I am having trouble getting my weight on my left seat bone, & staying in the center of my horse.
I had a back injury long ago that has left me sl weaker on the left. Also very mild curvature of the spine, concave to the right. So, I tend to want to collapse inward to the right & weight my right stirrup.
Anyone have any exercises that can improve this? I try to be concious when I ride, but would like to get it to the point where I can concentrate on other things more.
Physical therapy would be ideal, if you can get it.
I found Britta Pederson very helpful in correcting my imbalances. https://www.facebook.com/performancerefinery/
Pilates. Yoga too.
2 point. Lots of 2 point.
Mary Wanless
I do a lot of no-stirrup work. Sometimes only for part of the ride and some days for the entire ride. It really makes a difference.
I found someone who practices ortho Bionomy and it really helped me when I hit a plateau with PT. I have a bum hip and l5 arthritis.
Ride with just your left foot out of the stirrup. It’ll fix the problem quickly.
Kneeling on a yoga ball. It’s an integral part of the Dressage Rider Program.
yoga. Tai chi.
on a sort of similar note my daughter’s NATRC pony’s saddle was constantly slipping to the right
She was also an equitation rider on our real horses so her form was not a question, we replaced girths, saddle pad and anything related but the saddle keep slipping the right
So did a Real Close examination of the award winning pony standing on a concrete pad to find out his right front leg was shorter about 1/2 inch than his left… had farrier add a pad on the right front to level the boy out and then the saddle stopped slipping
I think I would do more damage to myself trying this than actually riding!!! But I have a ball and may just give it a tiny try.
You can always put something at the base of the ball to stabilize it a bit, and also have a wall or something nearby to steady yourself as you get used to it. I used to find it pretty hard to do on my less inflated ball on carpet at home, and now I can pretty much get right up on the well-inflated ball on the rubber mats at the gym (rolls easier than on carpet). It is a brain/postural muscle training thing for sure!
Well, a try or two - I’m a long way from being vertical and hands free for more than a second, but still in one piece. Something to work on and at least my aging body is close to the ground!
Feldenkrais!! I’ve been doing this one exercise daily (because it makes my posture amazing) and I’ve noticed my saddle isn’t slipping to one side anymore. Riding to the right has always been awkward for me, which makes my pony a bit lopsided but now we’re having a much easier time.
Feldenkrais is wonderful for balancing your body. So easy to do, in fact you’ll feel as if you’re not really doing anything at all.
I like the idea of this! I have SI joint problems from falls as a child (not horse-related) and I bet these stretches would help them a lot. Thanks for posting this video.
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