The art of the 'listening' seat is to be able to offer and receive feel through your pelvis, seat and upper legs which can only be done without tension and force. When we are able to place cues because we have felt how the horse is already moving and use the energy of their movement to instigate our cue, we are then able to release into the cue as the horse offers change.We are then on our way to becoming one of those effortless riders.
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The Listening Seat Day Clinic
Available to yards, riding clubs and groups of like-minded equestrians
10-12pm Theory session on 'The Listening Seat'
This includes a discussion on what we think is a listening seat and why it's important, what it means to the horse for us to have it and how we can achieve it. It will also include a short body scan, and some practical exercises to understand and explore how much a horse moves us in different gaits. This will prepare students to be more aware of their own bodies, so they can feel more once riding. 1pm onwards Semi-private sessions with your horse (45min -1hr each) Each student will ride a horse at their own level of ability. They will each develop their own skills on how to release and allow into a listening seat, feel where they block or hold tension and where appropriate, add this to releasing into cues. There will be time for short questions at the end of each session - longer answers will be handled during reflections. This requires a secure area with firm footing and somewhere for participants watch. Finish Reflections (1/2 hour) The day concludes with a half hour reflection on what people have felt/learnt/discovered during the clinic. Also any questions that haven't been explored will be addressed at this point. Finish time will depend on participant numbers. £95 per person minimum 3 people £30 for non-horse participants Large group discounts available |
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The 'Listening' Seat Workshop (theory)
2 hour group sessions.
Minimum 4 people, maximum dependent on room size.
Run on request at your yard or at our venue near Otley, Yorkshire.
£25 per person
Minimum 4 people, maximum dependent on room size.
Run on request at your yard or at our venue near Otley, Yorkshire.
£25 per person
The 'Listening' Seat Practical (ridden)
Group sessions
Minimum 2 people (1 hour)
3 people (1 1/2 hours)
4 people (2 hours)
Run on request at your yard or at our venue near Otley, Yorkshire
£45 per person
Private sessions locally
At your yard or our venue.
£50 per hour
Minimum 2 people (1 hour)
3 people (1 1/2 hours)
4 people (2 hours)
Run on request at your yard or at our venue near Otley, Yorkshire
£45 per person
Private sessions locally
At your yard or our venue.
£50 per hour
All methods of horsemanship are welcome, whether you do classical dressage, British Dressage, BHS, all forms of natural horsemanship, western, or your own eclectic style.
Additional charges may be added for travel over 20 miles from Otley.
Additional charges may be added for travel over 20 miles from Otley.
More on 'The Listening Seat'
The most inspiring and eloquent equestrians for me are those that make it look effortless and freeing for both horse and rider. I believe they achieve this by having a deep connection to the horse with the ability to feel every nuance, every step, every change in tension and elasticity throughout the horse with their whole body. Because of this capacity to feel with trust, these riders can respond, adapt, guide and support the horse at every moment they ride - mostly intuitively, which, in my mind, gives that wonderful impression of effortlessness, or of floating and allows such freedom of movement in the horse.
So how can we become as adept at feeling what is going on underneath us?
As our bottoms are the largest surface area in contact with the horse, I developed the concept of the 'listening' seat. Once we can relax our seat, pelvis and legs and allow the horse to move us in a three dimensional plane, we can then start to be more aware of where else we hold tension.
Holding tension blocks our ability to feel.
Once we are able to move fluidly without blocking the horse with tension we can then start to feel when to ask for turns, transitions etc in relation to how the horse is moving underneath us instead of blindly putting in cues and expecting our horse to follow immediately. For example, if you can feel the your horse's hind legs moving underneath you in a walk, when you feel the inside hind just beginning to lift, if you rotate your inside femur in tune with your horse's inside hind and relase back into the movement you can instigate a turn without reins and it feels effortless to both you and the horse. If I then start to try and control that turn instead of listening and allowing the turn throughout my body I will produce tension in my body which the horse will either tense back into or attempt to respond to by offering another way of going (often falling in on the inside shoulder),
The most inspiring and eloquent equestrians for me are those that make it look effortless and freeing for both horse and rider. I believe they achieve this by having a deep connection to the horse with the ability to feel every nuance, every step, every change in tension and elasticity throughout the horse with their whole body. Because of this capacity to feel with trust, these riders can respond, adapt, guide and support the horse at every moment they ride - mostly intuitively, which, in my mind, gives that wonderful impression of effortlessness, or of floating and allows such freedom of movement in the horse.
So how can we become as adept at feeling what is going on underneath us?
As our bottoms are the largest surface area in contact with the horse, I developed the concept of the 'listening' seat. Once we can relax our seat, pelvis and legs and allow the horse to move us in a three dimensional plane, we can then start to be more aware of where else we hold tension.
Holding tension blocks our ability to feel.
Once we are able to move fluidly without blocking the horse with tension we can then start to feel when to ask for turns, transitions etc in relation to how the horse is moving underneath us instead of blindly putting in cues and expecting our horse to follow immediately. For example, if you can feel the your horse's hind legs moving underneath you in a walk, when you feel the inside hind just beginning to lift, if you rotate your inside femur in tune with your horse's inside hind and relase back into the movement you can instigate a turn without reins and it feels effortless to both you and the horse. If I then start to try and control that turn instead of listening and allowing the turn throughout my body I will produce tension in my body which the horse will either tense back into or attempt to respond to by offering another way of going (often falling in on the inside shoulder),