Help with my leg + stirrup loss? Exercises out of the saddle?

[fivestrideline]

Well I rode again today in different, wide track stirrups (on a different saddle and a different horse). I also shortened them a bit from my usual length. I definitely still felt like my right stirrup was shorter than the left, but focusing on stepping more into it while going right seemed to help! No loose or lost stirrups!

Lots of variables changed (as they tend to when I switch horses), but I’m thinking the wide bed stirrups + shorter length might’ve made the biggest difference. My right foot still eventually went tingly/numb on the ball (it happens if I trail ride or just walk for a long time, like hacking out after the ride today), but overall I liked the stability.

@HipNo34 lol that trash can challenge looks like just the thing but all I can think is poor saddle

[HipNo34]

@fivestrideline

lol that trash can challenge looks like just the thing but all I can think is poor saddle

Yeahhhh, I’ve got a saddle that needs a job but that’s holding me back, too

[alar24]

I’m so glad it helped!! I wonder if you can go to a tack shop and try sitting on a saddle with a few different kinds of stirrups?

[fivestrideline]

Maybe! As if I need an excuse to go spend the afternoon in a tack shop

[fourfillies]

I really wanted to like the MDCs but ironically they are the only stirrup I routinely lost. YMMV. I’m back in 20 year Sprengers.

[HipNo34]

My biggest problem, which I’ve complained about elsewhere, is the footing packing in the footbed. So there is that, too.

I still have punctuality problems but on the whole, I like not having to muck around adjusting lesson programs stirrups.

[CableRoad]

Will be monitoring this carefully, as the mysteriously curling-up right leg is a problem for me as well.

Plenty of yoga, hip openers, “horse stance”, and the like help with the strength and flexibility side of things. For me there’s clearly a habit component as well.

I’m working to visualize weighting the pinky-toe side of my right foot, and actively loosen my right knee and thigh away from the saddle. Slightly shifting your weight to the outside of the foot naturally helps you unweight your knee. I’m trying to work on that habit out of the saddle as well.

No-stirrups work with a long leg and deep seat seems to establish the right feeling. But it’s a real project!

[fivestrideline]

They make these angled stirrup pads, not angled from front to back but from side to side. They’re described to be used with the thicker portion to the outside but I see that as a recipe for foot and ankle problems. Putting the thicker part on the inside though, would weight the outside and lift the inside of the foot. I’ve been tempted to try them, but they’re really hard to find!

They’re always out of stock or not the right size for my stirrups - though it looks like Mary’s Tack and Feed might have them

[Scribbler]

That trashcan challenge is just basically two point. I find two point at trot as long as you can stand it, on trails, really helpful for strength and balance. I guess you can’t do that if you are just in lessons. But two point really helps fix a lot of leg position issues

[HipNo34]

@Scribbler

I guess you can’t do that if you are just in lessons.

Yeah, that was my thought. OP is lessoning once a week, as I understood it. I’m a bit better off getting to ride 3x/week – but the older you get, the less ‘enough’ that seems to be. At least for me, anyway.

Any kind of off-horse exercise helps.

[alar24]

Entirely speculating here, but I wonder if some ACL and outer knee strengthening exercises would help (theoretically, would keep your knee from collapsing inward?)

[HipNo34]

I never got that IG account and posts from my trainer but in trying to find similar on my own, dredged up this one (apologies if I’m repeating anyone):

Katie Wood, MSc, MScPT, PT Resident (@theequestrianphysio) • Instagram photos...

[fivestrideline]

Ooooo thank you! I’ll check it out!

[HipNo34]

And drumroll please

Last night she texted me the link to that same account so, that was it!

[fivestrideline]

Minor update in case anyone comes looking for solutions: I haven’t had a chance to do much PT or purchase any stirrups - but I DID make some changes that seem to have helped:

1. Shortened my stirrups 1 or 2 holes. This made the biggest difference; I’m tall and notorious for riding long, despite the fact that I’m not on tall horses. Shortening the stirrups helped get my leg under me and on the horse - though now I’m really struggling with ball-of-foot pain/numbness. But my leg is MUCH better.

2. Put the thigh blocks back on my saddle. I don’t remember why I took them off, but this seemed to really help lock my position in place. They’re not huge blocks.

3. Switched up the half pad situation on one horse. My saddle is set wider than most, and he’s wide but with some withers. I raided my collection and brought my own pads out for a hack; I was able to balance the saddle a bit better on him vs what I had been using from the lesson tack room.

These little fixes have helped a ton, but I’m still going to try the exercises and PT. I think some different stirrups are in order as well, but I have tried the JIN originals and don’t like those, so I’m hoping to trial some others before buying anything.

[Annie10]

Do they go to your shoulder or the horse’s shoulder? Im trying to visualize

[ghst13]

Your shoulders. Big elastic bands that criss-cross from your feet to your shoulders.

[Annie10]

Thanks.

[MsM]

An inexpensive gadget that has helped me strengthen my core. Recommended by my PT . https://www.amazon.com/ProSource-Diameter-Balance-Cushion-Exercise/dp/B00DYA3FIC/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?hvadid=616991268131&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9003297&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17420681240151710271&hvtargid=kwd-297082974229&hydadcr=24660_13611807&keywords=balance+cushion&qid=1689341308&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

[luvmyhackney]

Your low right hand and creeping leg make me think you are collapsing your rib cage on the right side. I have the same issue and a crappy right ankle. Pilates and yoga stretches have been super helpful.

For the numbness try taking your foot out of the stirrup and moving it around during walk breaks. Plus stirrups that have a wider base. I have been eyeing the Burioni stirrups.