Proper foot position

[centaursam]

Is there a proper position for the foot in dressage? I’ve seen riders with toes out, others with toes pointing straight forward. I’ve seen heels down, I’ve also seen heels relatively flat and parallel to the ground.

Is it just a matter of comfort? I’m currently struggling with gripping issues with my lower leg. My trainer is having me turn my toes straight since they tend to point outwards (remnants of my jumping days) in an attempt to get my lower leg off the horse when it’s not needed. Another trainer suggested this as well, but it’s very painful turning my toes forward. I lack the ankle flexibility so my ankle tends to roll out and my knee gets twisted which results in nothing but pain so I question if this is the right thing to do.

[Scribbler]

You have to turn the leg at the thigh. Then the foot will fall where it falls. Turn the thigh and then drop the thigh down.

Gripping tends to go along with lack of balance and tilting forwards . Maybe some longe lessons could help.

Toes cannot be forced. To some extent it’s based on your hip and pelvis. But as you get more secure your toes will move forward.

I had good forward toes as a kid, more pointy out for the first couple of years back in the saddle in my 40s then decently forward. The size of your horses barrel has an impact. Slab sided horses can give you a straighter looking leg.

Focus on not Gripping and sitting in and up and let the toes take care of themselves.

[Equibrit]

First learn to sit in balance, THEN you can drape your leg. I will add that the saddle balance is of great importance.

[SillyHorse]

Your heels need to be down (and flexible) with your weight in them when you’re jumping in order to stabilize your position. But it also fixes the leg, something you don’t want in dressage. Most dressage riders I see ride with slightly lowered heels, but not much weight in the stirrups – until you need it for, for instance, a downward transition.

[outerbanks77]

This topic has been addressed at length most recently in this thread: Any home exercises to help toes not turn out when riding?

Toes turning out are more of a symptom of issues farther up the thigh, hip and pelvis. When those are correct, the toes will point more forward as the leg begins to drape. This is not an overnight process, and trying to force your toes forward will just invite tension and bracing.

Heels down was drilled into me earlier in my riding career, but it is not helpful for dressage. The rest of the leg should drape nicely down the horse, and the ankle should be in a middle position where it can easily flex and act as a shock absorber. When you become light in your stirrups, you can then use slight stirrup pressure as a refined weight aid, but again it’s something that takes a long time to develop.

[JB]

Like the others said, feet are a by-product of what the leg is doing, just as hands are a by-product of what the shoulders are doing, just like the front end of the horse is a by-product of what the hind end is doing

Heel drop depends on innate flexibility, as well as proper weight on the stirrup

A trainer who is telling you to point your toes forward has missed the boat when it comes to the function of the leg. Just saying “point your toes forward” is a great way to develop pinching with your knee and make your lower leg very sore as you force inward rotation from the knee down, as you have discovered.

As I mentioned in that thread that was linked, above, focusing on pushing toes in is a great way to roll the foot outward. If you think instead about pulling heels out, that almost by default causes you to rotate your whole leg in.

Try it. Stand on your left leg and lift your right leg just off the ground. First pull your toes in, see what happens to your foot. Then push your heel out, and see what happens to your foot and leg.

[Willesdon]

There are two things I have found to be helpful in my journey. One is to stand up in my stirrups when I first go into the arena to find my balance then gently lower myself into the saddle without moving lower leg too much, ideally not at all. That should be a balanced position. The other thing is to put a hand under the back of my thigh and pull it back to flatten my upper thigh against the saddle. Most women have a fairly padded inside thigh and that can get in the way.

[merrygoround]

Yes, the toes should be forward, how forward depends on indidual anatomy, For women, Willesdon suggestion is helpful. Many European riders have, since infancy ( I swear), ridden with that long stetched down leg, an almost impossible position for mature adults to assume.

As far as heels go, weight should be in the heels.with the ankle flexible. Forcing the heels down, as in hunters is counter productive, as the ankle must be free espeicially in the sitting trot for the weight to drop down and through the heels.

[centaursam]

Thank you all for the replies! I’ll definitely go through the other thread!

I will say my toes aren’t aggressively pointed out, they just point out slightly, naturally when I hang my leg, irrespective of whether or not stirrups are there. Opening my hip up does help in terms of helping me sink into the saddle and probably correcting any gripping I do with my calves but it’s easy to lose that openness once I start moving. I suspect it’s my body trying to establish some sort of balance through the lower leg.

[Willesdon]

@centaursam

… Opening my hip up does help in terms of helping me sink into the saddle and probably correcting any gripping I do with my calves but it’s easy to lose that openness once I start moving. I suspect it’s my body trying to establish some sort of balance through the lower leg.

The lunge is extremely helpful in helping to establish that balance.

[SuzieQNutter]

Don’t force them forward. It doesn’t matter if they are not perfectly forward. You also don’t want to be left behind if going between 2 trees!

Are you sitting in a chair now? Move your seat bone forward, your thigh should drop, your lower leg will come back. I have short Achilles tendons, don’t expect my heels to be down. (BIG SIGH!)

[JB]

@merrygoround

Forcing the heels down, as in hunters

Never a good idea in Hunters either

[TheDBYC]

Correct toe position is mainly the byproduct of the heads of the femur resting at an anatomically neutral angle in the hip sockets.

[Equibrit]

@centaursam

I suspect it’s my body trying to establish some sort of balance through the lower leg.

There is the problem. You should be balancing through your seat, leaving your extremities free to move independently. Hence the dresage riders obsession with saddles