The Advantages the HUMANTOOL Saddle Offers for Equestrians:
The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair strengthens the central body's muscular support required by equestrians:
· All saddles used in riding (basic, show jumping and light saddles) require strong muscular support in the center of the body. If this central muscular support is insufficient the equestrian will have to deploy inappropriate muscles to compensate for the lack of support. In this case, the sitting posture will be inflexible and strained.
· Basic condition for the equestrian's safe sitting is strong muscles in the center of the body. Top equestrians seem to Softly follow their horses' movements. This can only be achieved if the central body's muscular support is effective enough and at the same time the equestrian uses the right breathing technique.
· One of the most challenging tasks in horseback riding is a so-called "good hand", which requires flexible sitting that adapts to the horse's movements. Without sufficient strength in the center of the body this is not possible. Leading the horse inflexibly causes pelvic rigidity and thus a reduced motion quality.
· Additionally, the precise chronological definition of the tools used by the equestrian requires a sitting posture that follows the horse's movements. This can only be achieved by sufficiently strong muscles in the center of the body.
The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair guides the pelvis in the correct position.
· Another significant factor for equestrian sitting postures is the correct position of the pelvis. The position of the bones deployed in sitting has to be adjusted to the Saddle in such a manner the spine is in a neutral position. If this is the case further movements made by the horse can also be followed.
The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair can serve as training against physical asymmetry.
· Frequently, slanted sitting postures are caused by various factors. One reason might be physical asymmetry which causes the equestrian's slanted sitting posture. This, in return, affects the horse's “lateral balance”. The problem is easily solved by using the HUMANTOOL-Seat.
The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair re info rces the center of your body while you are sitting!
· The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair is like a Saddle on a chair. Moreover, it constantly trains your body all the time.
· The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair can be used on nearly all kinds of office chairs.
· The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair won't affect your professional activities.
· You can take the HUMANTOOL Saddle chair wherever you go to sit down.
The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair ensures a sound back.
· While you are using the seat, even minute movements will promote the back structure's blood and lymphocytes circulation.
· Experts recommend using this seat to prevent and treat backache.
· It is also supportive for patients suffering from neck and shoulder pain.
The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair is also suitable to support other sports that require a powerful and controlled center of the body – such as golfing, martial arts, skiing, downhill skiing or dancing.
In Finland, equestrian trainer Kimmo Sulkala and CR sitting trainer Gunilla "Mini" Wahlberg recommend the HUMANTOOL Saddle chair for all equestrians.
Making deep supporting muscles work by horseback riding:
Vital is the pelvic posture which enables us to keep in line with the rhythm of the horse's movements.
In order to maintain an effective pelvic posture we have to activate the deep supporting muscles in the right sequence.
Equestrian Pilates showed me how to activate the deep supporting muscles in the breathing rhythm's correct sequence, starting at the bottom: 1 st the pelvic base muscles, 2 nd the central body muscles and finally 3 rd the shoulder blade muscles which are so essential for equestrians .
In this context it is indeed supportive to attend Pilates training lessons, in which the muscles are activated even without horse.
For my personal use in between the lesson days, I developed an exercise with HUMANTOOL Saddle chair, which aims at Reinforcing pelvic mobility while the deep supporting muscles are activated: I activate the supporting muscles in relation to my breathing and then use my hands to swing the HUMANTOOL-Seat. It would be even more effective if another person swung the seat. In no posture the deep muscle support may be lost. Regarding my own sitting posture, this is one of the aspects that require the most training.
Feet and buttocks easily a problem:
Turning the feet to a so-called "internal rotation" has a debilitating effect on maintaining the pelvic positioning. We should thus strive to keep our feet in external rotation. In other words: compressing the knees results in the feet's internal rotation. The buttocks should remain relaxed even if we use our feet in external rotation. Likewise, the feet may simply be released while keeping the gluteal muscles tensed up. However, now the muscles at the back of the thighs are activated. The HUMANTOOL Saddle chair helps our muscular memory to gradually remember this supportive posture.
At least:
A vivacious, healthy, well-balanced and team-minded horse is really a pleasure to ride. However, the more difficult it is for a horse to keep its own movements in balance, the more difficult it gets to train elements of our own sitting posture.
A good sitting posture provides the horse with a better sense of balance while a horse moving in good balance helps its rider to find a better sitting posture. 
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Posture and balance help you to feel your horse's movements a lot better!
Finnish Mintti Käkelä (ex Rautioaho) is a professional trainer for equestrian sports. In her blog she writes: "I discovered the most original property in the Humantool Saddle chair and one more reason why I recommend it to all equestrians (and anybody else just as well)!" I'm even more convinced than I used to be (to the extent this is possible).
I profoundly familiarized myself with the latest research findings on dynamic sitting and now start to understand myself. I always wondered at two things regarding myself: how can it be I feel the horse's movements so intensively in my back after not riding for a long time? And the second strange question: how come I stay easier on the snowboard than ever before after having refrained from it for about five years?
The answer is I was sitting on the Humantool Saddle chair! While I was sitting, I improved my body's sense for motion and posture and at the same time destabilized my balance. This enhanced my physical feeling and control. Our sense of motion and posture improves if it is being trained. And how could this be achieved easier than while you are sitting for desk work, surfing the web or the like?
The reason why the Humantool Saddle chair initially convinced me is that my permanent back troubles improved. The Humantool Saddle chair made out the weak link in my deep supporting muscles, activated and reinforced it. That's why I started recommending this seat to others.
In particular equestrians should mind their own sitting posture and keep their deep supporting muscles activated by motion even if they sit for longer periods. The body's well-being also improves the horse's well-being as sitting and the use of tools go hand in hand!
I'm particularly concerned about the sitting ergonomics of children and adolescents. The back troubles and bad postures experienced in early years will easily follow you all your life if they are not being fought. Adults can do their part by encouraging children and adolescents to physical activities in order to leave computers and other sedentary activities! Rigidly sitting all day cripples adolescents! For short, we may sit in bad postures. However, if this is a permanent state we don't have to wonder how even children suffer from the problems specified above.
Remember to use your Humantools – even the gee-gee will thank you!
The editor: Mintti Käkelä (ex. Rautioaho) , Finland
Mintti Käkelä and Kimmo Sulkala
T he Concept of Centered Riding
The Humantool Saddle chair supports the concept of "Centered Riding". In the first place, Sally Swift wrote books translated into various languages on this topic. The concept of Centered Riding smartly explains Classical riding methods by using physical control, feeling, the center of the body and imagination. The CR ideology can be applied in all riding styles and with just about any equipment. CR is based on a sense for the anatomies of man and horse, on balance, movement mechanisms, Gravity and the question of how thinking affects the body and how these two factors work on the horse.