How Horseback Riders Can Fix Crookedness, Sitting Up Straight, and Back Pain
- Ashleigh
- Aug 25
- 5 min read
What "Alignment" Really Means for Equestrians.
Aka Why do I collapse one side of my rib cage, sink more weight into one stirrup, or always tilt forward no matter how many times my trainer says ‘sit up’? And what does “throwing out my back” really mean?
Even when I think of alignment, I think of the chiropractor. So I’m here to give alignment a rebrand.
If you’ve ever played Jenga, you understand alignment. At first, the tower is stacked, even, and balanced. As you remove blocks and make the tower higher, you start to decrease its stability, which makes it wobble more.
Less stability = more mobility, and less mobility = more stability. This is as true for us as for block towers.
If the Jenga tower starts to lean too much, you can add blocks to counter-weight the opposite side and balance the curve.
The Spine’s Curves: Why “Sit Up Straight” With "Shoulders Back" Doesn’t Work for Equestrians
This is what your spine curves do - you have one at your neck, one in your mid-back, one in your low back, and then a smaller one near your pelvis. These curves balance out the weight of our bodies, especially our big heads, and often come into conflict with our traditional riding cues of “Shoulders back” and “sit up straight.” These two are conflicting advice: if you pull your shoulders back, your spine curves will need to compensate, tipping you forward. If you sit up, your shoulders will come forward again.
When the Jenga tower leans too much, however, you have a collapse.
For us, this feels like a muscle spasm, “throwing out your back,” back aches/tension/stiffness, a “loss of mobility.” You feel like you need to massage, foam roll, heat/ice, take Advice, stretch, etc.
As we covered last week, back pain relief for horseback riders begins with support.
What we also need is to remember our spine curves, understand that you can’t actually go against them (no matter how many times a riding crop was shoved between your elbows behind your back), and that if you’re constantly hearing “Sit up” or “lengthen your left side” or “put more weight in X stirrup,” these aren’t actually issues you can just fix in the saddle.
They are alignment issues, both in your spine and in your muscles.
And before you think, “Well it’s just a me-problem; I can deal with it later,” remember: your horse reacts to your imbalances while also working with their own preferences/patterns! So before you invest in more things to help them, consider fixing yourself.
Fun Fact: My free EquiForm Supported Rider Assessment will show you exactly where your body is losing support and alignment. Grab it here.
For example, when your ribs collapse on one side, your horse doesn’t just feel your weight shift — they have to carry it. That’s why one circle feels balanced and the other feels like pushing uphill.”
Horseback Rider Crookedness in the Saddle
And:
Easier lead one way, struggle the other
Horse falls in on one shoulder, bulges on the other
Collapsing ribs on one side = uneven hands
More weight in one stirrup
Your aids accidentally send your horse drifting off your line
These alignment issues don’t just affect your horse: they often show up as back pain in riders, too.
If one side of your back is tighter than the other = alignment issue.
If all your pains (shoulder, back, hip, knee) are on one side = alignment issue.
If you have to massage/adjust the same areas time and again = alignment issue
If it’s an opposite hip-shoulder pairing = alignment issue.
Alignment isn’t standing like a soldier: it’s having your spine stacked so movement can travel evenly, like a pendulum swinging the same distance in both directions. It’s also retraining your muscles so that they balance.
How Misalignment Leads to Back Pain (and “Throwing Out Your Back”) for Horseback Riders
Our muscles are designed to have interactions with each other - when one stretches, another shortens. If you are always tipping or rotating to the right, chances are that your right side is stuck short...AND your left side is stuck long. If you don’t address both sides, you’re only treating half the problem.
This is why so many riders feel like they ‘throw out their back’ doing something small: the crookedness has been building underneath. Sometimes this even shows up as hip pain or sciatica - both are signs that your body has been compensating for alignment issues too long.
Every time your body tilts, twists, or collapses, your spine and muscles work harder to hold you up. That’s why what shows up as crookedness in the saddle often shows up as tension, soreness, or back pain out of the saddle.
It’s also a major contributor to back pain - when you leave these patterns to fester long enough, your body eventually sends out pain signals. If you fix the pain but not the issue, your body sends out louder signals (like a full spasm or “throwing out your back”). You might feel like it happened randomly, but it’s probably been building for a while.
Just like that Jenga tower, it’s not the last block that makes it fall. It’s the gradual weakening of the structure.
How I Help Horseback Riders Rebuild Alignment
This is where my EquiForm Supported Rider Method comes in: after Support, Alignment is always Step 2, because it’s the missing piece most riders never address.
My spine cues + motor control training are meant to feel doable, easy, and almost immediately helpful.
Instead of forcing your body straighter, we teach your spine how to move smoothly again, using small movements and breathing, of course!
We use simple spine cues (think small micro-adjustments you can feel lying on the floor) that reset how you balance your body’s weight on the ground and in the saddle.
This is exactly what we start in an Ouch to Ahhh Breakthrough Session: finding your unique patterns and resetting them with spine cues and breathing. Book your session here.
How Do Your Equitation & Back Pain Improve When You Build Alignment?
More even weight in stirrups → quieter aids
Horse stops hollowing → easier bend both ways
Circles and leads feel the same on both sides
Back pain decreases because your spine and muscles aren’t fighting compensations or old short/long patterns.
Less bracing/tension = clearer, independent aids and a quiet seat.
More balance = more confidence in the saddle
Alignment is what turns support into something your horse can actually feel. Want to know where you’re losing it? Take the free EquiForm Supported Rider Assessment or book an Ouch to Ahhh back pain blueprint session today!
Comments