dressage thigh rolls knee blocks

[silkrider]

Does my leg need to be touching the thigh rolls/knee blocks? Regardless of where i try to keep my leg, my knee always seems to crawl up and pinch against the top of the thigh rolls. This can't be right.

Just where is my leg supposed to in relation to them. Should my upper leg be nearly vertical and tucked up next to the thigh roll? I can put it there, or well off in front of them (few inches), but once i start rising trot my left knee crawls ontop of the thigh roll and my right knee pushes up against it and now it is bruised.

 

[*hic*]

Think of them as guides rather than as stops. However your knee creeping up problem would be the same in every saddle. Two basic solutions, get a more forward cut saddle and shorten your stirrups, or do loads of work without stirrups making sure you are keeping your weight down through the back of your leg.

Just thinking a little further about it if your knees are ending up in different places then you are not straight in the saddle. A resolution to this would be a good instructor and lunge lessons.

 

[sbloom]

If you're aligned correctly, shoulder hip heel, and your knee is off the block, then that's where they should stay - it's all about your alignment. If your leg drifts forwards of this (and it sounds like that is the case if it is only one leg) then you need to work on hip releases etc to help your knee sink back down).

When then deciding if the saddle is right for you you definitely don't want your knee to be turned outwards by hitting the block, and you don't want to be restricted when you do need to give aids further forward or further back. Bruising is definitely bad! Is it a flap mounted block? They can be hard and unforgiving, a block on the sweat flap with a nice knee pad over it would be softer. There are no hard and fast rules - some people like being bang up against the blocks all the time for security but I think it's much better to have a little room to move and only using the blocks when really needed.