscles, deep spinal stabilisers, pelvic floor and diaphragm. A stronger core, you may have heard, will help your riding, but Pilates is much more than this.
For instance when your hips are tight this inhibits how easily your spine moves. The hips can be tight through the hip flexors, inner thighs or the buttock muscles. With tight hips your lower back will also tighten. If your chest muscles are short and tight it will be difficult to draw the shoulders back. If you try to pull the shoulders back, chances are that your lower back will tighten, as you attempt to counter balance the shoulders.
The core muscles are important and but doing exercises such as ‘Crunches’ and ‘Plank’ tend to encourage a rigid and stiff spine. With Pilates we want to work the deep stabilising muscles of the abdomen, spine, hips and shoulders. We want the strength to be balanced with flexibility, ensuring a good range of motion in all joints.
Pilates, particularly in a fully equipped studio such as Ranges Pilates, assists by improving your overall alignment. The ability to move your limbs independently from your torso, keeping a well aligned spine and balanced pelvis will give you much more control and strength as you ride. This reduces fatigue, allowing you to get the best performance from your horse and ultimately greater enjoyment for you both.
“Almost 3 years ago I started Pilates at Ranges Pilates with Rosemary. My aim was to improve my core strength and flexibility for my horse riding as I train and compete in dressage.
I was so excited after my first session as I had tried other places but not been satisfied. I knew that Rosemary would help me achieve my goals.
The studio has an amazing amount of equipment and each week I do some different exercises, always feeling I have worked all parts of my body at the end of the hour. When I have an injury we will work specifically to help that. Rosemary also shows you exercises that you can do at home and what to look for, education of what you are doing and why is all part of the programme.
So after nearly three years I know my horse riding has improved, I feel more secure and balanced in the saddle and after only a few weeks I noticed I no longer had back pain, a great bonus!!”