Lower leg position problems with lease horse

[dogsbody1]

I started leasing a horse this spring after taking some time away from riding. I knew I had a wobbly lower leg, and it seemed even worse on this horse than others I lessoned on, but I chalked it up to lack of fitness and figured I could work through it.

Basically, I have been torturing myself 4 days a week for 2 months doing all the lower leg exercises in my playbook: walking and trotting in 2-point, posting up-2-down-2 or up-3-down-1, etc, upward and downward transitions in 2-point, alternating sitting and rising trot…everything but posting without stirrups, which I’m willing to endure under the right circumstances, but not riding solo or when the weather is “spooky.”

The result is that my lower leg feels much more secure, but I am still having problems with my position. My lower leg looks great in half seat or two point, but the second I put any weight at all in the saddle, I end up in a chair seat.

I tried adding a rear riser pad, and that helped some. But I still find that I cannot sit and keep my leg behind the girth at the same time. When I post, I either keep my upper body straight, but my leg is in front of me like a saddle seat rider; or my leg is in the right position, but I am bent forward with my shoulders over the pommel. I have the same problem in canter.

Is this just a fitness issue? Is it a saddle fit issue I can mitigate with a different pad or something? I really like this horse, but I am so tired of every lesson hearing “sit up” and then “leg back,” and not being able to do both at once no matter how hard I try!

[Ponyplusaninch]

Hearing this…

Have you ridden in any other saddles to see if it makes a difference?

Rider and horse confirmations don’t always mesh which means we have to get creative to find that right balance point and be effective in cueing our horses.

Saddles can really make or break this, too. Stirrup bar placement, seat size, flap length/position–all of those can influence rider balance.

[Xctrygirl]

@dogsbody1

Are you using the “Bendy” stirrups ???

Em

[steelerino]

Both the above suggestions are good ones. No amount of strength training will help if you are fighting your equipment.

[NaturallyHappy]

@Ponyplusaninch

Saddles can really make or break this, too. Stirrup bar placement, seat size, flap length/position–all of those can influence rider balance.

Yup.

[dogsbody1]

I haven’t tried a different saddle, but I have tried bendy stirrups, regular stirrups, and even wide stirrup leathers (no difference with any of the above).

She has an assigned saddle and I am pretty sure I would be discouraged from changing things up or using my own. It’s a month-to-month in-barn lease. I had a choice of leasing other horses, but chose this one based on her age and temperament (old and quiet, lol). I knew from the very first ride I had some equitation issues to work through. But she’s big and drafty, so I thought I just needed some time to get used to her gaits. And I thought a rear riser pad would also make more of a difference than it seems to have.

Maybe it really is a lack of fitness, but I genuinely feel like 8 weeks of consistent riding should have fixed such a fundamental position problem.

I have thought about letting it go and not worrying about it. She trots when I want to trot and canters when I want to canter, even if my leg is off in another zip code. In the end, for me, it’s all about having fun and staying safe. But… I guess it’s that I don’t want to look like such a yahoo.

[Ponyplusaninch]

Do you have any photos of you on her? That might help us make suggestions.

Riser pads IMO don’t necessarily fix a chair seat. I prefer half pads where you can shim and get the right amount.

[dmveventer]

Saddle fit would be my first thought as well, but I wouldn’t mess with pads if the saddle fits the horse correctly without them. There’s not really much you can do to fix a rider fit issue other than get a new saddle, if that’s an option. You could try messing with your stirrup length as a workaround in the meantime, that got me through a lease with a saddle that I really hated.

You could also take a look at the rest of your fitness routine. A weak core can cause a variety of position issues, and you also might need to incorporate more mobility work. If you’ve been really emphasizing the lower leg exercises lately you may need to balance things out.

@dogsbody1

But she’s big and drafty, so I thought I just needed some time to get used to her gaits.

As a small person, big drafty horses tend to put me in a chair seat no matter what. They’re just too wide, my hips can’t deal. If this is the case for you it’s not something you can fix with fitness or saddle fit, and if you otherwise like the horse I wouldn’t spend too much energy worrying about it. Leasing always involves some compromise.

[dogsbody1]

Ok bear with me…these are stills from a video and the image quality leaves much to be desired, but hopefully better than nothing.

[Amberley]

Seriously? Look at the pads you are using to try and make the saddle work (it doesn’t fit). There is nothing under the back 6" of the saddle. Of course you are falling bac when you sit down. Does the horse have a sway back? It looks fairly underweight in this clip, or at least lacking topline.

