How do thin thighed riders manage downhill? :D

[virtuallyhorses]

OK having been making more and more discoveries in my riding - have now begun to understand that whole relationship between the thighs and the seat, why people advise you to pull the meat of your thigh to the back (Heather excluded), classical riders seat as described by Sylvia Loch etc all through riding many downhills, particularly steep slopes.

I now have a really secure seat on any slope, my horse is calm and comfortable under me and has freedom of movement because I don't use my stirrups to brace against but it occured to me yesterday on a particularly steep bit that we big thighed girls (are there big thighed boys?) have a definite advantage here - on a really steep slope it's that muscle\fat that has been pushed behind you by a properly positioned knee and thigh that hangs on, on your behalf on the way down. So if you don't have spare is it harder to ride downhill? :rolleyes:

[LindaAd]

I've never ever understood that thigh-to-the-back thing, I find it quite uncomfortable and I don't see the point of it. Yet I think I have a pretty secure seat, not just when I comes to riding up and down hills, but when it comes to the unexpected spook or buck as well. I don't think it comes from grip, though - it's more balance.

But what happens to your lump of fat when you're riding uphill? Is it still helpful? And what's wrong with bracing your feet against the stirrups anyway?

Linda


OK having been making more and more discoveries in my riding - have now begun to understand that whole relationship between the thighs and the seat, why people advise you to pull the meat of your thigh to the back (Heather excluded), classical riders seat as described by Sylvia Loch etc all through riding many downhills, particularly steep slopes.

I now have a really secure seat on any slope, my horse is calm and comfortable under me and has freedom of movement because I don't use my stirrups to brace against but it occured to me yesterday on a particularly steep bit that we big thighed girls (are there big thighed boys?) have a definite advantage here - on a really steep slope it's that muscle\fat that has been pushed behind you by a properly positioned knee and thigh that hangs on, on your behalf on the way down. So if you don't have spare is it harder to ride downhill? :rolleyes:

[chev]

I'd never really thought about it to be honest. But I'm one of the scrawnier riders and I can't say I've ever had a problem with hills... I used to do a lot of bareback riding on very hilly, rocky land and generally just wrapped my legs around the pony and used my seat to stay stable.

The one thing I would say I do suffer with as a result of my lack of padding is that I get sores on my bum (where the back points of the pelvis are, if that makes sense - they rub on the saddle - but worse still where my coccyx rubs on the saddle) that are preventable only by using some artificial padding to make up for my lack of natural protection.

It's never affected how secure my seat is though. But to be honest I couldn't tell you why...

[virtuallyhorses]

I've never ever understood that thigh-to-the-back thing, I find it quite uncomfortable and I don't see the point of it. ... I don't think it comes from grip, though - it's more balance.

But what happens to your lump of fat when you're riding uphill? Is it still helpful? And what's wrong with bracing your feet against the stirrups anyway?

Linda

Perhaps I should explain myself more :) I certainly don't push my leg muscle\fat to the back as described by some and had not really understood it myself before. But it does indeed sit there naturally when you achieve the correct leg position - hips wide (but pointing forward), inner thigh next to the saddle, knees and lower leg softly draped around the horse and pointing forward.

I noticed this most when riding downhill because of the 'magic' that seemed to occur when I decided that I didn't want to brace against my stirrups and instead keep a correct line through my lower body. It seemed like another of those riding-breaks-the-laws-of-physics things :D

At first I noticed how snug my thigh had become against the saddle, how down my knee was and how easily my lower leg wrapped around the horse - I had been reading Sylvia Loch and referring back to Podhajsky at the time - and realised that this downhill position was in fact the position I had been trying to achieve in all riding. It was only when being analytical on some particularly steep slopes that I could feel my thigh muscle was in a new position. It doesn't grip, it's just out of the way and you can feel that stretchy feeling when one part of your body is stuck to something and an attached bit is trying to go somewhere else. It amused me to think that the thinner thighed wouldn't have this additional 'suction' cup :D

What's wrong with bracing against the stirrups? - well for a start it means that your leg is out of alignment doesn't it, since the only way to brace is if you put your leg forward. Also as with any bracing, you are pushing yourself out of the saddle - no matter how slightly.

[Yann]

I'm scrawny too, and can't say I've noticed any problems keeping a stable seat riding down steep slopes. I do ride with an HM seatsaver though which probably helps a lot.

[LindaAd]

Yes, the only time I had that "My goodness, I'm a better rider than I thought" feeling was when I was using the seatsaver. Then I bought an Easisit saddle (I discovered the old one was uncomfortable for the horse) and that doesn't have the same effect at all.

Linda


I'm scrawny too, and can't say I've noticed any problems keeping a stable seat riding down steep slopes. I do ride with an HM seatsaver though which probably helps a lot.

[LindaAd]

Perhaps I should explain myself more :) I certainly don't push my leg muscle\fat to the back as described by some and had not really understood it myself before. But it does indeed sit there naturally when you achieve the correct leg position - hips wide (but pointing forward), inner thigh next to the saddle, knees and lower leg softly draped around the horse and pointing forward.

I noticed this most when riding downhill because of the 'magic' that seemed to occur when I decided that I didn't want to brace against my stirrups and instead keep a correct line through my lower body. It seemed like another of those riding-breaks-the-laws-of-physics things :D


What's wrong with bracing against the stirrups? - well for a start it means that your leg is out of alignment doesn't it, since the only way to brace is if you put your leg forward.


Also as with any bracing, you are pushing yourself out of the saddle - no matter how slightly.


Yes, pushing the leg forward is what the cross-country people recommend for security, isn't it? And it's what I do for galloping and steep slopes. But as far as I can remember, it's from the knee, not the hip, so it doesn't push you out of the saddle.

Linda