Discussion: Leg Position

Today, I'm focusing on leg position in the saddle.  Specifically, my leg position, but also yours.  Taking an extra moment to think hard about what we're doing is a benefit to each of us.

So.  My blog, my leg first.

I know where my leg is supposed to be, what kind of pressure I'm supposed to use, and how I'm supposed to look and feel as I ride.  Unfortunately, what the brain knows and what the body remembers are two different things.  I've been sitting chair-seat in the hunter saddle, with my foot directly below my knee, directly in front of the girth (ugh).  Luckily, I have a trainer who doesn't seem to tire of reminding me to fix myself.  In the meantime, I've been working hard to loosen up my lower back and hips to open up the angle of body-to-femur, and also in my ankle to stretch my Achilles' tendons so I can close up that angle a little better.  I've been standing on stairs with my heels dropping off the edge, lunging and warrior-posing in my stretches, Downward Facing Dog, and trying to regain suppleness in my joints so that gravity can help a girl out.  It's a process.  I'm not going to get stronger and more supple overnight.

In the meantime, I'll just remain obsessed with willing my body to do it right.

According to HorseChannel.com, a lot of my problem is putting my weight almost entirely onto my seat-bones to maintain a driving seat.  I know that's right: there's a lot to be said for using the seat to extend a trot or to push him up more into the bit if he's fallen behind or "acting sleepy."  But should you always drive with your seat?  No.  Especially if you're like me and the reason why you do it is to unconsciously compensate for those been-too-long-out-of-the-saddle noodle legs that aren't doing their job (yet).  I have much work ahead of me in terms of strengthening my legs, so I can use them to nudge my horse up into the bit when he starts dragging the tempo, rather than chasing him around with my seat-bones lodged in his back.

Equisearch.com features an article from April 1989 in Practical Horseman magazine that gives us a glimpse into what a good position really looks like.  George Morris describes the ideal position: "Contact is distributed between her thigh, inner knee and lower leg.  Her knee angle is closed correctly, as is her ankle angle, with her heel flexed down and in.  Her stirrup is on the ball of her foot, her little toe touching the outside branch.  The stirrup is perpendicular to the horse, not to the rider's foot."  Click on the link to that article, and check out the photo of the rider he's talking about.  Her heel is in line with her hip.  As she is jumping, it's important to see that her hip remains over the seat of the saddle, not pushed up over the pommel or back over the cantle.

We have the picture of motivation, now to fix the problems we face.

I almost don't want to say it...  but I think it might be time to lose the stirrups (Ugggggghhhhhh).

There's a reason why trainers do this.  Reading through the following thread on The Chronicle of the Horse, you can gain a little insight as to how taking away the stirrups helps to train your leg to put even contact on without bracing on the stirrups.  All of those muscles that have been helping me "cheat;" this will make it near-impossible to abuse their power.  All of those muscles that are "in there, somewhere, but I don't remember where I put them;" this will put them into use.  It's going to hurt.  It's going to be hard.  And I'm going to try to do it on my own time so that I don't have to make my trainer make me do it.

The Chronicle of the Horse thread also has some really good ideas for stretching, warming up, and strengthening the legs to nip leg position issues before they turn into bad habits.  One user named Mukluk writes, "Maybe it would help if you could practice riding without stirrups focusing on relaxing your legs.  Let your feet hang (e.g. not "heels down."  Maybe once you learn that you can ride with a relaxed leg you will be less inclined to "tense up."  Another user, Hippolyta, expands on this by writing, "This helped me get my legs back when I returned to riding.  Instructor had me do long periods at a jog trot with my legs a-dangle.  She said to remember being a 14 yr old riding bareback - let my toes hang down, keep ankle loose."

Looks like I've got some bareback bonding time ahead of me with my old buddy Thunder, too.

We should also never discount the importance of warming up and stretching before we ride.  Personally, I don't live next to the barn.  When I go to visit Thunder, it's twenty minutes in a car.  When I go to my lessons, it's forty-five minutes in a car.  This is not conducive to relaxed, warmed-up, ready-to-work legs and back.  I need to arrive early so that I can stretch and get myself ready to work before my lessons.

So let's make a list.  If we all have problems like I have, we need to:

     -  Arrive early to lessons/sessions to give ourselves time to warm up and stretch before getting to work.

     -  Take our time off horses to stretch our Achilles' tendons.  Helpful exercises:

          -  Downward Facing Dog (yoga)

          -  Warrior Pose (yoga)

          -  Standing with the balls of our feet on a stair, heels hanging off the edge, and lowering our weight

     -  Get off the seat-bone "gas pedal:" strengthen our leg aids so we can use those to better advantage.

     -  Ride bareback when we can to let gravity show us a more natural position when we relax our legs.

     -  Ride without stirrups occasionally to retrain leg muscles to work harder without bracing.

     -  Practice a good position off the horse when we're off, on the horse when we're on.

     -  Think nice, appreciative things about our trainers when they remind us to fix our position.

     -  Get ready for the next problem we'll have to face because this is a process that never ends.

No whining!  We can DO this!

The reason that we just can't keep horses off our minds--- why we daydream about riding along with them, winning shows, and achieving our goals---  is because our minds subconsciously know what we're capable of accomplishing.  Let's use it to our advantage!

First Notes

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could compose music from the age of five, and he died at the age of thirty-five.

Stan Lee created Spiderman at the age of forty, and is still alive and successful at ninety years old.

To me, this only means that greatness has nothing to do with when you start and finish being great.

I used to think I was a good rider.  I started when I was in my twenties, and within a year, I could compete in a few horse shows and earn a few ribbons.  I only fell off once.  I could learn quickly and I could find the right words to teach others.  People came to me for horse advice, or made comments that I rode well, or suggested that I "do more" with my riding.  People even paid me to condition and school their horses because they could trust that I would use good judgment, be safe, and be consistent.  I had solid technique for the basics.  I was riding regularly, and volunteering regularly and helping teach lessons with a non-profit organization that offers riding lessons and equine-assisted activities.

I can't tell you exactly why I stopped.

Part of it was a break-up.  Part of it was finding (or trying to find) someone new.  Part of it was some friends moving away, horses being sold, changing barns, and lessons coming fewer and farther between.  Part of it was that I was a little intimidated by the horse I had the most freedom to ride (even though I love Thunder dearly).  Part of it was how different it felt riding on my own instead of with my friends or in a lesson.  To me, barns had ghosts of good times past, which made me a bit sad.  So I skipped a trip to the barn one night.  

After that, it was easy to skip going again, or ever.  After that, it seemed like a ridiculous idea to actually go to the barn, rather than skip it.  I began to worry about what people would think, say, or expect if I showed up.  I didn't want to disappoint anyone or give anyone a reason to smirk at my lack of practice.  I didn't want to reveal that I hadn't been riding secretly somewhere else.

These things are of course ridiculous reasons to not do something, but they were what worked for a number of years.  It took a lot of time, thinking, reasoning with myself, and false-starting myself towards going back to riding before I finally did it.

And now, I can't shut up about it.  I took my first lesson in years two weeks ago, I had my second lesson yesterday, and I am officially hooked all over again.  So get your boots on, dear readers, and get ready to come ride with me.

I used to think I was a good rider.  Now, I want to become a great rider.

It's time to Get Over It.

Peter Pan taught us that if you want to fly, you must first think happy thoughts!