SUMMARYThe first and most basic skill a rider needs to learn is how to sit correctly in the saddle. This decides whether or not the rider will be able to follow the horse?s movements and use her riding aids in an efficient way. This correct seat is based on a straight line between the axis of the hip and heel. The seat must rest against the saddle with equal weight on both buttocks and the inside of the thighs.

In all equestrian sports except for individual voltige, men and women compete on equal terms, which otherwise is very rare in sports. This study examines from a gender perspective how female and male riders are reffered to by expert commentators in competitions. The aim is to see if there are differences in how the riders are depicted and mentioned based on gender. The material consists of comments about eight rides, four performed by female riders and four by male riders, from two large international world cup competitions in dressage, broadcasted on SVT in 2012 and 2013. The material has been transcribed and then analyzed using content analytic method with a quantitative and a qualitative part.

Att rida ut i naturen på sin häst är ett sätt att uppleva landskapet men det är också motion och rekreation. Målet med uppsatsen är att studera och beskriva det nuvarande intresset och arbetet på lokal, och även till viss del regional nivå, med att förbättra tillgängligheten för ryttare i utvalda delar av Skåne som består av intensivt brukad jordbruksmark. I de utvalda områdena finns det en problematik med ett ökat antal ryttare och hästar och få möjligheter att röra sig i landskapet. Uppsatsen undersöker hur tre kommuners processer, med tyngdpunkt på Ängelholms kommun, ser ut för att öka tillgängligheten för ryttare. Genom intervjuer med personer som är aktiva i ett ridslingeprojekt i Ängelholms kommun och erfarenheter från de andra kommunernas representanter skapas en bild av hur arbetet ser ut.

SUMMARYThere was no previous study in what high level dressage riders had for ideas of how to best prepare for their training sessions with an instructor. Neither any study of how high level dressage riders seemed to be more or less susceptible to the instructions from their instructor during their training sessions. If the sport had more knowledge about this, it might result in more riders on a higher level. The purpose of this study was to find out how high level dressage riders are preparing themselves for the best result for an instructor led training session and how they could bring as much as possible instructions from the coach. The two questions of the study were: How are high level dressage riders preparing themselves for a training session with an instructor, practically and mentally, and how can they affect their susceptibility to instructions?The study was carried out both by reviewing existing literature and studies in general education and pedagogy in the riding education, and by a qualitative interview study of six dressage riders who rode on a difficult level at the competitions, during the year of 2009.

The aim of this study was to determine the basic movements of the riders? pelvis and upper body when riding in trot seated. The study was preformed at a treadmill with seven high level dressage horses and their riders. The movements of the horse and rider were captured with a motion analysis system (ProReflex®) and also recorded on video. The horses were ridden in collected trot, 3.0 m/s.

The horse has been domesticated for several thousand years. It has gone from being used primarily for food and transportation, to become one of the most popular pets in Sweden. With over 150,000 practitioners, horseback riding is one of the biggest sports in Sweden and there is a variety of specializations to choose from. One orientation is western riding which is a broad sport with several disciplines where most originate in cattle work and other ranch tasks. Western riding is a growing sport in Sweden with an increasing number of practitioners and with many different organizations and associations, it is important that the correct knowledge of the equipment used is disseminated. Artificial aids are available in a variety of designs and the most common variants used by western riders in Sweden is draw reins or some forms of martingale.

Individer som utövar någon typ av sport utsätter sig för både psykiskt och fysisk påfrestning. Denna påfrestning kan vara något som stressar individen och måste därför hanteras och bemästras på något sätt.  Syftet med studien var att undersöka vad som motiverar hobby- respektive professionella ryttare, finns det någon skillnad i upplevelsen av motgångar i sin sport mellan hobbyryttare och professionella tävlingsryttare, och om grupperna har olika sätt att bemästra motgångar. Deltagarna var 11 kvinnor, fem professionella ryttare och sex hobbyryttare. Analysen gjordes genom meningskoncentrering, där olika teman utformades efter studiens frågeställningar.

The purpose of this project was to invite a changed perception of active sitting, to introduce a more active way of sitting in office environments and destigmatize an active sitting posture such as straddling by giving active sitting products conscious aesthetics based on environment and positive associations. The goal with this project was an active sitting product for office environments with aesthetics considered encouraging to movement in a relaxed way, regardless of age and gender, and connect to materials and aesthetics related to activity, experience and recreation. Horseback riding, retro style surfing and skateboarding was an entry of investigation. The project was based on existing active sitting products, their function and production techniques. It was not a part of the project to investigate new models of sitting.

