Improve my OHs riding position!

[juliecwuk]

advise please!

background - OH has dodgy hips, with reduced flexibility. This was prob about the 4th time riding in about 3 years

Horse - is a forward going hunter!

mods - please keep in here cos my hubby would be embarrassed if he saw me asking for advise!

 

[MistyGal]

Hands look a bit high, i am no expert but "keep your hands lower down and even" my RI would be shouting ... barking...or whatever it is she does... lol

 

[domane]

My OH has ridden approximately 6 times in his entire life.... 3 of those on my old cob mare, once he had a "sit-upon" on Roo and twice on Jack. Yes, his position leaves a lot to be desired BUT he has incredibly soft hands, is confident and manages to stay put. I'm so delighted that he takes an interest I would never dare to criticise his position... although he maintains that it's all to do with "protection of his crown jewels" :biggrin:

What a dude in his 'shades' :bounce::bounce::bounce:

 

[MistyGal]

Awww they are great piccies, love the fact he is not worried about his position and is relaxed... probably best way to ride.. he could teach me a thing or too...and i can see how relaxed his hands look... really gentle like he is holding a fly bless him ;-)

 

[JustJas]

I would say let him get back on a horse and find his balance (which looks very good tbh). Then start the fine tuning the hands as horse does not look stressed. OK in one shot his reins are a little loose and in another his hands are too high but her has a lot of good points- he has a deep seat with heels down and is sympathetic to the horse. His contact looks fine in other shots though thumbs need to be on top of the reins- explain the tray of beer as that worked for my OH!

Is what I did with my hubby just hints when needed. He has a natural rapport with Kizzy!

 

[eml]

His main problem seems to be that his lower leg is quite far forward so he looks to be behind the motion. However if he has hip problems this is quite a common problem and he is clearly not interfering with the horse so I wouldn't try to make any major alteration.

 

[Praecelsus]

I am by no means a good rider and I don't know how his hip would affect his overall position without being able to see his range of motion so excuse this if it's all rubbish!

I've taken a few stills, I hope that's ok?

From the video he seems to be carrying his position with his hands. Like he's leaning on them which causes them to be high. He's also looking down coming into the corner, pushing his position forward.

Again, leaning into the corner and looking down.

I'm not sure how much he'd be able to correct about his position given his hip problems. From looking at him he's sitting on his bum and not back on his seat bones which tips him slightly forward. His shoulder would ideally be more free and open with a bigger chest which would allow his hands to come down.

The saddle seems to be on the small side for him too, a bigger one would help with his position but I don't know many people that could afford one saddle for each rider!

He's doing incredibly well and should be very proud. I'm an absolute shambles on a horse after decades!