Activate Your Seat

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Activate Your Seat

Activate Your Seat is a physiotherapy designed and led online exercise programme for horse riders.
(258)

05/06/2026

⁣🌟 Client Focus Friday 🌟 ⁣
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“I have been working through the level 1 Activate Your Seat exercises in the bungi and am finding this so useful.⁣
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I feel more even in the saddle, and I used to always stick out my elbows, especially the left one, but this seems to be improving as well!⁣
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The extra tips on Facebook are super helpful too.”⁣
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Pamela Fletcher, UK⁣
Facebook review ⁣
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⁣Thank you Pamela for this lovely review. Working on improving strength and control around your hips and pelvis can make such a big difference to your upper body and arm position in the saddle so I am delighted to hear you are feeling the benefits. ⁣
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🤩 There are now over 250 five star reviews on my page, thank you!!⁣
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As a very small business, your reviews, shares, comments and recommendations really do mean the world to me so thank you so much 🥰⁣
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To purchase your own bungi and access to the online exercise video head to my website www.activateyourseat.com, the link is in my bio.⁣
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Happy Friday!!⁣
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💙 Breathe better, move better, ride better⁣
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Maeve ⁣
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04/06/2026

Improve your shoulder and pelvis symmetry in the saddle by focusing on improving strength and control of your gluteus medius muscles. ⁣
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I’ve done a few posts recently about having one shoulder lower than the other in the saddle and how, in the vast majority of riders, it is caused by a hitching on the same side pelvis due to lack of control of that gluteus medius.⁣
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Gluteus medius control is so important for riders, not just in its role in moving the hip, but also in its major role in controlling the hitch up of the pelvis as we move the opposite hip.⁣
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Single leg standing and hip hitch style exercises have been shown to produce high recruitment of gluteus medius.⁣
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All the exercises in the level 1 Activate Your Seat online exercise video done against the resistance of the bungi are designed to target your gluteus medius and improve its strength, symmetry and control.⁣
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Here are some extra exercises to work on gluteus medius strength and control and improve your symmetry in the saddle. All can be done without the bungi, but the bungi adds extra resistance 🔥⁣
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1️⃣ Lateral sling - place the bungi around the inside of your thigh with good tension. Then slowly raise and lower the opposite arm and leg. This works gluteus medius on the standing leg and raising that arm stops any fixing or dropping the shoulder.⁣
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2️⃣ Hip dips - stand on one leg and slowly drop and raise that hip. This works gluteus medius on the standing leg to control the angle of the pelvis.⁣
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3️⃣ Side lunge into curtsey lunge - aim to keep the hips level throughout and don’t let the standing leg side tip up when you go into the curtsey lunge - this is HARD!! This works gluteus medius on both sides - on the lunging leg as you drop into the side lunge and on the standing leg as you control the pelvis into the curtsey lunge.⁣
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Aim for 8-12 reps on each side and 2-3 sets.⁣ If you are weaker on one side aim to do 12 reps on that side and 8 on the other.⁣
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Remember you are your own health and safety officer so start where you can and progress as able.⁣
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Do you work on gluteus medius control? ⁣
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💙 Breathe better, move bet

02/06/2026

Unlevel shoulders?⁣
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Check your pelvis! ⁣
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A dropped shoulder is a common theme I see at all levels of riders; from beginner, up to Grand Prix dressage riders. At the highest dressage levels it can be more noticeable as the movements get harder, especially with flying changes.⁣
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For those riders, improving this could improve the symmetry and timing of their flying changes. And for the rest of us mere mortals, improving this could improve our canter transitions and our symmetry on each rein.⁣
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But what do we target to improve this?⁣
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In all the riders in the photos shown you can see a dropped shoulder. Also in all of them note that their pelvis on the same side is hitched up. This happens because the gluteus medius muscle on that side is struggling to control the level of the pelvis.⁣
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When we stand our weight is balanced over both feet. However when we take a step and lift one foot up our weight is no longer balanced. This should cause the pelvis on our swinging leg side to drop down to the side, BUT the gluteus medius on our opposite leg (the standing leg) contracts and, because that leg is fixed, the muscle contraction pulls that side of our pelvis down, thereby keeping the swinging leg side of our pelvis up and keeping our pelvis level.⁣
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So if we translate that function to the saddle, if we are trying to move our outside leg to apply a leg aid, that side gluteus medius will contract to move our thigh back whilst our inside gluteus medius will contract to pull that side of our pelvis down and keep our pelvis level. If we lack control of that inside leg gluteus medius then our pelvis will tip up on the inside, collapse down to the outside, and the inside shoulder will clamp down to try to keep us balanced and stop us falling off. ⁣
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So rather than working on the rider’s upper body to improve this issue, targeting gluteus medius control will help get to the root of the issue. ⁣This is why in the Activate Your Seat exercise programme, done against the resistance of the bungi, every exercise is designed to improve the control and symmetry of the pelvis and hips.⁣
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How is your shoulder position?⁣
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💙 Breathe better, move better, ride better⁣
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Maeve ⁣

