How to improve strength in the saddle without no stirrups?

[ceh17555]

Hi! I am an adult ammy and looking for ways to improve my strength in the saddle. I did a clinic last week and they had us drop our stirrups and I was really struggling with my bouncy boy.

Last year when I was riding 4-5 days a week I did a lot of no stirrup work (granted he was very smooth) and could do entire lessons without them so I was bummed when the 10 minutes was killing me. I only ride 2-3 days a week now and my current lease is so bouncy I feel bad building up the strength with no stirrups so I’m looking for ways to start building that strength back up so I can do no stirrup work eventually when I’m stronger without sacrificing his comfort.

I already do barre a couple times a week too, so trying to find exercise in the saddle that will help

[Bogey2]

Stand three post three and use your core when you stand!

[Bristol_Bay]

A lot of two point trot.

It looks weird, but drop your stirrups and post at the walk.

While posting the trot, pretend there’s a spike strip on your saddle and you can’t come all the way down. Use your inner thighs to stay just out of the saddle. I ride a school horse with a sensitive back so this is normal for me but killed me at first, so I know it makes a difference.

[BrownDerby]

You guys! We don’t want to kill her. Posting at the walk w/o irons is murder but a classic position fix. Your leg will be longer.

Post up up down (to start–the three ups mentioned above may be too difficult to coordinate at first). It will definitely strengthen your legs. A lap or two every day.

Stretch well before mounting. Tension works against you.

[mika0116]

we are all so aligned

• posting trot 2 beats up, one down >>> this turns into 3 beats up, one down
• walk posting (with and without irons)
• lunge line lessons - depends on your trainer - I’ve had a few where I had irons, didn’t have irons, did it on a “vaulting” pad set up, etc.

core work outside of the tack - former dressage rider who rather sit the trot on anything vs posting LOL and my current ride has a TON of suspension - before I got a lot stronger core (and lost some weight) he could bounce my schooling previously some 4th level as a junior ass out of the tack

now i love his trot as long as I keep awareness of using my core to stabilize myself and him

[JB]

IMHO, off-horse work is what builds the strength and stabilitiy and stamina, and then in-saddle work nuances it so it works while in actually riding.

• Wide-stance squats, both holding as low as you can, and pulsing
• RDLs - Romanian Deadlifts - will strengthen your hamstrings and glutes, and doing them one-legged (after getting it downpat with both legs) will help even out asymmetries
• Supermans will help your whole posterior chain

Keep in mind too that if you’re bouncing around, it may be the horse’s gait which is the catalyst, but it’s also because you’re stiff and trying to control every inch of your movement. Sometimes you gotta “go limp” LOL I don’t mean sack of potatoes limp, but relaxing into the movement and allowing the horse to do more of the work

Standing in your stirrups at the walk will help lengthen your leg and work on your balance

Barre is good. Pilates is better. Real strength training is excellent, especially if it focuses on asymmetrical work and uses free weights instead of machines. We all need to learn to move weight while in motion

[Blueeyedroan]

Ride bareback.

If I can’t walk, trot, canter, and stay balanced through a transition bareback then i’m off my game and need to go back to it.
This will also give you core and very valuable body control/awareness because if you start leaning - you simply fall off. You will become hyper aware of bad habits as you hit the ground.

***Of course, this has to be on a fairly trustworthy horse that is okay with it and will take a joke while you laugh hysterically at yourself and struggle.

[Demerara_Stables]

@JB

IMHO, off-horse work is what builds the strength and stabilitiy and stamina, and then in-saddle work nuances it so it works while in actually riding.

• Wide-stance squats, both holding as low as you can, and pulsing
• RDLs - Romanian Deadlifts - will strengthen your hamstrings and glutes, and doing them one-legged (after getting it downpat with both legs) will help even out asymmetries
• Supermans will help your whole posterior chain

This!

