one leg on.. one leg off?

[heartsturnblack]

I just recently started riding a hot tb mare who is very supple. and i have noticed that when we go clockwise around the ring.. she tends to get crooked and come off the rail. i realized that i keep my left leg on all the time.. and my right one is normal. i dont know why.. does anyone know how to fix it? i dont mean to keep it on.. it just.. is.. and it definately messes me up when i canter clockwise because Trouble canters like on a slant and crooked and then cuts corners and takes off. not much fun. :rolleyes:

another question.. what is everyones favorite type of ariat riding boot and about how much does it cost? i need new boots pretty soon.

[galadriel]

Sounds like you're sitting crooked, for one reason or another. Sitting straight will probably help, though you'll first need to figure out where you're not straight.

It may be worth examining yourself every day, throughout the day, to see if you're sitting up straight--and if you're not, where are you slumping? Your hips might be a little off-center, or one shoulder higher than the other, or any number of other things. If you can figure out where you're not symmetrical, you can get to work on it--fix it any time that you notice that you're not sitting straight. If you can get to where sitting straight is second nature, off the horse, then it will also be second nature *on* the horse :)

While you are riding, you should actually have both legs on at all times. This will help your legs stay still, keep you from accidentally bumping the horse with a swinging leg, make your leg aids less severe (just squeeze instead of kicking), and make your overall seat more secure. Just set your leg on the horse and leave it there; don't push, just let it cling a little.

[kedwards]

It can be very hard to just feel whether you are balanced without someone on the ground checking, especially if it's an ingrained habit and/or it developed from some unevenness in the horse.

One way to check is to stand behind your horse after your ride and see where the saddle is sitting. If it is tipped slightly to the left or right, it's a good indicator that you are leaning more in that direction.

[hometrotter]

If you have trouble only when going clockwise you must ride like me. They say going to the right is almost always the worst direction for a horse. However, I know that after riding 15 minutes in a counterclockwise direction it takes a lot of conscious effort on my part to sit correctly to go clockwise. I have to make a huge effort to open my inside shoulder and then I even open my inside knee until I can feel like I am going in the right direction. Keep lots of inside leg on the horse to get the proper bend too and reinforce intermittently with the inside rein if needed. Good luck.

[vjoy23]

If your horse is cantering leaning slightly inwards really support with the ouside rein and if need be pull quite hard. I used to ride a heavy cob that had a lovely canter but he got faster and faster and cut corners off etc and the problem was that my shoulder was dropping slightly and he needed my support with the reins. just a suggestion. Oh yeah he was also really bad on the right rein, trying to do turning on the forehand was a work of art.