Modern stressors can create hidden tension that disrupts our muscle balance and connection with our horses. Sometimes even when we think we’re relaxed, chronic patterns can linger. The good news, however, is that by learning how to release stiffness and hit the reset button, you can restore harmony for a calmer, more balanced ride.

Last week, we revisited our original article on sitting tall in the saddle without working against your own body that proved helpful for many riders. Since it’s become a favorite in the Dressage Today community and generated so many additional questions, we wanted to offer further insights and practical tips on this evergreen and crucially important subject.

To ride smoothly, engage your horse from behind to front and promote self-carriage, we must follow with our seat, never blocking the flow of energy from back to front, creating the circle of aids in a flowing, wave-like movement. One of the easiest ways to do this is to improve pelvic mobility; and in doing that your flexors and extensors automatically work in harmony. ©Sandy Rabinowitz

Here, we take a deeper look at how to ride fluidly, reduce tension and connect with your horse through your body, with specific interest in recalibrating two specific muscle groups.

Flexors and Extensors in Harmony and the Trap of Co-Contraction

To ride fluidly is to move with your horse, not against him. A supple seat, balanced spine and a quietly following pelvis depend on how well your body organizes movement. At the center of this organization are two major muscle groups: flexors and extensors.

Flexors: Muscles That Fold the Spine

Not to be confused with the riding term flexion, flexors are muscles that decrease the angle at a joint. In other words, they bring body parts closer together. In the rider’s body, this includes the hip flexors, the abdominal muscles and the muscles that fold or round the spine (they’re also found in many other places like knees, ankles, etc).

Young riders at a Dave Thind Method clinic in Norway learn about the flexors and how to allow their backs to round and fold. Courtesy Dave Thind

For simplicity, when we talk about flexors and extensors in riding, we’re focusing on the muscles that flex and extend the spine and hips. These movements most directly shape a rider’s seat and ability to follow the horse. When flexors are free and responsive, your pelvis can roll, your spine can soften and your seat can match your horse’s movement with ease.

Spinal flexion is simply the opposite of extension. It means:

  • Allowing the back to round, fold or curl. The back profile of the spine passively lengthens while the front shortens. 
  • Usually, softening rather than stiffening. A nervous person however will manage this posture with tension. 

Extensors: Muscles that Lengthen and Support

These include the muscles along the back, hips and legs. They are often called the body’s “anti-gravity” muscles because they help us stay upright, organize our posture and absorb movement. For this article, we will focus on the back. When extensors work with elasticity rather than rigidity, they provide length and support without blocking the flow of the horse’s motion.

The goal is an elastic interplay between our flexors and extensors, the way nature intended. This flowing interplay often gets interrupted by injury, trauma or simply a faulty learned pattern. 

Creating Harmony Between the Flexors and Extensors

To ride smoothly, your flexors and extensors must work in harmony. When these muscle groups are not in ideal balance, your body can get stuck in a fight-or-flight state that creates tension in the pelvis, spine and surrounding musculature. Chronic tension reduces your ability to follow your horse and affects posture, breathing, eye focus, jaw tension, mood and even sleep. Many riders unknowingly carry this tension into the saddle.

As demonstrated by riders at the Spanish Riding School, when you stretch upward, open your chest, release your flexors and engage your back, the body naturally supports confidence, calmness and balance rather than fear or stiffness. ©Amy K. Dragoo

A supple, following seat is created when flexors and extensors work in gentle, alternating harmony. Remember: Flexors soften; extensors lengthen. Flexors fold; extensors organize. While trying to achieve this harmony, riders must remain long in the spine to invite the horse’s back up into an empathetic and correct seat.

With the flexors and extensors working as they should, they create a lively, adaptable rider who can absorb movement effortlessly. But when these two groups fire at the same time—a very common pattern called co-contraction, the body stiffens. The pelvis locks, the spine stops moving and communication with your horse becomes blurred. As a result, he may react, guard or become stiff.

Are You Overusing the Wrong Muscles?

Many riders work harder than they need to—not smarter. Other than flexors and extensors that are for smooth mobility, the body uses many other muscles and understanding them helps riders avoid common traps.

Stationary stabilizers: These are deep muscles designed to hold the joint in place, not move it. Many riders unknowingly over-recruit these when they try to sit “still,” brace for balance or attempt to be correct. When stabilizers grip too hard, the pelvis stops moving, the back becomes rigid and the rider loses the ability to follow the horse’s gait. Studies show that increased stabilizer tension directly reduces pelvic mobility and following ability.

Signs you’re overusing your stabilizers:

  • Your seat feels “stuck” instead of flowing
  • Your pelvis barely moves at the walk or trot
  • You feel stable, but not elastic
  • Your lower back is sore after riding
  • Your horse feels tight, short or behind the leg
Even young riders sometime need a flexor/extensor reset into a more symmetrical, better aligned and joyful posture. Here we see the results in a single session, with this FEI Junior rider from Florida. Courtesy Dave Thind

Deep core muscles: These corset muscles are meant to provide gentle support, not forceful bracing. When riders pull in the core—or “brace the belly” to feel secure—the spine and ribs lose their natural movement. Too much core tension diminishes shock absorption and increases stiffness, something research also confirms.

Instead, think about maintaining a soft belly, long back and breathing ribs to allow movement to travel through you rather than bracing against it.

Signs you’re overusing your deep core muscles:

  • You’re holding your stomach in
  • You can’t breathe deeply while riding
  • Your ribs feel fixed instead of springy
  • Posting feels effortful instead of buoyant
  • Your upper body locks during transitions

Rotators and side-benders: These muscles twist or tilt the body. They’re essential for posture and steering, but not for the primary motion of following the horse. Overusing them, however, can create asymmetry, gripping or collapsing through one side of the body.

