How to stop favoring one stirrup/side

[BellaFortuna]

Has anyone found they put more weight in one stirrup then another? I have always put more weight in one side then the other. I regularly measure and rotate leathers to different sides, but i know it’s me because I’ve noticed it on different horses. It’s been hard to self-correct. My horse is more sensitive and it’s lead to some swaps on course on the lead where I put more weight on the outside stirrup (esp on the straightline) when I am not perfectly centered (mainly when I’m tired and I revert back to my default). Does anyone have any strategies?

I’ve tried hacking with the stirrup I don’t put enough weight in and removing the one I favor. I have not done it consistently yet. Open to any and all strategies, but also hoping I am not the only one with this struggle!

[Scribbler]

@BellaFortuna

Has anyone found they put more weight in one stirrup then another? I have always put more weight in one side then the other. I regularly measure and rotate leathers to different sides, but i know it’s me because I’ve noticed it on different horses. It’s been hard to self-correct. My horse is more sensitive and it’s lead to some swaps on course on the lead where I put more weight on the outside stirrup (esp on the straightline) when I am not perfectly centered (mainly when I’m tired and I revert back to my default). Does anyone have any strategies?

I’ve tried hacking with the stirrup I don’t put enough weight in and removing the one I favor. I have not done it consistently yet. Open to any and all strategies, but also hoping I am not the only one with this struggle!

I would suggest going to a physiotherapist and getting to the root of your personal physical assymetry.

Some possibilities. One leg is shorter than the other. One hip or pelvis side is rotated back and one forward. Or you have scoliosis in your back. Or almost anything. It’s likely not about your feet.

Once you know why you are unbalanced then you know if you need physical therapy or just an equipment change like one stirrup shorter.

[Elouise]

In total agreement with what Scribbler said.

For years, I couldn’t figure out what was going on with my lower body in the saddle (my leg started swinging despite tons of no stirrup work and weight training, my hips were uneven and twisting and I was favoring one side more than another). And then I was diagnosed with hip arthritis.

The body has a way of compensating for weaknesses.

[mst]

I have a student who does this so badly she’s actually sideways in the saddle. An exercise that helps is to put the hand opposite of your leaning side behind your back.

[erinmeri]

@BellaFortuna

I’ve tried hacking with the stirrup I don’t put enough weight in and removing the one I favor. I have not done it consistently yet. Open to any and all strategies, but also hoping I am not the only one with this struggle!

My trainer makes one student who has this problem do it every ride - lesson or flatting.

I would add: cross trainings I am currently very out of shape and not as balanced as I would like to be. My mare swaps leads to the right when I am not balanced and it has been a much bigger problem lately than it was previously when I was cross training (gym, PT). When I was in shape, I was much more balanced in the saddle and could make her hold her lead. In short: I was less one-sided even when she was because I had strength and situational awareness to correct myself.

[PNWSunnyDay]

I am very asymmetrical from left to right due to navicular necrosis on my left side ( guess I love horses so much I had to develop navicular changes myself.) Anyway, my right side compensates on and off the horse. I have an amended gait that favors my left side and I realized that I was riding so protectively that my horse would only have sweat or saddle marks on her right side. My leathers were another indicator of my asymmetry.

Physical therapy is what has helped me address the issues and develop more mindfulness surrounding using my body in a balanced way.

My right side is very tight and I have chronic nagging from my psoas muscles and hip flexors being overworked. PT helps me loosen those spasming areas while trying to build up my left side to better support myself. It isn’t easy, but understanding the ‘why’ behind the imbalance is key.

[StB.YM]

I have had to deal with this as well. It turns out that I have mild scoliosis, so my right hip is higher than my left. I do a lot of no stirrup work and try to focus on sitting centered, particularly when going to the right. Try cantering with no stirrups - if you don’t stay centered you slide to the outside - so its good motivation to focus on your seat! I have also found that the more tired I am, the more difficult it gets to sit evenly, so if I’m trying something technical, I try to do it on my right side first, before I’m exhausted, and then do it to the left.

[punchy]

I agree it’s likely something physical high up. In addition to addressing that problem, it helps to try different saddles. Poor saddle fit for a person with a physical problem like this is more noticeable; some saddles may cause less torquing. When I was younger I rode happily in any saddle, bar none. Now a days…I’m like the princess and the pea

[Trekkie]

If you have access to a safe, reasonably low withered horse try riding bareback, gradually increasing time and speed. This will essentially be the physical therapy you need to recenter and find your middle balance because the ability to compensate using the saddle and stirrups is out of the equation. Perhaps if you need start off on the longe line first if you don’t feel secure.

[lintesia]

I’ve struggled with a similar problem in that for a long long time I could easily weight my right stirrup but not my left, no matter how hard I tried. Riding without stirrups was never an issue (in fact, it’s always been easier for me to ride without stirrups than with stirrups). My chiro noted that my left leg is a tad shorter than my right and would adjust my hip/pelvis to help out but it never truly solved the problem.

Then my trainer had me shorten my left stirrup by half a hole and for many years I rode that way. One day I went back to even leathers and the problem had gone away. I’m still in awe that my brain can give the signal “Weight your left stirrup” and my leg actually does what its told!

[LazyA1]

Posting trot with one foot with a stirrup and the other foot without. Four times around the arena – once each direction with the outside stirrup dropped, and once each direction with the inside stirrup dropped. Keep your hips centered and this exercise will get your legs even.

[onlyTBmares]

A great exercise to help with this is to take both stirrups off your saddle, buckle them to each other, put them over your pommel and ride like this. You want to go slow and try walk and trot with two pointing before working up to the canter. I audited a clinic where many people almost fell off but it was super helpful. I would certainly echo the other points of addressing crookedness in the spine as well

[Spud_amp_Saf]

Do you do it on every horse/saddle or just one? Have you checked your saddle tree to make sure it isn’t twisted?

It could be you, it could be a twisted saddle tree, or it could be you are accommodating for a weakness/unevenness/asymmetry in the horse under you.

[Paint_Party]

@StB.YM

Try cantering with no stirrups - if you don’t stay centered you slide to the outside - so its good motivation to focus on your seat!

While I agree with the physical therapy/diagnosing an underlying condition suggestion, this exercise (cantering without irons) always works for me. It’s very revealing. Within moments I become abundantly aware if I’ve been sitting off to one side or “pushing down” more with one hip.

Due to a riding accident, I had paralysis in my right arm years ago, and I still have residual weakness. As a result, I tend to drop my right shoulder which then causes me to sit more on my right seat bone. It’s a domino effect, and if I’m not careful I can twist the muscles in my lower back. Riding w/o irons at the canter makes me more aware and helps me focus on my body position.

[173north]

@Spud_amp_Saf

Have you checked your saddle tree to make sure it isn’t twisted?

Seconding this… I know someone who spent ages trying to fix her own ‘crookedness’ and it turns out her saddle had been compromised internally somehow. I think one saddle fitter missed the problem and signed off on it early on and then the issue worsened gradually.

I’d also suggest a good PT and Pilates. Especially if it’s worse when you’re tired, that means it’ll be easier the more fit you get! I have one leg longer than the other due to a riding accident which throws my pelvis out of whack, and it’s just an ongoing battle to be straight.