[dogsbody1]

@Amberley

There is nothing under the back 6" of the saddle.

Ok I know, that is terrible, but I intentionally push it forward when I tack up because it works its way aaallll the way out the back by the end of the ride otherwise. When I put it in a normal position at the start of the ride, it will literally fall out by the end. The horse does lack top line, but she is over 20 years old.

ETA: The pictures aren’t chronological. You can see in the top picture the riser is in a better spot. The 2-pt picture is from the very beginning of the ride, warming up. The horse is well looked after, shoes and pads on all 4 feet, in light work packing around kids and re-riders like myself who just want to flat. She is sound and a good weight.

[dmveventer]

Yikes. This saddle is not even close to fitting the horse correctly, and I can’t imagine it’s comfortable for either of you. Not to mention the safety issues from riding on a saddle that moves so much while you’re riding. I would be seriously reconsidering riding at a barn that thought this was ok.

[Midge]

@dogsbody1

Ok I know, that is terrible, but I intentionally push it forward when I tack up because it works its way aaallll the way out the back by the end of the ride otherwise. When I put it in a normal position at the start of the ride, it will literally fall out by the end.

This means the saddle doesn’t fit.

[dogsbody1]

@dmveventer

Yikes. This saddle is not even close to fitting the horse correctly, and I can’t imagine it’s comfortable for either of you. Not to mention the safety issues from riding on a saddle that moves so much while you’re riding. I would be seriously reconsidering riding at a barn that thought this was ok.

Ok, I need to say I am the one responsible for the egregious riser placement. I did the tacking here. Maybe the saddle is the reason the riser won’t stay in place, or maybe it’s the horse’s conformation, or maybe I am just not doing the girth tight enough—possibly all 3.

Saddle fit notwithstanding, I can confidently say this is a wonderful barn with knowledgeable staff and an owner worth her weight in gold. I have BTDT with bad trainers and dodgy horsekeeping, and I am really happy with this barn, even if I am not happy with this saddle.

[akhunterrider]

I would not expect you’d be able to keep your leg where it’s supposed to be unless the saddle fit issue is remedied. Have you been using this pad/saddle set up the whole time? Is that what your trainer approved/recommended for this horse?

Editing to say also that based on these two pictures only, I would say the saddle is 1) too small and 2) the stirrup bars are not doing any favors to help you have your leg underneath you

[dmveventer]

The saddle is the reason the pad won’t stay in place. It’s not conformation or girth tightness, it’s a very poorly fitted saddle. If the owner has seen you ride with this setup and hasn’t said anything that’s a huge red flag. Any halfway decent trainer should have made you get off and fix it the second they saw you. I’m sorry to be a downer since you like the barn, but those pictures are really, really bad.

[Xctrygirl]

Ok first and foremost… THANK you for being brave about sharing pics. I know it’s a little rough being worried about judgement over the internet. So, thanks for sharing.

Second, your leg, in and of itself I think is not as bad as you think. I believe that the saddle, not being the right one for this animal and you, is definitely affecting what you would be experiencing. As others have said you will need to look around for an alternative but I would not get defeated yet. I think once you find something more suitable things will click in and the world will be a better place.

Best,

Emily

[NaturallyHappy]

@akhunterrider

Editing to say also that based on these two pictures only, I would say the saddle is 1) too small and 2) the stirrup bars are not doing any favors to help you have your leg underneath you

Agreed…these two things go hand in hand. Could you ask to try a different saddle?

[Ponyplusaninch]

I agree 100% with this. I was expecting a lot worse, but what I’m seeing is you fighting a saddle that falls a lot in back. Anyone would have that issue!

I also think if you plan to make this situation work, you should ditch that riser bad entirely and look for a shimmable mattes pad or something of that ilk, but it should be shimmable. New they are not cheap–like $200. But you can find them used, and they are very worthwhile when you’ve got to make a saddle fit situation work. I think that is likely to stay better with the saddle (even though it’s not the greatest fit for you or the horse) and make it work.

[findeight]

@dogsbody1

She has an assigned saddle and I am pretty sure I would be discouraged from changing things up or using my own

If this saddle is putting your leg in the wrong place you will never get anywhere, saddle fit is not just for horses and no shims or pads are going to change where your center of gravity is or where it puts your hips in relation to your lower leg.

What kind of saddle is it? Is a picture so we can see possible? And you need to ask if you can use another saddle, do not be “afraid to ask”. You are not getting anywhere and wasting time and money. Speak up, politely of course.