The Science of Why You Ride the Way You Do — Suzanne Galdun

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What if the way you ride—your busy hands, your collapsing core, the leg that just won't stay quiet—isn't a habit you need to drill away, but a pattern your body has been building for decades?

In this episode, I sit down with rider biomechanics coach Suzanne Galdun, one of only a handful of people in the world certified at her level in Mary Wanless's Ride With Your Mind method. We get deep into the physics, anatomy, and neuroscience of how you actually sit on a horse—and why your nervous system, your fascia, and even an ankle you sprained 25 years ago are showing up in every ride.

We talk about mirror neurons and how horses feel your anxiety before you do, why "sit up straight" almost never works (and what sensory-specific language to use instead), why a horse can't be in self-carriage until the rider is, and how the patterns in your body off the horse—how you hold a steering wheel, how you walk, how you sit at your desk—follow you straight into the saddle. We also get into the stuff most riding instruction skips entirely: pain, the pelvic floor, mind-body connection, and the fact that you can rewire all of it, no matter your age.

If you've ever had a magical ride you couldn't explain or repeat, this one's for you.