"chicken arms"

Ta

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Dec 29, 1999
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When I had my lase lesson my instructor told me that I have "chicken arms". What she meant by this is that instead of having my arms in fort of me when I jumped they where out to the sides. The problem is she didn't tell me how to fix it, and I knwo I've been doing this for a while. Does anyone have any ideas?
 
Really the only way to stop it is to keep your elbows glued to your sides when you jump. If its become a habit to stick your elbows out when you jump then it will take some time to fix. But if you constantly keep your elbows glued to your sides you will probably do it naturally and you won't have to think about it after awhile.

good luck

Elaine
 
hello!

One thing that can help is to think about your hands. If you are riding with your thumbs on top then it can be a bit harder to stick out your elbows.

I hope that helps

bye!
 
I agree with the last two posts - however, be careful with the suggestion that you should keep your elbows glued to your sides, because the idea is to release the bit (and in turn the horses mouth and head) when you jump. With your elbows at your side you are not going to be able to get into propper position to make the effort comfortable for the horse.

One of my students had a similar problem, but seemed to do it all the time (wasn't advanced enough for anything more than cavalletti)... I had her ride - a little uncomfortably I'm sure - with her wrists literally touching one another for the most part of a couple lessons... she seemed to relax a little more in the upper body when I told her she didn't have to any more and the problem corrected itself.
Good luck!!
 
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