I dunno, I think my seat and leg length improved when I started riding bareback.
Don’t worry about it. It’s normal. It’s Video Shock.
Horsepower, Don’t beat yourself up. This is new to you. Get good instruction, be kind to yourself, be patient. It’s said that a habit can be broken/made in 21 days. I’ve been doing this for 6 years and I’m still learning.
Raises hand I’m with the OP on this too! OP-You might read the thread I posted called “Silly Saddle Question” It probably could have a better title but it is asking similar questions and there is good info there too as I have the same tendency. I am still not sure whether my problem is coming from my saddle not fitting me or my horse right or entirely from my lack of ability to open my hip, point my whole leg forward (knees, toes etc, from the hip) and drape my leg around my horse, but the thread has given me things to try- as has this one. So thanks!
I think one of the most difficult things about making the switch between hunters and dressage is retraining your leg position so your toes don’t point out, at least for me it was. One thing that I found is that the saddle really had a huge influence on how hard/easy this was. For me, a saddle with a large thigh/knee block and a straight flap was a bad thing. I’m fairly long through the thigh, but short through the calf. Too many of today’s saddles are cut very straight, and my knee wants to go over the front of the saddle, even in the larger seat sizes.
What really brought this home to me was when I rode in a Wintec Isabel without the knee blocks. For the first time I was able to drop my leg down properly and really use my knees to control my horse’s shoulders. My knee wasn’t being forced away from the horse and causing me to turn my feet out. I also like a seat that isn’t quite as deep and has a good, level spot in the middle. I currently have a Smith Worthington Danzig, which has no knee roll at all. It’s still cut a bit straighter then is ideal for me, but since there’s no knee roll, that isn’t an issue. There’s also some Passier saddles that would work very well for me too.
I would highly recommend trying different saddles and see if any of them seem to help put you into a better position. It can take some time to find something that works for you, but it’s well worth it. You’ll be amazed at how much your riding improves when the saddle allows the correct position.
Why don’t you check out my video on the dressage rider’s position. I came from hunters too, and have since devoted myself to improving my position. It’s by no means perfect but I think the video could help. Good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRVM9Emijto&feature=channel
[QUOTE=Briggsie;4365763]
. . .
Remember to sit on your crotch NOT YOUR BUTT PADS…in other words, DO NOT ROLL BACK ON YOUR butt bones. SIT UP STRAIGHT…knees on and under you at all times, and toes in. Tell yourself this every box you ride. . . [/QUOTE]
Sorry, but I have to disagree with this. You do not “sit on your crotch”, you sit on your seat bones and your seat bones need to be directly under your shoulders. Sometimes this means you must tilt the pelvis up to align yourself; it all depends on your skeletal structure.
Sitting on your crotch sticks your butt out and throws your weight forward and out of alignment with the rest of your body. I don’t know any trainer that would tell a student to sit on their crotch.
OP, I highly suggest you pick up a copy of Sally Swift’s Centered Riding – whether video or book. It will help you tons with your seat and legs.
Eileen
I’d say if this was the first time you noticed that by looking at yourself after years of trying to learn correctly, get a new trainer. Your trainer should be telling you when you’re misaligned and correct you throughout each lesson.
Agree with other who said that a correct position comes from the ability to open your hips and be strong in your core, and there are plenty of exersizes you can do to improve your natural abilities. If you’re unfamiliar with any of them, pay for a personal trainer to set you up with a routine. And check your saddle. Some saddles simply don’t allow you to sit correctly. But you do not need a saddle that crams you into the correct position, that still comes from your ability to adjust yourself and build correct muscle memory.
Well, that is essentially what I mean, but if you are sitting correctly and on your seat bones, you are not sitting on your buttocks directly, or rolling backwards. IF you roll back, you will know it, because you will look slouched in the saddle, as opposed to tall and erect.
OK. Now I’m really confused. EVERYONE, please look at the video that EveryDayRider posted. That rider looks like the heels are way down and too far out and in a chair seat to me. That’s what my video looks like. But the person in the video says this is correct for lower level horses, which mine certainly is. Everyone’s thoughts please? I’ve just always assumed I was supposed to look like those beautiful riders with the toes pointed more forward and legs really long on the advanced horses. Am I rushing things?
Read “Ride Right” by Daniel Stewart. I had a clinic with him over the summer and it was the most interesting clinic I’ve ever taken as both a rider and trainer/instructor.
He talked a lot about how one thing can affect something else. Ten pounds forward ten pounds back kind of thing. Like with a swinging leg at the canter…you can’t steady your leg because your lower leg isn’t the problem. The problem is something bigger…like your seat isn’t following the horse enought. He would tell you to “Imagine you have a bar of saddle soap on each butt cheek and scrub the CANTLE of your saddle with it at the canter.” All of a sudden the rider’s leg would stop swinging!
He would tell people riding in a “chair seat” to think of a row of thumbtacks across the cantle of your saddle to remind you to stay forward. You may also want to check to make sure your saddle isn’t sitting too low in the back, you may need a riser pad to get it sitting level. We didn’t talk a whole lot about toes pointing too far out, but I’ll guess its a problem much further up your leg, maybe you hold your hips to open, and if your rolled your thigh forward your toes would get better…
[QUOTE=Horsepower;4368193]
OK. Now I’m really confused. EVERYONE, please look at the video that EveryDayRider posted. That rider looks like the heels are way down and too far out and in a chair seat to me. That’s what my video looks like. But the person in the video says this is correct for lower level horses, which mine certainly is. Everyone’s thoughts please? I’ve just always assumed I was supposed to look like those beautiful riders with the toes pointed more forward and legs really long on the advanced horses. Am I rushing things?[/QUOTE]
I agree - not a good example of a correct seat. That rider looks hunched forward, collapsed in the waist and is very wobbly and unquiet in the waist. At times, she looks very crooked up there.
Here are some links from Mary Wanless. I rode with someone who trained with Mary for about a year and she made me much more aware of the impact of body position and balance.
I agree that the video from Every Day Rider does not show a balanced seat. In fact, you’ll find that many professionals aren’t picture perfect, but they are effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKegtey1MFQ
http://www.youtube.com/user/MaryWanless
http://www.mary-wanless.com/ (go to the “read and learn” section")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PuAQKwWOSA
Good for you for wanting to improve your position!
Also, you might try taking a clinic or a lesson with another instructor. Sometimes when I have reached a plateau of find it difficult to grasp a concept having someone else explain it, using different words or images, does the trick. For example, I had an instructor who told me that I should imagine kneeling on a kneeling chair to help open up my hip and drop my knee down and put me in a position where my spine was aligned and neutral and my core was strong. Bingo! That image made it crystal clear to me.
Everydayrider video is of a markedly poor position - hips closed, toes out, knees up, thigh almost horizontal, stiff in the wrong places and loose in the wrong places. The rider is also not effective.
You neither sit on your crotch nor on your pockets in dressage, both are extremes and incorrect. The rider sits equally balanced, not tipped forward on to his crotch, and not with the pelvis rolled under and the lower back rounded.
[QUOTE=slc2;4368683]
. The rider sits equally balanced, not tipped forward on to his crotch, and not with the pelvis rolled under and the lower back rounded.[/QUOTE]
But I think to engage your core and be mobile and open this is exactly what you need to do. But you move with the horse so it isn’t static.
