From: Victoria
Dear Jessica,
I wanted to start off by saying that I'm a relatively new member of the Horse Sense group, and that I'm thrilled to see such a wonderful group of people coming together to share their concerns about their equine partners. I especially enjoy the care you take in responding so thoughtfully to each question, and the insights they provide. Thank you in advance for providing this opportunity for all of us to share.
I am just getting back into riding after a 10 year absence.
I have just purchased a 7 year old Anglo-Trakehner gelding who I hope can
be my hunter/jumper and perhaps in the near future, a dressage partner.
I have had
riding lessons in the past from the time I was about 7 years old,
and continued to do so until I was about 19. I am working with
a wonderful trainer/coach who will be helping us every step of the way.
My difficulties
arise from my lower legs being *very* out of shape for riding, although
I realize that the more riding I do, the stronger they will become.
My balance is alright, however I find that my lower legs are quite ineffective
and I have this absolutely *awful* habit of turning my toes out
making it appear that I have "wings" in my stirrups. I think I'm
doing this to compensate for the lack of strength in my lower leg and seat,
and I am
hoping that it will improve as I do. My trainer helps me by
placing my lower leg and foot in the appropriate position however for the
life of me I am finding it extremely difficult to maintain this position.
As soon as my
horse gains any impulsion my lower leg flops around and my toes
stick back out. I find this particularly difficult at the posting
trot, this is when I notice that my legs and feet are at their worst. Can
you suggest some exercises that I can do when I'm not riding as well as
some pointers that can help me while riding to help me with this problem?
Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Jessica and take care :-)
Warmest Regards,
Victoria and Flair
Don't worry, this problem isn't unique to you or even to "rusty" riders.
It's very common, and fortunately it's also very easy to fix.
Time and mileage solve a lot of problems. So do off-the-horse exercises aimed at developing leg strength and stretch. Walking is great -- and cheap, and usually convenient. Bicycling is also good; so is skiing.
First, determine whether you truly NEED to change your leg position, or whether just getting stronger and steadier will do the trick. Here's how to tell whether you need to make a change: ask yourself what parts of your leg are in contact with the saddle. As long as your inner thigh, inner knee, and inner calf are resting against the saddle, your feet will not be in a horrible position. They may not be rigorously parallel to your horse's sides, but truly, very few riders are built in such a way to make that particular position natural!
Why do instructors fuss about feet turning out? There IS a reason! The objection to feet sticking out away from the horse isn't really to do with the feet as such, but is a reflection of the fact that a rider who rolls the back of her leg onto the saddle, taking the inner thigh, knee, and calf OFF the saddle and horse, will invariably find her toes pointing away from the horse's sides.
So look at the part of your legs that rest against the horse, and that will help you determine whether you need to change your leg position.
Since you can't spend your entire ride looking down at your legs, here's another way to check on your riding, even if you have no mirror and no instructor to tell you what you're doing. Before each ride, clean your boots. After each ride, LOOK at your boots! They will have picked up some sweat and dirt from your horse's sides -- WHERE IS THE DIRT? If it's on the inside of the calf, hurrah, your legs are in a lovely position. If the dirt is partly on the inside of the calf and partly on the back seam of the boot, you are turning your legs out and using part of the back of your leg against the horse -- and you'll need to make an adjustment. If the back seam of your boot is in the middle of the dirt patch..... well, you're riding off the back of your leg instead of the inside, and let's just say that you'll need to make a more dramatic adjustment. ;-)
If you find that you need to make an adjustment, make it with the WHOLE
leg.
You will need to rotate your legs inward, very slightly, from the hip.
If you've had ballet lessons, you'll notice that this is the exact OPPOSITE
of ballet turn-out. It's a little easier, by the way. ;-) Don't try to
move just the foot or just the lower leg to correct your position, you
will only succeed in straining and eventually damaging your knees. Your
ankles, knees, and hips all serve as shock-absorbers when you ride, and
if you make your ankles stiff by twisting your feet inward, the knees take
much more strain than they should, and you'll pay for it later.
Your two-point position is your best friend -- spend as much of every ride as possible in this position. At the very least, spend five minutes at the beginning and end of each ride in your two-point, at both walk and trot. (Be sure that your stirrups are adjusted correctly: stirrup treads should be just over your ankle bones when you drop the stirrups and let your legs hang, and stirrup leathers should be even on both sides.) In this position, you can balance over your feet, grab mane, and let the horse walk around the arena while you make a deliberate, conscious effort to allow your legs to relax around the horse. When you do this, and if you aren't "grabbing" with thighs, knees, or calves, your weight will drop into your heels and you will feel safe and secure. If you wobble madly, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and as you do so, relax those thighs and knees. You'll feel your legs lengthen and your heels drop. Now just KEEP that feeling as you go around the ring. At the trot, relax your knees and let your heels drop as the horse bounces you UP, then KEEP your lower legs in that position as you touch down behind the pommel.
Spend as much time as possible in two-point, relaxing and lengthening your leg and letting your weight drop into your heels. It's the single best exercise for legs!
Don't try to do too much at once, and do realize that the correct position will feel awkward and "wrong", because you aren't used to it -- the wrong position will feel "right" because it's familiar, but don't let yourself return to it. Your job is to make the correct position more familiar so that it will begin to feel right, and then to make it so familiar that any other position will feel wrong. ;-)
Jessica
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