Bookshelf > Rider/Body Training > Balance in Movement

Balance in Movement:
How to achieve the perfect seat
By Susanne Von Dietze

Hardcover: Revised Edition, 224 pages (March 2006)
Language: English
Trafalgar Square Publishing ISBN: 1570763305

Balance in Motion states that one of its principle aims is to ‘instill life into strict, grey theory and to present it in as practically-oriented a way as possible.’ Von Dietze, a German physiotherapist, explains in the preface how she lost her childhood riding competency through the onset of an awkward adolescence. Through her work as a  physiotherapist, she came to understand weaknesses in movements and body position, and was able to gradually make corrections to her riding. Though her personal experience is the basis for her future explorations, the book isn’t one of those ‘memoirs’ about ‘how I improved my riding and you can too.’ It’s a long-overdue physical examination of the rider’s seat through detailed anatomical information. While the book does talk about anatomy, it does so in ways that readers can relate to – usually by feeling or trying out the principle on their own body. It’s strongest point is the way patterns of reactions are explained; once you know the root of the problem, rather than its symptoms, it’s much easier to fix. There’s a lot of ground covered in this book, making it a dense reference manual most riders will return to often over the years.

Von Dietze says that, although there is a definite training scale and progression of difficulty allowed for in the horse, riders are expected to show perfect and correct form right from the get-go.

‘To understand why and how something feels; why something is easy for one person and practically impossible for another; to recognize the next learning steps to be undertaken and to feel success from the horse, these are all aspects I wanted to present in black and white terms on paper.’

A reviewer on Amazon.com calls this book ‘an amazing investment for improving your riding.’

This book contains similar material to Anatomy of Dressage, but rather than looking at just the dressage seat, includes the forward seat and all transitions in between. It is more useful as a practical ‘how-to’ manual, looking at the entire body in detail and offering specific exercises on horseback for improvement. It does however let the reader make many of their own connections to traditional riding theory, rather than offering specific comparisons as Anatomy of Dressage does. While Anatomy of Dressage was an important breakthrough and may be of specific interest to dressage riders, Balance in Motion is overall more readable, practical, and thorough.

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About the Author

SUSANNE VON DIETZE is a physiotherapist and riding instructor. Her background in physiotherapy enables her to understand the complex physical relationship essential between horse and rider. She frequently tours both the United States and Europe giving lectures and holding clinics on the subject of balance and movement. Susanne currently competes in dressage at the Prix St. Georges level.

Contents

Foreword to the First English Language Edition
Foreword
Preface

1 Study of Movement and Riding
Learning about movement; ideally like a child
The training of the rider

2 Physiology of Movement
Joints – where the movement takes place
Musculature – how movements are executed
The nervous system – how movement is organized

3 Pelvis – Center of Movement
Fundamental principles of anatomy
Body proportions and individual build
Anatomy you can actually touch – palpating your own body
The position of your pelvis in the saddle
Feel, practice, improve
Balancing the pelvis with the movement of the horse

4 Centre of Stabilization – Upper body and head
Fundamental principles of anatomy
Body proportions and individual build
Anatomy you can actually touch – palpating your own body
The ideal posture of the upper body and head in the dressage and forward seats
Feel, practice, improve
Exercises on the horse

5 Centre of Independence – Shoulder girdle and hands
Fundamental principles of anatomy
Body proportions and individual build
Anatomy you can actually touch – palpating your own body
Arm and hand position in the dressage and forward seats
Feel, practice, improve
The independent hands of the rider

6 Centre of Balance/Suppleness – the legs
Fundamental principles of anatomy
Body proportions and individual build
Anatomy you can actually touch – palpating your own body
The ideal posture of the leg and foot in the dressage and forward seats
Feel, practice, improve
Exercises on the horse

7 Perfect Body Coordination – Application of the aids
Effect and influence of the rider’s weight on the back of the horse
Fluid transitions and interplay between the dressage and forward seats
The rising trot – a difficult balancing act
The rider as indicator of the horse’s movement
The secure seat
The secret of ‘bracing the back’
Driving and restraining aids
Inside and outside aids

8 Problems – Causes – Corrections
Balance problems
Asymmetry
Stiffness
Slackness
Pain
Thinking

9 How the Horse Reflects the Rider
Parallels between horse and rider
Fun for horse and rider
Work on the tensions of the upper body
Looking down at the horse
Crooked rider, crooked saddle, crooked horse
Crookedness in the forward seat
Problems with turning
Bracing the back
Problems with eagerness to go forward

Acknowledgements
Bibliography

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