Leg Imbalance

[centaursam]

I’ve got quite an imbalance in my legs in that my right leg is both stronger and generally more flexible than my left. Now that I’m riding more often, I’ve noticed how badly it has effected my riding and I’m not quite sure how to correct this.

This has led to all sorts of issues whilst riding:

-I tend to put more weight and drop my heel lower in my right leg so my saddle is usually shifted to the right
-My turns are substantially better on one side rather than the other
-Jumps aren’t affected that much but there are times when I land afterwards and we immediately start drifting to the left and I have to adjust to the center for the next jump
-Of the handful of times I’ve gone off a horse, it’s always to the right

I’ve tried to isolate my left leg in the gym and have worked on adding flexibility to my left but thus far it hasn’t effectively translated to the saddle, at least not yet.

Is there anything I can do while riding to strengthen/isolate my left leg and/or establish equilibrium between the two legs?

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

Posting trot with one stirrup is one exercise that might help.

[Scribbler]

I would visit a sports physiotherapist for advice. The problem could manifest itself as looking like strength or calf flexibility but in my experience, riders with persistent leg imbalance often have a problem in the hips or pelvis that is messing with the whole leg.

It would be really useful to get some expert eyes on your whole body and see where the problem originates. Then you can have a better idea how to either work to fix it or accomodate.

I would also add that if it’s not your horse you should also look very closely at the symmetry of the horse and the saddle. A saddle where the flocking is uneven or the horse is asymmetrical in the back muscles can mimic the effects of an unbalanced rider.

I have friends with body asymmetry and wonky saddles, and both. And I’ve spent the last year riding an older horse who needs a shim pad and if we get that wrong my coach starts ranting about how my hips are all tight because I’m off center. But it turns out that I can fix that with the right shim!
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

[WildLittleWren]

I am going to be following this. My chiro told me a couple years ago that my right leg is about an inch and a half longer, and about two inches more round in the thigh, than my left leg. This was due to my sacrum and lower back/hips being locked for quite a few years (and many years of pain I might add…that I tried my best to ignore), from horse falls and carrying my kids on that hip as well.

I am definitely interested in any advice you may receive!

[centaursam]

I’m going to try the one-sided posting trot for a few weeks during my lessons to see if it helps with isolating the left leg.

I know it’s not the horse as I’ve had this issue with every horse I ride, but it’s more prominent depending upon which saddle I use, narrow barrel vs. wide barrel horses, etc.

I’ll ask my chiro about the leg length, wouldn’t be surprised if this was a hip issue manifesting itself as a leg imbalance.

Reason why I believe it’s me and not the horse/saddle is because I swim frequently and when I do kicking sessions with just a kickboard (no arms) I always drift towards one side of the lane which indicates one leg isn’t kicking as hard or efficiently as the other. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an issue of strength, it could also be hip flexibility, ankle flexibility, etc. all of which translate to horseback riding.

[Edre]

Do keep in mind that everyone is naturally one-sided. Imagine you’re going down a flight of stairs and are jumping to the bottom from the third or fourth stair up: almost every person will have a preferred “leg” to land on. Much like the right arm/side of the torso is more developed than the left on most people (what hand to you pick things up and carry with?) the same is said for the leg. People have a natural preference for stepping out with one leg over the other (if you are standing square, one foot is typically what you will start your stride with unless other impediments exist).

Of course other physiological issues can come into play (scoliosis is actually a fairly common culprit IME), but one leg being notably stronger/more capable than another isn’t uncommon and as riders we spend a looot of time compensating for it (and trying to even ourselves out).

There are a couple of thoughts on this… as someone who is extremely one sided (I am very weak on the left, both by nature - my dominant leg is the right - but also due to old injury). One: In your daily life, practice making your weak leg your dominant one. Instead of relying/falling back on the right leg, use the left. Mindfulness!

The second is actually what I have found most beneficial, though - riding is not necessarily an exercise in strength but rather, timing, finesse, and communication. Being strong is a part of it but for me, “My left leg is weak, I can’t MAKE him listen to my leg!” is a flaw of my logic. If I am asking for an exercise and the horse is ignoring my left leg (the exercise is hard and the horse does not wish to do it, and ignoring the left leg because it is weaker, is easier than doing the exercise) then my solution technically shouldn’t be “have a stronger left leg!” It should be “Have a horse that is more attentive to my aids and doesn’t try to ignore them.” If the timing of my left leg is good, and the aid from my left side is correct, then I need to hold my horse to the standard that they need to obey the cues. Working on reactivity and responsiveness to the aids (developing a more sensitive, attuned horse) means that the horse is no longer trying to cheat through my (less strong) left side.

And of course because nothing in riding is simple, the less strong I need to be on my left side for aids to go through, the more capable and strong my left side becomes because rather than riding bilaterally (thinking of myself in terms of halves, “He’s not listening to my left leg!” and engaging in a struggle over it) I am riding correctly, with good timing and good aids, which reduces my one-sidedness (sometimes using the right to compensate for the weaker left) so my weak side actually gets stronger.

Clear as mud, eh?

[BroncoMo]

I have pretty much the same problem though my right ankle is less flexible due to multiple injuries. My coach would always yell at me to weight down my left stirrup more but despite my attempts, it just wouldn’t work. One day she decided to do some troubleshooting and had me jump without stirrups, then just one stirrup at a time. One stirrup at a time was eye opening. When she took my right stirrup away, my attempt at weighting that side dramatically revealed how much more I was weighting that leg. I could t hardly keep my torso straight up and in line because all my support was gone; I was essentially pushing my whole body down through my right leg.

