Advice please

horses4eva888

horses4eva888

Duke
Jun 28, 2006
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Lovely Leicester
I've found out today that I don't grip with my knees but I grip with my lower leg:confused: I find it weird because I thought if you want to use a muscle further down your leg you would end up tensing the other muscles on the way down:confused: Anyway my question how can I stop doing this so I can push the weight down in my heels? Any tips like "If you imagine your leg is..." very helpful:)
 
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anyone???:(
 
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Your supposed to grip with the lower leg as it keeps you weight even and provieds a good basis for clean transitions, or so I was taught.

I used to grip with my knees but now I grip with my lower leg ans I'm more comfy in the saddle and my aides have more 'now please' to them and it is more comfy for the horse and more reasurring.

Nikki xxxx
 
I find it's more comfy too (perhaps that's why I developed the habit:rolleyes: ) but when I do it I end up raising my heels so I want to stop doing it or doing it in a different way.
 
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mmmm - there is "wrap your leg gently around the horse" and there is "cling like a klingon/limpet" !

If you are gripping with lower leg and not knee, then it is possible you are turning out from the hip, which will take your knee *away* but bring your lower leg (calf) right on. The problem with this is that the calf muscle in this position is all bulked out and not particularly easy to use with finesse...

Try it sitting on a chair - sit with feet flat on the floor and knees pointing forwards. Now turn the leg out from the hip (turn your toes out wide like a ballet dancer but without it being through the ankle). Now pull your toe up.. and see what happens to the calf :(

You'll see that perhaps like this - putting weight into your heels could give exactly the opposite result to the one you desire.

So: first off check that your feet are actually sitting in the right place in the stirrup. You would be amazed (I was when someone showed me this - and I'd been riding for 30 odd years at the time !) how something simple like that unbalances the whole leg, and hence the rider. The stirrup should be under the broadest part of your foot. Your foot has 3 points of balance - one in the heel and two across the ball (widest part). When you ride, you lose the balance point at the heel so you *must* have the other two on the stirrup..

You may find this is enough for all the leg joints to ping back into alignment..

but if not, go back up to the top and check what is happening at your hip and seat bones. You need to be able to open the hip so the knee can come towards the direction you are riding in
 
I had to lengthen my stirrups and remember that long legs are good legs and after about a month my posture was better and my heels were in the proper position. After that I gradually shortened my stirups but kept the same position and now I can ride with either and my leg feels pretty much the same.

I praise and worship the RI that taught me she is a patient angel.

Nikki xxxx
 
cvb said:
turn your toes out wide like a ballet dancer but without it being through the ankle
Click to expand...
I am a ballet dancer!(Not a v good one I should add!:o) Is this part of the problem? My toes are in the right part of the stirrup I think, is it meant to be here cause that's where mine is/ tries to be.
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I don't think I am really turning out when I ride and when I look down at my feet my toes aren't pointing out and RI hasn't commented:confused:
ETA-N+K I more often have my stirrups too long than too short lol :p I'm not very helpful for you lot trying to help am I :o
 
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You can have you legs on and still have your toes pointing out!!!

I sometimes do it when jumping and trust me my legs are on as he will stop given half the chance!!!

Nikki xxxx
 
dont grip anywhere :D

just let them hang and relax along side the horses sides, try to aim for the same feeling you get when you have no stirrups.
if you think how sensitive horses are at feeling pressure, if you grip or apply any kind of pressure all the time then the horse will have a constant pushing feeling on his sides.
This can be just as bad as constant nagging with your leg to eventually make them dead to the leg.

if you watch dressage riders from the front their legs look almost bouncy.they move in a sort of outwards way. Their legs are relaxed and not gripping anywhere.

dont get hung up on trying to force your heel down. Most of the time it will shoot your lower leg forward as you are trying so hard. Bring your leg back a little further than normal so its under you and you will probably find its too difficult to grip anywhere.
Then think about your weight going down the back of your calf and the back of your heel rather than thinking bend the ankle to get your hell down,. :)
 
turns brain back many years to dancing as a child...

this is the difference between

- a ballet plie (can't do the accent) where your knees are bent and hip/knee/toe are all turned outwards

- a ski-ing position where hip/knee/toe are pointed forward but knees are bent

does that make sense ? (only if you ski I guess, but Ski Sunday was on TV so must be on my mind :rolleyes: )
 
Dont think "grip" thing letting you leg flow down the sides of the horse.

It's perfectly Ok to have you knees off the saddle, but if you grip with your lower leg you will be stiff - and what do you do for a leg aid??

Heels should'nt be pushed down, forced down or anything else - they should just hang down gently. The ankles and knees should be all elastic and bouncy to absorb the movement - dont force anything adn it will all fall into place!

PS - never tried skiing or ballet on a horse - is it fun?
 
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