Shoulders Back and other posture correcters....

[netg]

[QUOTE=Wicky;8708667]
In order to keep your shoulders back while riding, you have to train your muscles to hold in that spot. If you use a brace or other artificial device, you are teaching those muscles that they don’t have to do anything because now the device is working and taking over from the small amount those lazy muscles were doing. So most likely things will get worse, not better and you’d have to wear the brace all the time.

Two things seem to help me. First is thinking of my armpits down. Second is feeling my elbows by my sides, and controling my hands via my elbows.[/QUOTE]

I do agree that being held in place can be an issue. Instead, focus on correct use of muscles for the best function matters.

At the root of everything is proper use of various muscles to best ride and move with our horses. “Shoulders back” was defined for centuries men riding, where movement within the hips/pelvis to move with the horse is typically not an issue, but the lack of core use due to hunching more often can be.

For women, thinking shoulders back can lock the back and hips and cause a sway back - putting women on their crotches instead of in a neutral seat, blocking motion, shoulders behind pelvis causing them to pull on the horse’s mouth unconsciously, and causing back pain to riders. For some with more mobility, shoulders back helps them have better posture and correct alignment rather than hunching. I’m one of the former and a device to force my shoulders back would be a very bad thing. Instead, I work on lifting my rib cage to clear space for my hips to move. At work, I put my keyboard higher than people say you should because it gets me sitting up straighter instead of hunching - the supposedly ergonomic posture really makes you slouch.

@Jo;8710589

This thing is either the greatest invention ever or the spawn of the devil. We have one at our farm now. :lol::lol::lol:

@Diamontaire;8973501

I just took the leap and ordered an Equicube. I’m hoping I can also figure out a way to use it off my horse as I don’t have an indoor.

So they’re kind of light to me… my trainer made me ride with a cinderblock when I was trying to understand how to use my core to ask for uphill carriage from my horse.
http://goodideasandtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Cinder-Block-300x300.jpg
I could only walk and trot in that, but it really identified the muscles I needed to keep my alignment and allow movement with my horse. He also had me walk with it off my horse. It’s not something you can do for more than a few minutes, but it helps you identify the muscles to use. After that, an equicube can be the reminder but is light enough to continue to use w/t/c through a ride.

[staceyk]

Poze

I just ordered Poze, a product that attaches to your shirt and buzzes when you are slouching - intended for unmounted time, but I’m hoping it will help me in my riding.

For me, it helps not to think of the shoulders but of the core, my trainer tells me to press the wrinkles out of the front of my shirt with my ribs and tummy. I think this visualization helps me be more correct without the tension that “shoulders back” creates. It also gets me off my back pockets from having a collapsed middle.

And, riding with SHORT REINS helps to keep you sitting up in the saddle, arms forward, not collapsing. That has made huge difference in my riding.

The equicube sounds like it would be great for about 20 minutes or to start, but once you have that feel the point has been made – I could see a lesson program buying it and getting their money’s worth – as an individual, I guess I’d buy and resell?

[Willesdon]

I have found that yoga, thai chi and Alexander Technique have all helped me. Without a horse, one is far more aware of ones own balance and the importance of posture in holding various positions during the workout. That knowledge is then easy to transfer into the saddle. Also, someone on the ground to say “shoulders” when I forget. As the horse goes so much better when I have open shoulders, the horse also informs me when I’m doing the right thing!

[Dressage_Strider]

I have a tennis ball I keep in my purse. Whenever I drive or am sitting at work I put it behind one of my shoulders and just keep it there. I pretty much forget about it unless I hunch and I feel it slip.

Also when riding, occasionally ride with one hand holding the reins and the other hand stretching all the way up to the sky. I find that the more we think about trying to fight ourselves and pull a body part in one direction, the more we are just tightening muscles and making it harder on ourselves. Stretching your entire arm up relaxes these muscles, and puts your shoulder where it should be.

[kcmel]

@Wicky

In order to keep your shoulders back while riding, you have to train your muscles to hold in that spot. If you use a brace or other artificial device, you are teaching those muscles that they don’t have to do anything because now the device is working and taking over from the small amount those lazy muscles were doing. So most likely things will get worse, not better and you’d have to wear the brace all the time.

I’ve found it doesn’t really hold your shoulders back, it’s more of a reminder because you feel it when you don’t. I think it works pretty well, if you get the right fit. I need to get mine out…

[Moderator_1]

Heads up that this is an older thread that was bumped by now-deleted spam. Feel free to continue to contribute, however.

Thanks!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Lately two things have helped my shoulders.

Carrying the Equicube for a minute or two “fixes” my back and shoulders for the rest of my 30 min. lesson. My riding instructor was handing me the Equicube every lesson until–

I started wearing a protective vest. Since I started wearing my vest during lessons she has not said anything about my shoulders or my back. The vest really helps in stopping my habitual slouch in the saddle. My vest is the Tipperary Eventer Pro, I had to get a child’s version for it to fit.

When it gets too hot for me to wear the vest I am sure that she will start handing me the Equicube again.

[MichaelzWilson]

I’ve had some serious posture problems for a while now and I think that I can help you. I have used many different Posture Correctors and saw some pretty solid results. I cannot vouch for them because they may not help you like they helped me. But I hope that you will at least try some of these out.

[wsmoak]

Ditto what @happilyretired said. I was a much better rider after working with a personal trainer for a while on strength and balance. I could actually progress in my lessons instead of taking the same lesson over and over because I couldn’t physically DO what was being asked of me.

Another thing you may want to try is a Lumo Lift. It’s a little device you wear on a strap or undershirt near your collarbone. You set it to the posture you want to maintain, and then it buzzes if you lean or slouch. (Not for use while riding, it helps you fix your posture when sitting or standing.)

Plus sets of exercises like squeezing the shoulder blades together, neck stretches, etc.

You can’t really ‘fix’ this on the horse if you spend most of your time hunched over a computer.

But once you’ve retrained and strengthened the muscles, you’ll be better able to hold things where they belong.

[netg]

Note that the person who posted a link and bumped this zombie post is the creator of the product to which he linked, not someone helped by the product.