The horses? natural behaviour is easier to satisfy in a loose-housing system than housed in a traditional box. Law?s and science suggest that we should house horses in loose-housing, which improve the horse possibility to perform natural behaviours, to interact socially with other horses and to have more possibility to movement. It?s more timesaving in a working population aspect and a economic gain in materials. We noticed that it?s different opinions about what people in the horse society thinks about having youngsters housed in a loose-housing system.

Dressage schooling is not a subject that rests on science, it is a matter of dependable experience. So far there hasn?t been so much research about it, but more and more is done. Especially the interaction between rider and horse is a nearly uninvestigated field. Riding skills is much about having the right position, and having the horses head and neck in different positions, but there are no research done that support or deny that this old ?knowledge? is for the best for the horse. This study was performed to evaluate if the head and neck position of the horse, and the velocity, has any influence on the position of the rider.

The interest in horses and equestrian sport is constantly increasing, and so is the will in both riders and trainers to learn more about the effect the rider and its equipment have on the horse. The last twenty years, more and more studies have been performed were the horse and its kinematics have been in focus. The access to more advanced technology has made it possible to study areas, which earlier have been hard to reach. The knowledge about kinematics in the horse, and how riders and their equipment interact with the horse?s movement, is also of great interest to veterinarians in equine practice.

This essay derives from the concern that horses ridden with a bit in their mouth can be subjected to strong pressure from the bit if the horse and rider do not understand each other. The horse's mucosa membrane and the tongue are very sensitive tissues (Cook, 1999; Manfredi, 2005; Oliveira, 2005; Terada, 2006) and the bit can then be a source of pain and discomfort. The training of the horse should therefore always be a step by step process and as the horse develops difficulties are increased. Oliveira (2005) suggested that high demands can be placed on the horse but to be successful in the training it is essential to be content with small progress and reward the slightest desired response from the horse. This corresponds with the principles of operant conditioning with negative reinforcement.

Syftet med studien var att explorativt undersöka vilken betydelse hästen har för brittiska soldater och veteraner som varit ute i krig och återvänt med någon form av ohälsa. Studiens frågeställningar var: Hur används hästen på Horseback UK  som en del i tillfrisknandet för brittiska soldater och veteraner som varit ute i krig? Hur beskriver brittiska soldater och veteraner som varit ute i krig hästens betydelse för livskvalitén? För att besvara frågeställningarna tillämpades en metod som bestod av kvalitativa intervjuer. Intervjuerna utfördes på Horseback UK i Skottland som är en välgörenhetsorganisation, skapad för att ge en trygg och säker miljö. De arbetar med hjälp av hästar för att hjälpa de som tjänstgör eller tjänstgjort i den brittiska armén och kommit tillbaka med någon form fysisk eller psykisk ohälsa.

Syftet med studien var att explorativt undersöka vilken betydelse hästen har för brittiska soldater och veteraner som varit ute i krig och återvänt med någon form av ohälsa. Studiens frågeställningar var: Hur används hästen på Horseback UK  som en del i tillfrisknandet för brittiska soldater och veteraner som varit ute i krig? Hur beskriver brittiska soldater och veteraner som varit ute i krig hästens betydelse för livskvalitén? För att besvara frågeställningarna tillämpades en metod som bestod av kvalitativa intervjuer. Intervjuerna utfördes på Horseback UK i Skottland som är en välgörenhetsorganisation, skapad för att ge en trygg och säker miljö. De arbetar med hjälp av hästar för att hjälpa de som tjänstgör eller tjänstgjort i den brittiska armén och kommit tillbaka med någon form fysisk eller psykisk ohälsa.

A large part of the interactions between horse and rider during horseback riding takes place through the reins and the bit and devices for measuring the tension on the reins, rein tension meters, has fairly recently been developed. To safeguard the welfare of the ridden horse riders need to be aware of the rein tension they apply and actively work to decrease it. Furthermore, there is a need to develop the study of rein tension through new techniques and refined analysis procedures. A good-quality rein tension meter should be small in size, sensitive, durable and as accurate for light rein tension as for strong forces. Rein tension meters used in research on horse and rider interaction commonly depend on strain gauge technique for generating rein tension data.