Thank you! A few months ago I started doing Pilates twice per week, and have already seen a lot of improvement in my core strength. Maybe the leg strength is on its way to me also.
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Ugh! It’s sucks because you’re right! My current saddle fits me way better than my last one, but I still don’t love it. Of course my 4000 year old pancake Centaur is my favorite and it’s wayyy too wide for my guy 
I’ll pluck up some courage to go saddle shopping once I put these Christmas bills to bed.
I am going to try posting with one stirrup today and hopefully that will inform me of whatever I am doing. Then I can try to use that as I post without any stirrups. Thank you!
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So this might be a controversial response, but an old school method of stabilizing the lower leg was to ride with the stirrups tied to the girth. Not exactly the safest method, but hey, a lot of things were less than safe 40+ years ago.
I actually recently had the same experience. I watched a video of a recent lesson and was not well pleased with my lower leg. On went the spur straps! It’s interesting to see what muscles you are under using or over using when your leg is not positioned correctly.
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I fixed my perpetually swinging legs (not really but wa.y too often) by diving into ancient books by the officer in charge of the US Cavalry when they won the Military Olympic competition in the 1940s.
He wrote that over-relaxing the thigh leads to a swinging lower leg.
As long a I keep the long muscle on the top of my thighs, the rectus femoris, with some tension in it my lower leg stays in its proper place. When I forget to do this my lower leg starts swinging and my riding teacher starts yelling at me.
Of course avoid pinching at the knees when you tense up the rectus femoris muscle and remember to breathe.
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Without seeing the motion, here’s my opinion… You are gripping with your knee. This makes a “fulcrum”, which makes your upper body unstable, and your lower leg move. If your weight is allowed to truly drop into your heel, your lower leg and calf remains still and on your horse’s sides, where you stay in constant communication with your horse. Your knee should not be jammed into a knee pad on your saddle, the knee needs to be relaxed and free to move as you post and ride. Your weight is in your heel, not “caught up” in your knee. This way, the weight in your heel acts like the keel of a sailboat, to keep your upper body still and under control. Your lower leg won’t move if your upper body is secure.
Try riding in a saddle without a big knee roll. Try riding in a saddle that puts you close to the horse. The more “padding” between you and the horse’s side, the more torque you feel as the horse moves under you. This isn’t just my opinion, it’s the laws of physics at work, the action of a force on a lever. The motion of the horse is the force. The padding in the saddle is the lever. The most secure saddle you will sit in is a racetrack exercise saddle… No padding anywhere. This was the thought behind the minimalist saddles developed by the most successful and revolutionary riders of the past, though it seems to be often forgotten these days with current saddle marketing schemes. And the riding we currently see in the competition rings often reflects this.
One thing to remember and embrace… It’s not the saddle that keeps you secure on your horse. It’s the seat you develop that keeps you secure, still, and effective when you ride.
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Riding bareback at all the gaits will strengthen your core, help your balance, strengthen your inner thighs and stabilize your base. Don’t worry about holding your leg in the correct position and don’t worry about posting. You will have to use your body correctly and stay in the middle of the horse or you will fall off. If you do not feel comfortable doing this on your own see if you can do it on the longeline with a helper/instructor.
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Thank you, I think you’re probably right about my knee. I can PM you the video if you want, but I don’t want to publicly post it.
I would discuss some exercises to open and loosen your hips with your pilates instructor.
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Jennifer Kries whole body workout video. All you need is a foam mat. 1 cm thick is best.
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Any working out is good, but as a power lifter of 25 years, I can tell you that my riding absolutely gets better as soon as I start increasing muscle mass in my legs and my core. A lot of people are scared of lifting, and if you are able to find a good personal trainer that is ideal, but even if not, doing light weights in the beginning until you perfect your form makes a huge difference. You want to work up to something heavy though, as that’s the biggest benefit.
For reference, I’m 5’5" and 165#, and I can pretty consistently squat 200 pounds and deadlift 225. That’s what I mean by heavy. It takes a long time but it’s worth it!
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I like walking and cantering without stirrups. At the canter, try using a driving rein also so you’re less likely to balance using your hands.
Another exercise I really like is riding my stirrups too long and thinking about contact with my calf. The minute I lose it, I go back to the walk, rest and then try again. I pinch a ton with my knees, so I have to be really conscious I’m not training the wrong things. I find I pinch less when I ride with longer stirrups than no stirrups at the posting trot.
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Dressage rider here so this may not apply. But I find that if I focus on keeping my thigh inwardly rotated, my entire leg is more stable and it makes my balance much more effortless.
Depending on your thigh and the width of your horse, it can be helpful to mechanically “squish” your thigh into the right position. Most people stand up in the stirrups a little, use a hand to move the inner thigh fat (assuming you have any!) toward the back of the horse, then sit back down. Personally, I just stand up slightly, rotate my knees inward, and then carefully sit back down.
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150% this. It is in my experience almost always saddle-related for folks who are past beginner stage.
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Update here, I think it’s the knee thing (but still might be a little saddle issue too). My guy is working on an abscess so I lessoned on a schoolie type yesterday, discussed the video with my trainer, and thought hard about my leg for the whole ride. I am definitely putting more weight in my irons than I should be, which should be a relatively easy fix other than rebuilding the strength in my calf. Trainer said my leg looked great yesterday so that’s encouraging. This was in my old-as-dirt and beloved Centaur saddle, so I will need to see if I can replicate it on my horse/ in his Stubben.
Trainer also gave me a slight pass on the wobbly leg in the video (has this ever happened in the history of trainers???) since my horse was slightly off, getting accustomed to hoof boots, and it was a little muddy out. More to work on but I really appreciate all the tips!
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If your saddle fits both you and your horse, a bit of imagery might help. I try to picture my leg being heavy instead of tight, so that it is the weight of the leg keeping it still versus muscle strength. I want my heavy, draped leg lying on the horse’s size and putting natural pressure into the stirrup. This is in comparison to a leg that is tight, holding, and pushing down into the stirrups. Heavy and still, versus gripping. 
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Funny thing: I developed a terrible knee pinching, leg swinging habit in a Stubben. So much better before and since that saddle.