Some dedicated no stirrup work (nothing crazy, just a few partial rides a week) alternating between complete no stirrups and riding with just one has evened out my riding; leg, seat, hand, everything. lead changes come easier, I can land the right lead on occasion now (though all my horses are left sided and prefer landing the left lead), and I don’t sit slouched to the right.

while I absolutely love the idea of sports physiologists, this might be a simple fix by doing some troubleshooting and taking away a stirrup. Worked wonders for me and I can now ride both sides of the horse.

[centaursam]

@Edre I think I follow what you’re saying. You ultimately can’t rely on strength whilst riding, you need to rely on finesse and skill of good horsemanship.

BUT is an issue like this getting in my way of building those skills and finesse? Assuming there is no structural deficiency, if I’m favoring my right side rather than my left because of less strength/flexibility or even just being more comfortable with my right, won’t my skills also be one sided?

@BroncoMo I’ve done some work with no stirrups and actually enjoyed it so perhaps I need to do that more regularly. Never tried one stirrup but I think that if something I’m going to try to incorporate every lesson, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

[Edre]

@centaursam

@Edre I think I follow what you’re saying. You ultimately can’t rely on strength whilst riding, you need to rely on finesse and skill of good horsemanship.

BUT is an issue like this getting in my way of building those skills and finesse? Assuming there is no structural deficiency, if I’m favoring my right side rather than my left because of less strength/flexibility or even just being more comfortable with my right, won’t my skills also be one sided?

Yes - ultimately, in an ideal world, the fact that we have a weaker side shouldn’t be relevant because we don’t muscle a horse into obedience. We develop the finesse and timing that they listen to. What does typically seem to happen is that if a horse doesn’t listen to a weaker side initially, we fall into bad habits (one big one RE: the leg, is curling up the heel/chasing with the heel rather than continuing to use the entire leg for a cue). So mindfulness again, here - don’t stop asking correctly just because it is weaker or harder to do so (and again, this is I think where a lot of bad habits ultimately develop - because we compensate and start using less than correct methodology to get what we’re asking for). I actually will carry a dressage whip exclusively in my left hand to reinforce that a horse obeys the cue from the left leg. The ultimate goal is for the rider to continue to cue correctly and not fall into bad habits (the bad habits, exampled above with the heel, but also sometimes riders can end up sitting unevenly, throwing their shoulders, or overusing the strong side to try to push through). And then the more you repeat doing it correctly with no bad habits (in my case, with help of a whip) the more finesse you build…and then the strength comes afterwards, too.

[cedarlake]

I remember having horrible issues with this and having closed off hips. After x rays, it turns out I had a solid case of scoliosis. I had to get chiro 3-4 times a week and slowly taper off to once a month. My riding improved significantly.

While I no longer do chiro, which I need to do, I do get massaged monthly which has really helped me.

[GoodTimes]

Try the Greg Best stirrup exercise. Attach your stirrups together and lay them over your saddle (make sure the buckles are down by the stirrups, put one leather over the seat, and the other in front of the pommel). You have to ride in balance or you’ll slide off the side. And since you’re still putting weight in the stirrups you’re less likely to use your knees to compensate and balance.

I would also recommend going for a consult with a chiro, RMT, physio, or kinesiologist to see if they can identify the asymmetry a bit better. You’ve identified the symptom, but you need a diagnosis. Is the root of the problem simply a lack of muscle? Or lack of flexibility? Is one side way more dominant? Is it coming from an ankle problem? A hip problem? A neck or shoulder problem? Or all of the above?

And like others said, it could be a small issue for you, that gets compounded by a similar small issue with the horse. Some horses are also far more sensitive to rider imbalances.

[specifiedcupcake]

Funny anecdote, if ound the same when I drove an automatic transmission car- you use your right foot and ankle for more precision movements for up to a couple hours a day.

Theres an exercise I did for shin splints and arch strength that might help a bit: shoebox with marbles if you need physical objects, put the marbles on the ground, then with your toes and ankle pick them up and put them in the box. (Or if you can imagine and imitate the movement, just do that while you’re sat at your desk at work or watching TV)

Yoga and rock climbing help keep me a bit more even these days too.

[Scribbler]

I couldn’t quite visualize the Greg Best stirrups mentioned above so I Googled. The photo makes it clear. Clever and fiendish!

https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2016/03/the-greg-best-masterclass/

[centaursam]

@Scribbler

I couldn’t quite visualize the Greg Best stirrups mentioned above so I Googled. The photo makes it clear. Clever and fiendish!

https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2016/03/the-greg-best-masterclass/

Thanks for providing the link! Some good stuff in that article, this somewhat goes with what @Edre was eluding to earlier:

“One of the terms Greg used a lot in his comments, especially to the guys, was ‘be a little rider,’ he was encouraging the use of technique rather than strength.”

I know this isn’t a spinal issue as I have had imaging done on my spine in the past and all was okay. I’ll ask my chiro next time I’m in about hip alignment and will throw in a few stirrup-modification exercises in my lesson tomorrow.

[joiedevie99]

I took a very minor fall, but landed awkwardly on one butt cheek. Apparently, it jammed my SI on one side. All of a sudden I felt like my stirrups were uneven, or one leg had gotten shorter. It took weeks of physio and chiro, but as soon as the discomfort in the SI stopped, the one-legged issues did too.

[SCI]

It usually boils down to core strength. It sounds like your torso is collapsing and you are trying to rely on leg strength to keep you straight.

I was a very crooked rider with a left side dominance. I had to do physical therapy after shoulder surgery and went to a PT clinic that specializes in postural realignment. I found that I torque my body as a result of core weakness. Since I have been doing a lot of core strengthening (to include proper breathing) my riding is much straighter. I would recommend pilates.