Exercises to help keep the lower leg still?

tinselbobs

tinselbobs

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I'm back on board after my boy being off for 6 months and I'm finding that my lower leg is so much less secure than previously and am finding it moving far too much, particularly in the trot.

Any advice/exercises for helping keep the lower leg still/relaxing and lengthening my leg.

I know some of it is because I'm not riding fit, but ideas are appreciated!
 
Dampen your stirrup leathers, then ride in shorts.

After 20 minutes you'll have either learned to keep your lower leg still, with your weight consistently in the stirrup, or your calves will be flayed open and bleeding.
 
pennyturner said:
Dampen your stirrup leathers, then ride in shorts.

After 20 minutes you'll have either learned to keep your lower leg still, with your weight consistently in the stirrup, or your calves will be flayed open and bleeding.
Click to expand...

Haha an interesting method! If nothing else works, I'm willing to give it a go!!
 
What worked for me was lots of work moving from sitting trot to light seat and back again - so sit for 8 strides, then light seat for 8, repeat. Then reduce to 4, then 2. You can do it in canter too. The other thing that has worked more recently is my instructor getting me to wear spurs to refine my aids. Boy do I know it if I catch my horse with my spur unintentionally! :D
 
Shorten your stirrup leathers slightly. If you are not riding fit, it will take a while for your legs to lengthen again and at this point you will be better off having the leathers slightly shorter so you are in a more stable position, instead of reaching for your stirrups and wobbling around. Once you feel more secure, you can lengthen them again. x
 
Stock up on bath salts!

I've been without stirrups since November as riding in a bareback pad. My horse has a big trot: there have been mornings when I've gotten out of bed and felt like I was still sitting on the horse.

You are about to discover muscles in your legs that you did not know were there. Good for the abs too.
 
Are you having to use your leg a lot to keep your horse going? If not focus on rising from your knee joint rather than from the foot & you should be more stable
 
Agree with no stirrups, but other exercises will help improve balance and lower leg as well - riding in jumping position, standing in the stirrups in trot, rise-rise-sit. Being able to do all of these, and switch smoothly between them, will help - and give you a bit of a rest between no-stirrups!
 
Myloubylou I’m not really having to keep him going, he’s quite forward just very unbalanced having not done a lot of work.

Will be trying no stirrups next time and for a “break” will try Theocat’s suggestion!
 
Im currently having the same problem. On one of my horses my leg moves more than when I ride the other one. The one i have the biggest problem with is the one with the biggest movement.

My instructor advised me to do work with no stirrups on the cob i find my leg is stiller on as the other one would bounce me straight out of the school! Funny enough she said the reason my lower leg moves so much is because there is too much tension and pressure on my knee which is acting like a hinge.

So to fix this we are now working on lengthening the leg and wrapping it round the horse, instead of the lower leg swinging on and off we're working on keeping the calf on the horses side and squeezing the pressure on and off which keeps my leg more still but also the horse becomes more responsive off the leg.
 
All of the above. I don't do enough work without stirrups but def agree it's a good exercise. In addition, for me I need to take the weight out of my feet and think of them as lighter, more relaxed and 'toes light'. That stops me from using them as a lever. Still not cracked it by a long way though, my legs wobble around, with my left heel waving up around my bum most of the time :(
 
Sounds like no-stirrup work is the way to go- I’m going to hurt 😂

Also good to hear that other people have had the same issue and I’m not alone!
 
Top tip from top trainer I try to remember when my legs start bouncing: keep your feet flat, so horizontal, rather than heels down, and when you rise, think about pushing your hips down towards your knees. I don’t always remember sadly, but it does work. And get Horse really off the leg so you don’t have to use it very often, then you can focus on keeping them still.

Also, I have found that some saddles really make my lower legs bounce, almost looks like I’m kicking every stride, but I’m not, I just can’t stop them. So it might not be all you, just saying.
 
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