Left foot/stirrups

[EventPony]

Ok...this is kind of wierd, but i always seem to lose my left stirrup....well, actually, i get my foot all the way in the stirrup (well.not ALL the way...but in properly)...and it always seems to slip out the my toe...and sometimes, if im cantering or something, ill lose it completely..it happens a lot, and it doesnt matter what saddle im riding in...any ideas?

[claireh]

I have a simmilar problem with my right stirrup, but then I am lopsided due to dodgy hips!
Possibly you are just stronger one side than the other- most of us tend to favour what ever side we write with, so if you are right handed, that would make sense!
Sorry, don't have any tips as to how to remedy the problem, but I'm sure someone will!;)

[ros]

Is it possible that you're gripping up with your left leg? Most of us are a little bit lopsided in one way or another, as Claire says. It would probably be helpful to get someone on the ground just to check that your stirrups are absolutely level and that you're sitting squarely in the saddle, then you know you're starting out straight.

[floppy]

when i use to go on hacks on the fat halinger iwht an english saddle i was forever loosing or slipping my right foot when galloping...now i dont because i seem to stay put in the western saddle. I havent yet decided if its me or the horse because i dont have this problem with every horse i ride. Either the horse is a bit lop sided or i cant keep my stirrup due to a poor weak foot (i broke a bone in my foot a few years back)..i dunno..:D

[Hayleyb277]

Hey Claire something else in common - dodgy hips - hopefully my physio will help sort this eventually but it's not helped by having one leg millimetres shorter than the other :rolleyes:

I find if I've had a really strenuous jumping lesson, and I mean jumping in excess of thirty fences continuously with only canter between, my left ankle can collapse on landing, I think because it is to a certain extent accommodating and trying to correct my position and as such is straining more so tires quicker - well that's my theory any way :D

I'm not saying this is definitely the problem as I'm sure that there can be any number of reasons for your foot falling out of the stirrup, it's one of those things where only someone watching you ride can come up with the answer I'm afraid.

H

[claireh]

Hi Hayley!

Hope the phisio helps your hip problem! Sadly, theres nothing to be done for mine until the joints completely give up & I have to have them replaced! I had to give up cross country running at 25 because my doc said if I didnt I'd need a replacement before 30! I'm 29 now and although my hips continue to deteriorate, they aren't giving up at such a fast rate any more- thank god. I just wonder which one will go first- according to the doctors the left one is the worst, but I get most pain from the right and that is the one I automatically favour. Luckily my doc's have also said that riding won't make the situation worse unless I really go for it with jumping or whatever- in fact one told me that riding may even improve them because of the strength I will build up in my muscles and tendons which will in turn support the hip joint. Lets hope he was right- I certainly ride more now than I ever have!

One thing is for sure- 'granny pants' DON'T support hip joints- so at least I wont have to give up the thongy thingys!!:D :D

[ros]

Claire -

I know this isn't anything to do with the horses, but what exactly is the problem with your hips? Hope you don't mind my asking.

[floppy]

can i just say that on some horses on can ride and maintain a good steady position on other hrose they cant. So sometimes its not all the riders fault and it can be caused by the horse

[claireh]

Hi Ros!

No, I dont mind at all!
I was born with both hips slightly displaced- the 'ball' out of the 'socket', and in their wisdom, the doctors at the time decided that rather than put me in a hip cast for a couple of months, which would have rectified the problem, that I was a 'borderline' case and they would 'monitor' me. They didn't monitor it closely enough and so instead of having whatever treatment was required at about 10yrs old that would have still rectified the problem, they didn't identify that there was still a problem til i was in my teens and started moaning about my hips hurting!
By that time my hip joints had deteriorated past 'fixing' with out a replacement and the rest, as they say, is history!

This all sounds very dramatic- wasn't intended to! I do get pain and severe aches in my hips, but I have learnt to compensate and so dont get it badly all the time! As long as my hips don't deteriorate any faster than they are now I should avoid the repalcement until at least 45- I hope!:D

[ros]

We were just discussing this the other day. Sometimes horses and riders just aren't a good match, and although a REALLY good rider can usually ride most horses well, they will still find some horses easier to ride than others. Like short riders on big horses, or vice versa!

And of course, some horses don't move evenly, due to bad conformation, bad riding or a combination of both. The most difficult thing is probably deciding whether it's you or the horse that's causing any lopsidedness or unevenness. Once you know which it is you can start to do something about it, but I think quite often you need someone else to watch and help you find out what's going wrong.

[ros]

Claire -

I just wondered whether you've tried any of the Glucosamine and Chondroitin suppplements that are about these days. I imagine that any sort of displacement like that must create an arthritic condition? If so, G&C might help.

I've got 1 1st hand and one 2nd hand experience: I used to have achy knees - quite bad sometimes (oh dear getting old!) and I took G&C for a couple of months. The achy knees, which I'd had for a year or so, so it wasn't my imagination, went away and haven't come back. That was two or three year ago.

Also, Debbie (Heather's yard manager) has an old dog called Toby who is 12 and was getting pretty stiff. She started him on Cortaflex (which is the horse/dog G&C mixture) and apparently he showed a great improvement within a day or so, much to the amazement of Debbie, the vet and everyone else.

It couldn't do any harm to try.

[Hayleyb277]

I've heard Cortaflex is very good for humans, it did help old Bo in his final year as well.

Claire, your condition is a million times more dramatic than me, I only have slight rotation of the hips probably caused by the slightly shorter leg (broken when a child) even though it's not noticeable. It's a shame the docs didn't get down to sorting your hips when you were born, now you're paying the price.

[claireh]

Hi Hayley & Ros!

I will definitley try the G&C idea! My hips aren't as bad in the good weather, but I do tend to notice it more in the winter- I guess that makes it simmilar to arthritis. I think I have just got so used to it now that I just accept it and live with it most of the time! It comes in handy sometimes- like when someone accuses me of being lazy 'cause I drive (or ride!) everywhere or when men (in the dim and distant past!) have asked me why I never wear high heels- I always say it's because of my hips! I think high heels are the most uncomfortable invention ever, and it may well be to do with my hips that I find them that uncomfortable- but I'm not wearing the bloody things anyway!!

It was very amusing when I went for a riding lesson recently and the instructor was trying to get me to keep my heels down & my toes in- either independently isn't a problem, both at the same time is painfull! Anyway she had me get off the horse and do some excersises from the ground- supposedly to prove to me that it was comfortable. She got me stood in the 'riding' position with feet 'straight' forward and asked me to bend my knees and lower myself as far as I could go comfortably- which wasn't very far but she decided not to notice this. Then she said I should try the same thing with my toes pointed out- apparantley it should be more uncomfortable doing this & I shouldnt have got as low. She was gobsmacked when I squat down and my backside touched the floor! Not even slightly uncomfortable for me! In fact she had me do it three times, at the same time trying to get herself low- she couldn't and said she had never known any one who found it comfortable to squat in that position!

After the lesson I told her about my 'hip' problem! Well, it was only fair- she had decided to get the rest of the staff on the yard to try it to see if any of them to do it!;) :D

[Hayleyb277]

hehe Claire you should have let her stew for at least a week, she'd have been asking all her friends and family to do it too.

[roughing_it]

Hi Claire,

I've never been able to get that low in a squat- at least not since I was about 5! However, my old boss could do it and "sit" that way for ages. She was from China- and I guess that that's just how you sit around talking- not in chairs, but squatting. She was amazed I couldn't do it! Everyone that I know that grew up in China seems to be able to do it- for them it's not even a question-they can't understand what's so difficult.

Nancy