- Raise the chair (using either the hand or foot control) so that your legs hang in the air.
- Let your hips stretch and your legs hang loose for a minute or so.
- Lower the chair gently with the height adjuster until your heels are well on the floor. Your upper legs should settle at an angle of 45 degrees from the horizontal and your heels should come to rest almost beneath your hip joints.
- Relax your back and abdominal muscles. Your spinal posture should remain comfortably upright even with relaxed muscles. If your posture collapses and your back gets round, either your feet are too far in front of your body or the seat is too low.
If the saddle is has a cantle (the hind part of the saddle is curved upward), you can usually sit lower and place your feet further in front of you than in a saddle seat without a cantle. This is useful for people that need a more secure fit because of weakness or poor muscle control, and is also more comfortable for people with stiff hip joints (e.g., arthritis). (See the Bambach Saddle Seat.)