Coming back to this, but their regular height for my shoe size is way too tall. They’re not quite my style, but I was willing to give them a chance for an everyday boot. One is not allowed to have big feet and be short 
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Exactly. This is why “my people” wander around barefoot in the countryside without proper boots.
Somehow or other though, those Shire boots worked for me. Right off the rack. It was a miracle.
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Ha!
I have the opposite problem! Small feet (5.5/36) but not-slim calves 
IF I can even find the shoe size in the 1st place… 6 or 6.5 is usually the smallest foot size, and often 6 fits a 1/2 size larger anyway. I have soooooo many insoles to make my boots ‘properly’ fit my foot so I can wear them.
5’1" (on a VERY good day) but funnily my tibia seems proportionally longer than my fibula (not that that’s saying much anyway [28.5" inseam])… 
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LOL at the big feet. I have those problems too. I inherited boots from my father In Law. If I start riding again I think I will have to go and buy some.
I have put in an interest on buying a warmblood mare with her own custom saddle. OMG do I wish that the saddle fits me as well. I have read this thread with interest.
I have no dog in the fight of what has been posted in this thread.
You have to earn your long stirrups. You can’t just put your stirrups down and think that is it. You have to have enough leg strength to put the stirrups down, so when you come back from a riding hiatus. You have to start with a shorter stirrup length and earn the longer leg again.
The touting about us not being able to judge a rider without seeing them in person is totally incorrect.
Just like horses who don’t care that you think you can ride, before you get on, we can see an awful lot from a still photo.
Look at the difference of the quality of the photo from the other photos posted on this thread. There is a big difference and that person is not stating they are a dressage professional.
I am afraid in my opinion a dressage professional would never have posted those 2 photos above and is not a dressage professional per se.
It is totally fine to not ride dressage with a shorter stirrup length. Go for it, just don’t lecture people on the internet that it is okay and that you teach it to others and then use those photos.
The first one the horses hocks are so far out the back, it is not funny and no that is not what a free walk on a loose rein looks like. That is not a horse with dressage muscle.
The basics of a dressage position is shoulder hip heel in a straight line. Even when obscured by the guy, the heel is nowhere near the line from the shoulder. The seat is not correctly in the saddle. The rider is on their butt.
This rider should not be lecturing others on the internet or teaching more than up down lessons.
And yes I am menopausal cranky.
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has anyone suggested physical therapy? Tight muscles can be overcome.
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I’ve done it many times. It always makes the pain much worse. Stretching doesn’t help, either. The muscles revert right back to their original tightness within about an hour. Muscle relaxers help a bit, but I can’t really take them because of POTS and other medical issues. Maybe massage would help, but I can’t afford much of anything that insurance doesn’t cover.
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Sometimes it’s not stretching so much, although that does help, it’s about strengthening. It’s hard though when you have medical conditions that aren’t conducive to stretching and strengthening though.
The stronger I am, the less tight I am in my hips. I feel as though some are tight in the hips due to compensating for weaknesses. I’ve had to put a lot of work on to improve my hips, and it’s an ongoing thing.
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I am the same way - any stretching I do has to be very tiny stretches or it exacerbates the problem. One thing I’ve found that actually helps is Back On Track. Their calf brace has been a lifesaver for me, and they make women’s boxers and leggings that might help. My left calf was so tight that I limped until I started wearing the brace. It kept the muscle warm and supported and eventually I was able to only wear it on the “tight days.”
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Yes, I know that can definitely be the case in some instances. I did the hardest Jillian Michaels workouts for years and was super strong, and I think it made it worse during those times. 
@CanteringCarrot is spot on. You have you do the right strengthening for what you need. I did Jillian Michaels back in the day too (along with P90X) and neither did anything for my chronically tight muscles. After almost two years of PT and rider specific pilates, I feel like I have an entirely different body in the saddle. I used to have chronically tight hamstrings due to my Ehlers Danlos, and that went away a couple months after I started the pilates.
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If you want to dip your toe into some rider pilates online for free (for the month of January), check this out:
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Thats the program I started this past March and can only rave about it!
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Thank you so much! I was just about to ask what program you used. PT has always made my symptoms worse. Yoga also gives me tingling and other types of neuropathy. Funny you mention EDS, because two of my Doctors suspect this might be sort of the picture for me. It’s often glossed over because my tight muscles mask how loose my joints truly are, and were, especially when I was younger and they hadn’t become so tight.
I would find a different PT and try again, if you haven’t already. My PT also rides, so she (I think) understands the more unique ways I need my body to work than someone who doesn’t ride. She was the one that recommended Riders Pilates Club to compliment my work with her. AND if you even suspect EDS, making sure that is properly taken into consideration into your program.
Side story, in college I dealt with more chronic headaches/fatigue from my EDS than too much joint/muscle pain. I figured it was because I was younger. However, I failed to remember that I took Pilates in college for at least two full years, and had a Pilates DVD that I did between semesters and over summers. Looking back, I think that was doing a lot more good than I even thought to realize.
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I have been to three different PTs, and one was actually a rider. I suspect it didn’t work because my medical issues were not being taken into such strong consideration at the time, and it was believed to be a member thing, rather than a medical condition. I haven’t tried Pilates yet, however.
That’ll do it! It does take a decent amount of time to work through things. I initially started going when I couldn’t turn my head to the left much more than 45 degrees and figured it wasn’t going to go away on its own after about 8 months 
A good chunk of PT for me is acupuncture which really helps my muscles release and some traction for my neck and then the exercises (now just pilates) at home. I wasn’t too focused on my hammies in PT because I was so used to that being my normal and the pilates ended up taking care of that. I go about quarterly now for acupuncture/traction tune ups and thats been holding me over pretty well.
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