Rider Posture - What is Actually Involved?

attaching directly to the sacrum can restrict the mobility of my pelvis and my spine especially when I am dehydrated or closer to my menstrual cycle. For riders who identify as women and have a cycle or are in menopause hormonal changes can have influences on your posture.
In this same vein I have chronic tension at the root of the mesentery which anchors my small intestine to the posterior abdominal wall. My tight mesentery has a habit of adhering to my uterus which can impact my mobility and posture of my lumbar spine sacrum and pelvis. Its important to realize that your organs and viscera can become adhered together due to injuriesimpacts surgeries scar tissue chronic stress or inflammation or certain health conditions. Like most riders Ive been injured in my case a disc injury at L4L5 close to my centre of gravity and impacting my postural stability and a tailbone which like many riders has seen its fair share of direct blows and is connected directly to the alignment and free movement of my spine. In my case these factors cause me to have a hard time sitting in functional spinal alignment moving my pelvis into a neutral position under my spine finding my balance in the saddle and rotating in my lower spine. My postural tendency is called an anterior type where my chin is pulled out in front of my pubic symphysis which affects my riding position and ability to balance in the saddle. A posterior type of posture would be the opposite with the tendency for the chin to be behind the pubic symphysis.
Posture is not as simple as get your shoulders back get your heels down and get your leg under you. Forcing these changes can create unnecessary tension in your system reducing the effectiveness of your riding and the happiness of your horse. There are multiple variables in your own story that led you to your current posture and it takes time and commitment to work with these variables in lasting ways to create an ever more functional and integral posture.
How do we begin?
I will start by saying bluntly that if you plan to ride your horse you need to also plan to work with your posture regularly and consistently to ensure the wellbeing of your horse and yourself. As an equine sports therapist most nonridden horses I see are far more comfortable than