Developing muscle memory (heels)

[Horsecrazie]

Hi all... I'm new here, and I'm a beginner rider. This is a great forum, I'm glad I found it.

I am wondering if anyone has some tips about exercises to do at home or on horseback to help me keep my heels down. This is, as far as I know, my biggest riding problem.

I started doing stretches on the stairs, where I would put the ball of my foot on the stair and stretch my heel. However, I found out that it stretches your tendon too much.

Thanks!

[Horsecrazie]

No one has anything? :confused:

[Ms Kitty]

It is a hard question, especially for heels.. I mean stretching will definitely help but only in the sense of actually be able to get the heel down in the first place. I don't think you can develop a muscle memory for that other than by just riding and having someone there to remind you about keeping them down, and it just eventually will come naturally.

Imaginary training helps for some riding stuff (i.e. you imagine for example what you have to do when jumping, going through every phase of getting the horse to move at a right speed, approaching the fence, half halts, lifting off the ground, seat during the flight and landing, and moving away from the jump towards the next one, reinign through the whole thing), but I have never tried it for heels, so don't know how it would work. I guess there is no harm in trying..?

As for training for it whilst riding, like I already said, best thing (if your stirrups are the correct lenght) is to have someone telling you when your heels are not down enough so you can correct their position. Don't be too stressed about it, these things will come in time with practice and will eventually feel like a second nature! :)

Nina x

[horse_converted]

Hi welcome to nR! I have been riding for 8 months now and know how u feal. i use to do that but after time it just came to me. so just keep going and u will get there. you will find on here that everyone is very supportive and full of helpful advice lol. good luck with your next lesson. Justin

[Humble]

Its better to think of toes up instead of heels down as when thinking of heels down we tend to jam them down and stiffen the whole leg where we ideally want a relaxed long leg

[MrDCBags]

My RI helped me with this, although I am by no means perfect, consider my self to be improving.

She told me to think of lenghthening calf muscles and backs of legs rather than concentrating on pusshing heels down which makes legs stiff and tense.

Also on day of lesson I wear flat shoes to work rather than heels as this helps with my legs!!

Hope that helps even just a bit!

[Iron Maiden]

I have one heel that is very obedient & one that isn't! I had a Bowen treatment the other day & I'm sure this has helped a lot, I suspect I've been tense in my leg without even realising it & needed a treatment to free it up. Echo what the others say about not forcing your heels down, you might also find this shoves your lower leg forward & sends you out of balance. If you watch the really posh dressage peeps they have their feet flat rather than heels down, I think 'heels down' is something we're taught just to ensure we don't do 'toes down' (aka 'eat dirt'!!). Just try to think 'leg long' and 'back of leg relaxed'.

[virtuallyhorses]

Yep, heels down is one of the worst instructions in the history of riding IMHO :D It causes people to tense the leg, use completely the wrong set of muscles and push yourself out of the saddle by putting pressure on the stirrup - this makes you not trust the process \ instructor and so you grip with your legs and the heels come up....

Knees and hips are the places to worry about - when you get them right you can let your heels do whatever they like because you lower leg will be free. Spend more time stretching your hips\thigh rotation to really see the benefit - stretching your calves will do - well nothing really ;) Importantly, concentrate on your knee. Your knee should point 'down' and be free of tension. When bad stuff happens you need space under your knee (ie your lower leg should be out of the way) so that you can allow your hips to widen and rotate over the leg, drive the thigh downward (stabilising the seat even more) - the knee allows it to do so, the upper body stays vertical. The heels mind their own business because the lower leg has nothing to do with any of this apart from staying out of the way.

Also - ab crunches - you need strong abs to ride (but you mustn't suck them in) and keep your upper body over your leg at all times.

[Skib]

Echo what the others say about not forcing your heels down, you might also find this shoves your lower leg forward & sends you out of balance. If you watch the really posh dressage peeps they have their feet flat rather than heels down, I think 'heels down' is something we're taught just to ensure we don't do 'toes down' (aka 'eat dirt'!!). Just try to think 'leg long' and 'back of leg relaxed'.

Absolutely. My RI says exactly the same.
And it may help to spread your toes out inside the boot.

[coverblown]

"toes up" = "heels down"

I never thought of that............. how stupid am I...:o

[Teehee]

I use to position my calves around the outside of my chair (either at school or at work...) , toes up and staight back! I found that eventually it got easier to sit like that when I was riding my horse... it gets to the point that I totally forgot I was doing it... since it ends up being quite comfortable!!! :)

[Kadi]

This is what works for me:

Think of lifting your toes slightly instead of putting your heals down, and open up from the back of the knee.

I always used to find that 'heals down' would make my leg more rigid, lifting my toes makes for a more relaxed lower leg.

xx