Your Goal: Effortless Harmony

When flexors and extensors are in balance, and the stabilizers and deep core work quietly in the background, the rider’s seat becomes:

  • Soft yet supported
  • Stable yet elastic
  • Organized yet free
  • Deeply connected to the horse

This harmony is what allows riders to move with their horses as one—light, fluid and completely in sync.

I appreciate this idea from Moshe Feldenkrais: “The emotion cannot exist without the coinciding posture.” In other words, posture can shape emotion. When you stretch upward, open your chest, release your flexors and engage your back, the body naturally supports confidence, calmness and balance rather than fear or stiffness.

During a Dave Thind Method clinic in Canada, riders learn how posture helps shape emotion as they practice their “power pose.” Courtesy Dave Thind

This is similar to a “power pose” people might rehearse before a job interview or public speaking event. Practicing an upright, open and supported posture signals the nervous system to be capable and ready. For riders, the same principle applies—engaging your back and opening through the chest primes the body and mind to be calm, confident and present for the horse.

Why This Matters More Than You Might Think

Riders spend years chasing improvements—hours of drilling exercises, training, making tweaks and corrections. But they never discover the often elusive, but fundamental principle that affects every ride: Your ability to engage your horse from behind to front, maintain collection and create a partnership that is joyful rather than tense.

When your flexors and extensors work in harmony, your spine swings freely and your gaze guides your movement, you can unlock a capacity in yourself and your horse that transforms every ride, behavior and connection. It’s important to understand that this is science, not opinion, and can separate frustration from real, lasting progress.

Many instructors, seat or biomechanics specialists and equestrian fitness experts mean well, but without a precise understanding of anatomy, neurology and how horse and rider interact, even well-intentioned advice can lead riders into subtle habits that limit follow, collection or harmony.

There is one fundamental principle that affects every ride: Your ability to engage your horse from behind to front, promote self-carriage and create a tension-free partnership that is joyful. Dave Thind is pictured here with Frisco on the North Sea. © Olav Liknes

Over decades of studying and teaching equestrian biomechanics, I have observed countless riders and horses, continually learning to stay at the forefront of what truly works. Sure, I have opinions and preferences, but what matters most is what helps each horse and rider perform and feel their best.

There are many roads that lead to Rome; I respect all approaches and have no judgment, yet I differentiate based on what is supported by clear anatomy, neurology and evolutionary principles, and by what horses and riders respond to on a deep, instinctive level. These insights reflect what I’ve seen repeatedly create freedom, connection and responsiveness.

Free Yourself from Chronic Pain for New Possibilities

Pain patterns—backaches, neck tension, hip stiffness and even shoulder or jaw discomfort—are often linked to imbalances in flexors and extensors. When these muscles aren’t working in harmony, the body compensates with tension, rigidity and chronic discomfort that can make even your best riding days feel out of reach.

When your muscles aren’t working in harmony, the body compensates with tension, rigidity and chronic discomfort. Here, Dave Thind works with U.S. dressage team rider Charlotte Jorst. Courtesy Dave Thind

Former FEI dressage rider Marian Nilsen experienced this later in life riding as an amateur. “I’m not sure at what point my body started feeling like the best days of my riding were behind me,” she said. “My mind tried to accept this. My heart could not.” After working with her, she’s now riding pain-free and is continuing to improve with age.

Recalibrating flexors and extensors is not just about posture. It changes how your whole body moves, restoring freedom, reducing pain and allowing your nervous system to operate calmly and efficiently. The results can be profound: pain disappears, mobility returns and riding becomes effortless and joyful again.

After recognizing that her muscles weren’t working in harmony in the saddle, former FEI dressage rider Marian Nilsen worked with Dave Thind to reduce tension and chronic discomfort she was experiencing. Courtesy Marian Nilsen

After two spinal-fusion surgeries, dressage rider Erin Peterson suffered nerve damage on the left side of her torso, but is now feeling sensation again. “This has opened a tremendous opportunity to ride again and be pain-free,” she said. “After working through the first three modules, I’m feeling again and have the ability to let go while riding.”

Learn More:

Here, Dave Thind explains further about flexors and extensors:

About Dave Thind

Dave Thind ©Carol Hill

Born in Canada and trained in Germany, Dave Thind makes his home in Walpole, Massachusetts, as owner of Aspire Farm since 2013. Thind has himself competed at the Grand Prix level in dressage and jumping. He is a noted equestrian biomechanics authority, with several published articles and appearances as an expert guest or lecturer to his credit. He received his German ‘Trainer A’ license in 2007 with a nearly perfect score awarded to him from the German National Federation. He holds an International Trainer Passport Level III and is an Authorized Teacher of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement. 

You can learn more about the Dave Thind Method here.

Your Transformation: Ride with Freedom, Move with Confidence

Tired of hearing the same feedback from your trainer: “Relax your hips,” “soften your shoulders,” or “stop gripping, sit in the middle,” yet nothing seems to change? You might even feel it in your horse—the bracing, the tension, the effort that doesn’t translate into harmony. Perhaps something hurts, or maybe it’s stiffness, old injuries, or habits you thought couldn’t change.

The good news is that you can change. By working with your nervous system, not against it, you can replace old patterns with new, more fluid, and efficient movement. The Feldenkrais Method® reminds us that nothing is permanent about our behavior patterns except our belief that they are. Through mindful movement and awareness, you can ride with freedom, confidence, and a horse that moves with you effortlessly.

For Dressage Today readers, the Dave Thind Method is offering three ways to start this transformation at an exclusive discount. A head start to this year’s Black Friday deals!:

These promo codes are valid until November 30, 2025, giving you the opportunity to take the next step toward a freer seat, a calmer mind and a happier horse. There’s no better time to begin your journey to effortless, connected riding.