01/06/2026

May photo dump⁣
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What a month!!⁣
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Road trip to Badminton with Heroberrry
Monday evening warm up with
Dressage morning⁣
Course walk with
Pep talk with
Bungi warm up in the trailer⁣
Limbering up for showjumping ⁣
Showjumping at Badminton ⁣
Fence 3 on cross country⁣
Galloping in front of Badminton House⁣
Sailing round the cross country⁣
5* course walk with
Helicopters arriving over our campsite⁣
Through the arch to the Badminton 5* stables ⁣
Edinburgh sunsets⁣
My morning patients at West Lothian RDA⁣
Pronto King of the world ⁣
Spaniel walking in warm weather⁣
Showjumping this weekend⁣
Pronto trying to steal Niall’s chips ⁣
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Last of my Badminton spam for a while, maybe…..⁣
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29/05/2026

⁣🌟 Client Focus Friday 🌟 ⁣
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“I have used the bungi for about four months and I’m so amazed how much it helps to improve my seat.⁣
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I have an Icelandic horse who’s sensitive to the rider’s balance and within three weeks of using the bungi I noticed a huge difference with his gaits. Now we can keep tolt longer and more steady in different speeds much better than before. ⁣
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We are a way more happy and confident team now that I’m also working on myself a bit more!”⁣
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Stephanie Sidenmark, Sweden⁣
Facebook review⁣
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This is a fantastic review, thank you! It is brilliant to hear you are feeling such benefits in the saddle already, and that your horse is noticing the benefits! ⁣
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🤩 There are now over 250 five star reviews on my page, thank you!!⁣
⁣
⁣
As a very small business, your reviews, shares, comments and recommendations really do mean the world to me so thank you so much 🥰⁣
⁣
⁣
To purchase your own bungi and access to the online exercise video head to my website www.activateyourseat.com, the link is in my bio.⁣
⁣
⁣
Happy Friday!!⁣
⁣
⁣
💙 Breathe better, move better, ride better⁣
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Maeve ⁣
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27/05/2026

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - your pelvis needs to MOVE when you are in the saddle.⁣
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True “neutral pelvis” is a snapshot in time - it refers to when two bony points on your pelvis line up on the horizontal plane. So when you can draw a straight line on the horizontal between your posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) and your anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). And it doesn’t take into account the normal variations in pelvis and hip anatomy of individuals…⁣ ⁣
(See Monday’s post for more info.)⁣
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When we are walking, our pelvis moves through all three planes of movement: forward and back, side to side, and rotation. During riding when the horse moves under us, our pelvis needs to move through all three planes of movement as well. The type and speed of the horse’s gait, as well as the individual anatomy of our pelvis, will influence the exact pelvic biomechanics during riding.⁣
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You don’t want your pelvis to be tipped into anterior or posterior tilt, but neither do you want it to be fixed in a neutral position. All of these positions mean you can’t move your pelvis and hips fully, you can’t access your diaphragm effectively, and you can’t rotate your thoracic spine easily. And that means you can’t move with your horse and you will limit his movement. ⁣
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So yes, ideally you want to start in a “neutral pelvis” position - but you need to be able to move through range, and have control of that range. You need to be able to access anterior and posterior tilt, and control when you need them. Yesterday I posted a test you can use to assess your pelvis movement, control, and symmetry. ⁣
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In order to allow that pelvis movement you need suppleness, control, and endurance through your psoas and gluteals. This allows you to move with your horse and absorb his movement.⁣
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That’s why I designed the Activate Your Seat exercise programme against the resistance of the bungi. All the exercises target psoas and gluteals through range in all three planes of movement, improving symmetry, strength, suppleness, and balance in the saddle.⁣
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💙 Breathe better, move better, ride better⁣
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Maeve⁣

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Edinburgh

Website

http://www.activateyourseat.com/

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