Body Suits and Posture of Riders

Your riding instructor says, “You’re not sitting balanced in the saddle.” You mutter, “I most certainly AM sitting balanced in the saddle.”The friend who’s making a video of your lesson thinks, “Oh, this should be interesting!”

Most equestrians would agree that sitting with their weight equally distributed on both sides of the saddle gives their horses the best chance to stay in balance themselves, and therefore to perform to the best of their abilities. Carrying unbalanced loads, whether human or inanimate, can lead to muscle pain and possibly even lameness for horses. Riding in an unbalanced position can also lead to back pain for humans. But what if a rider thinks his or her position is balanced, when in fact that’s not the case?

A study conducted in England tested the use of a sensor-enhanced body suit to detect imbalances in rider position. Wearing suits that were used to create an animated alien in a science-fiction film, 12 riders underwent postural analysis that showed all were somewhat asymmetrical as they rode. In one test, inertial motion sensors in the suits indicated that hip angle rotation varied by as much as 27 degrees between a rider’s left and right hip joints.

The body suit allows a rider’s movements to be captured and then shown on a computer screen as an avatar. Riders and coaches could watch the display to find whether particular aspects of riding were more likely to put riders out of balance. The suit was developed by Xsens, a company in The Netherlands.