Human conformation vs strengths in riding (questions)

[theresak]

I’m one who can arch the back and hunch the shoulders at the same time. The arching of my back is better the more open I can get my hip angles. The hunched shoulders is more of my conformation and amount of muscle I have across the top of my back - I’ve always had close to “swimmers shoulders.”

My abs are not sore after riding or doing a lesson or clinic. I usually ride 5 days a week and workout 4 days a week (of which 2 days are very focused on my core). And to further comment on working on your “abs” or “core”…The core class that I do works you from your knees to your shoulders. A lot of people forget about all those muscles that are not the abs that make up the core. I found strengthening muscles from abs to knees really stabilizes my position. And now I can really HH from my whole core, but also break it down depending on what the HH needs to accomplish - for the passage, I think about my very low abs and pulling them up towards my belly button, but making sure my back is loose. Piaffe is more upper thigh + abs and a little bit of back. Pirouette canter is a whole core HH…

I can ride the hind legs up under if I’m careful about keeping my pelvis neutral. I used to have a bad habit of switching between a driving seat on my back pockets and then rotated too far forward - both of which inhibit bringing the hind legs under.

Although too short at 5’ 2" to be an “ideal” body type for a dressage rider, I have a shorter torso and long legs, especially in the femur. I’m also able to ride with a very open hip angle, which makes me look taller. And I have a short-flap saddle. I still only get a few inches of actual leg on my pet dinosaur below the saddle pad.

[GraceLikeRain]

I have really bad lordosis. I do core work out of the tack to try and compensate. However, because of my back I really struggle to properly align my upper body so that I can engage my core. More times than not my lower back is on fire after a ride, which is a frustrating reminder of my physical limitations.

Due to an improperly set broken shoulder in my youth my upper body tends to curl inwards. I sport that lovely S shape in the tack more often than not. When you pair that with stubby legs on a 5’1 frame it’s a life-long uphill battle.

I am much more successful with a very cadenced ride as it provides the evenness and consistency that my body needs to let go of tension. Flat racy gaits are very challenging for me to positively influence because it plays on my structural weaknesses.