You know when you can do something on one rein and not the other? Maybe it’s circles, leg yields or canter transitions, whatever it is it’s really frustrating isn’t it?

This is why symmetry is so important, in both your horse and you.Of course no one is 100% symmetrical but being as close as you can will be of huge benefit.

Where do you start though on trying to make your aids symmetrical? 

Try this really simple exercise (I said simple not easy….) both off horse either sitting on a chair or on a gym ball , then try it again on your horse at walk, then at sitting trot…,

Firstly locate your seat bones. If you need to,  sit on your hands to locate them. They should be pointing straight down. Now, imagine there are two buttons in front of your knees. Slide one seat bone forward to push the button with your knee. Then change sides.

As you start to do this, notice what the rest of your pelvis and perhaps the rest of your body does? Do you twist or tip more one way than the other? Does one hip lift as you move it? Maybe one side is just a bit “stickier” than the other? 

See if you can really focus on that and make them more equal in their movement. 

If you are struggling try some of these things to see if they help.

• Try focusing on an out breath out as you slide your “sticky” hip forward.
• Make the movement’s smaller if you have one “crazy” hip, or if you tip or tilt.
• Focus on just the pressure if you lift or drop a hip as it moves. Aim to have equal pressure on your seat bones.

If you master this at walk, try it in sitting trot and then use the same focus to try out your tricky transition and see if it helps……..