arm chair position HELP!!

[obsessions]

i have been riding for 1 1/2 years now. lately i am picking up a BAD habit. i go into an arm chair position when i do sitting trot or canter. it's been a problem for me on and off since i started riding. Is there a way i can correct this?

[horsecrazy1972]

years ago instructors would give you a piece of paper to put between your legs and the saddle you could maybe try that or do some work without stirrups or there is a gadget thet attatches to the stirrup and girth to keep your leg in the right position. good luck :)

[Tangle]

Sounds like you're maybe leaning back and bracing against your stirrups to try and keep your balance. So you've guessed it - take away the stirrups :D. Try and find your balance without your stirrups, and then try not to brace against them when you get them back.

I'm dubious about the symetry straps (the ones that attach your stirrups to the girth). As a short term measure to show you where your leg should be I can see they might work, but I'd be wary of using them for too long and getting reliant on them. Plus it makes it difficult to move the position of your leg aid.

Good luck :)

[notpoodle]

that sounds familiar!!! i do it, too :( because most of my legs are dangling in thin air (small pony, long legs) it happens very easily to me, ahem.

had a lesson on saturday (to sort this, and other things!). instructor said a) i should wrap my legs around her and b) stop my knees/legs from creeping up by tilting my pelvis forwards (i think it was the pevlvis. not sure is i got the right english word here!), thus sitting like i have a piece of string on my head that pulls my whole body straight and up. does that make sense??

julia
x

[Funky MeerKAT]

Check that your saddle is sitting level on the horse and that the lowest part of the seat is in the middle. If the back of your saddle is to low, or the deepest part of the seat is too far back, it could be causing you to sit with your bum to far back and your legs forward.

You can correct this by padding up the back of your saddle with a towel or something (just make sure it comfortable for the horse).

Also while on the horse, halt and lift one leg at a time right off the saddle and place it back where it should be, in walk get a feel of this and if you feel your legs going forward again halt and re ajust.

[Bay Mare]

If the saddle isn't sitting level then you need to get your saddler in to check it out PDQ.

The saddle COULD be part of your problem, though. Saddles are still made so that the stirrup bars are too far forward for a 'proper' dressage position. To get your legs into the correct position you have to 'pull' the stirrups/stirrups leathers back so that they're at an angle.

Doing work without stirrups and lunge work is always good for your position, you do need to translate it back to when you take up the stirrups again though!

In some cases you get a chair position because your stirrups are too short and end up pushing your butt to the back of the saddle.

Also ... are you relaxed? Being tense can make this worse.

What does your instructor say?

[obsessions]

Hi thanks everyone for your replies. Bay Mare, my instructor told me to slide my legs back a little. maybe i should work without stirups for awhile and see how it goes. thanks u guys :D

[Mossy]

Hi
Try to keep your head hips and heels in a straight line, without stirrups and you may find that your legs are way behind where your stirrup leathers naturally hang. if so the problem is with the saddle! Lots of no strirrup work. Not necessarily on the lunge, quiet lanes or fields will do, wherever you feel safe just shed those stirrups and go with the feel. A good, if exhausting, check for balance and seat is a rising trot with no strirrups!

[entreat]

ensure that you stretch your hips when not on the horse.

I just bought the coolest book about exercises for horse riders (Applied Posture Riding (http://www.appliedpostureriding.com.au)), and have found that after stretching the muscles around my hips, inc my hamstrings, my toes point more forward and I am able to keep the hips open (ie, knees down & out of the chair position).

Sitting on a fit ball for a couple hours a night helps stretch those bits too. :)