Unsteady lower legs - what does it indicate?

[Scarlett 001]

Just saw a video of me riding the other night. My lower legs are not very stable - sort of flapping about in posting/rising trot. I knew there was a reason I wanted to video my riding. I also sometimes have my lower leg placed a bit too far back on the horse - probably indicating some forward body tipping.

Anyhow, what kinds of things do unsteady lower legs indicate? Not enough weight through leg? I have strong legs from years of dancing, but apparently can't effectively translate this strength into steadiness when doing posting trot. I might also add, my ankles are insanely flexible, yet also very resilient. For example, I seem to twist my ankle now and again walking about, yet it never gets hurt doing this as it is flexible so can twist around a lot and be fine. Could wiggly ankles lead to an unsteady lower leg? I also stand on the tippy-toes sometimes in the stirrups, which might lead to an unsteady lower leg.

Wonder what I can do to sort out this flapping lower leg? Whether or not my strange ankles are a contributing factor, I need to sort this out.

[KarinUS]

I think just realizing that this is a problem for (it sounds like it came as a surprise when you watched the video) will go far in fixing it. I bet if you took another video tomorrow you'd already look better.
When we had the demo saddle here for the first time ever I had Ray take a video of me riding.
Cringe. It was humbling. But the video we took two days later was already much better. Finding out where your weaknesses are is your first step to conquering them. Don't get discouraged. I really don't think your ankles will hinder you from developing a more stable position.
You might enjoy reading this article (http://www.horsemagazine.com/CLINIC/Fitness/LisaLowerLeg.html)on how to fix your leg. It's addressing a lot of different issues, including flexibility. ;) I think you will like it.

[Lovemyappy]

Your standing up in the stirrups can cause the moving leg. Dont use them to post put the weight in your heel and use your thighs and the horses movement to bost you up when posting.

Dunno if thast is making sense since its late and im tired but I tried:p

[horseygeorge]

If your standing in your stirrups they could be too long. Sometimes you reach for the stirrups without realising it, then your lower leg is going to move.

Try imagining your ankles touching under the horses belly and wrap your lower legs around the barrel of the horseand that eill help them to stay a bit more stable

[Skyhuntress]

Most lower legs will move a bit to follow the movement of the horse, but it should usually be a forward back motion, instead of them flapping OFF the horse's side.

Usually the biggest reason for an unsteady leg is not enough weight in the heels. The other possibility is that instead of sitting on your seat bones, you are actually sitting more on your...err crotch area, and it's tipping you forward, making your lower leg come back and away from the ribcage of the horse.

I'm not sure about wiggly ankles. I had major problems with the trot because my ankles are insanely weak (sprained one of them 6 times, and broke the other one once), and they'd literally colapse, so I had to wear braces and spent a lot of time moving them around, and it DID make my lower leg unsteady until I was able to properly put the weight in my heels. But if you have strong, resilient ankles, then it should be easier for you to just remind yourself to keep your weight down