@JB

Keep in mind too that if you’re bouncing around, it may be the horse’s gait which is the catalyst, but it’s also because you’re stiff and trying to control every inch of your movement. Sometimes you gotta “go limp” LOL I don’t mean sack of potatoes limp, but relaxing into the movement and allowing the horse to do more of the work

Also this

It might be helpful to get him to do a reallllly slow trot in the beginning so you can stay soft in the saddle. Bouncing comes from tense muscles (yours or his or both) like a rubber bouncy ball, so softening your seat and keeping his back soft (by not bouncing and causing him to be tense and also making sure he’s using his back properly and not getting hollow/tight in the back) will help you sit with him better. Start with a slow trot so you can sit without gripping - ideally without stirrups so you’re not bracing against them - and work up gradually to a more forward trot. Keep your leg long and think about wrapping it down and around him. You may only be able to do it for a few steps at first, but don’t go so long that he gets tight in the back or speeds up, or so long that you get fatigued and start to get tense yourself.

The other exercises others have mentioned are great as well!

[Rumorhasit93]

Honestly…just walking without stirrups helps me a ton! Maybe do your walking before and after riding without stirrups, making sure to keep your leg in the same position as if you did have them.

If you’re able to, I bought a new saddle without blocks and my position has changed for the better in a way I honestly did not expect. You may even be able to unstitch the blocks off your current saddle (I don’t know if a layperson should do this, but it seems doable).

[Amberley]

Drop one stirrup at a time until you are strong enough to do both. Nothing really compares.

And yeah, remove the blocks from your saddle- that’ll help a lot.

[PNWjumper]

Stand straight up in your stirrups at the walk and trot. AOK to hold mane to help you.

I’ll take no stirrups work over standing any time, but boy does it help with strength and balance!

[mika0116]

Was going to also mention this as I forgot.

STRAIGHT UP - not 2 point no fold, no butt hinge backwards. UP.

my trainer has me even do it at the canter if I am really doing some BS on course…

[Annie10]

I need this too, keep the exercises coming!

[HipNo34]

I was going to ask you, how do you find barre?

I get that pilates is probably better but I’m actually interested in trying barre.

This winter is wreaking havoc on my already too-light barn schedule (2x/week usually). I need to do something on the days the driveway is impassable for those of us with smol cars.

[mika0116]

Both are good but pilates is better, barre teaches you ballet like turnout which is actually terrible for riding - slight internal rotation/neutrality is best for a strong leg.

Source ballet as a kid/teen and have many barnmates who were former near professional ballet dancers who had to really unlearn the external rotation to be effective.

[HipNo34]

Bummer. Ah, well. Pilates it is.
Thank you!

[dmveventer]

Have you actually taken barre classes? That was not my experience, there was very little actual ballet positioning used. I took a friend once who was a serious dancer through college and she was surprised by how tough the workout was for her. I found barre to be a really great complement for riding. It’s a full body workout that focuses on isolating muscles without impacting balance or stability elsewhere, and works a lot of the tiny muscles that are used in the saddle but don’t get activated with typical gym workouts. It was also cheaper and more available than Pilates in my area at the time, that’s probably pretty neighborhood-dependent though. I’ve enjoyed Pilates too so I don’t think OP can go wrong with either, I’d say try both and see which one you like better.

[ceh17555]

I actually have done pilates and barre, and love both! I do pure barre which honestly is just pilates without the machine, maybe other barre classes focus on ballet technique, but pure barre is just a group fitness class that anyone can take and I love it. I live in a small town with no pilates studio (i’m picky and only like the megaformer classes, which narrows it down even more). But even taking a month or two off from pure barre I am noticeable weaker in and out of the saddle, I highly recommend!

[ceh17555]

Thanks for all the recs everyone! I actually do a lot of these often and can do most of them, granted not for as long as I used to be able to, so will keep working on it. I talked to my trainer too and she thinks i’m just not used to a trot with a lot of suspension and made me watch of video of me sitting trot without stirrups and I’m actually not bouncing. It just feels so much different than my true eq horse who made everything look like you were just gliding lol!

[HipNo34]

Ooh, that sounds a little more like it!

After reading @mika0116’s reply, I was thinking “I struggle enough with my leg and heel as it is, I should avoid this!” Though I also struggle with organized, formal exercise on the whole

Thank you and @dmveventer for better explaining it.