Awareness of the outside world. Studio Legenda: Catropolis Metro.
~~~
Now that I’ve had a few lesson in each discipline.
Chilling with Razzy. [So This Happened]
Things I Have To Remember Each Time I
Where exactly do my pinkies go?
Hunt seat. Pinkies out. Rein runs between third & fourth fingers. Better grip with a finger on each side.
Saddle seat. Pinkies in. Rein runs around all four fingers. I assume because that is where the snaffle goes with a show bridle.
Things I Have To Remember Each Time II
Aids for canter depart.
Hunt seat. INSIDE rein, outside leg.
Saddle seat. OUTSIDE rein, outside leg.
This was particularly amusing when I had a saddle seat show on Saturday and a hunt seat lesson on Sunday. Wait, what?
Fortunately only the rein changes. The leg stays the same. If I had to change leg as well, I would get hopelessly lost. In contrast to the temporarily lost I get now.
Difference
Lesson duration
Hunt seat. Longer. More casual, more breaks, see photo. Partly an artifact of the group lesson format when you take turns jumping. More strolling.
Saddle seat. Shorter. Does not take breaks. Go in. Ride. Get ‘er done. Go home. Saddlebreds enter the show ring at a trot. They do not stroll.
My saddle seat lessons are much, much shorter than my hunt seat lessons. The dollar per minute rate works out about the same. Despite the time difference, my exhaustion level is higher after a saddle seat lesson. Go figure.
Combining Knowledge
Using my lower leg.
Now that I get to use my lower leg (finally!), I am dredging up all the bad habits. Put leg on horse. No, not that way. It is temptingly easier to roll the leg outwards and use the quads to pull the leg in – think plié – instead of keeping everything facing forward and use abductors to draw the leg sideways into the horse.
Noticed this from photos after a lesson. Score one for riding media.
The fix is to keep the legs loose and facing front. The discovery is what I think of as a double hinge. The tendency is to simply use the lower leg in isolation. Instead, it works much better to lead with the upper leg and then swing the lower leg on. Thirteen years of using only my upper leg has improved my lower leg. Imagine that.
Previous posts
[Dissecting My Position, see Nooooo remarks]
[Compare & Contrast Between Disciplines]
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
No matter how often I see you riding saddle seat, today’s photo is always the first image that comes to mind. Being able to shift that mindset, let alone body-set, is quite an achievement.
Excellent comparison. Eons ago I exercised h-js (thoroughbreds) so that I could ride horses, not have to pay, and the benefit to the horses — they got exercise, and the owners (who were pregnant and couldn’t ride) had peace of mind that their horses were getting exercise, staying in shape. These experiences made me re-do my legs, hands, etc., as you describe, and once I was able to return to SS full-time, I had to re-learn a lot all over again. It’s been a challenge. But, honestly, saddle seat is still my fav. and SSB’s are too. However, I can’t imagine riding both styles in a weekend. That’s a real challenge. Congrats!