Gripping with knees - exercises to help?

Teasel

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Hello,
Can anyone suggest some exercises (in or out of saddle) to help me to stop gripping with my knees?
I seem to have developed a bit of a habit of doing this over the last few years, and I know it's hampering my riding and my horse's performance!
Any suggestions (even painful ones) gratefully received!
 

Tickles

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If you're gripping with your knees you're may not be stretching down through your heels enough so one very simple thing is to visualise your weight 'falling' down your leg and through your heels.

If your horse is relatively relaxed and you're in a safe place you can also try this:
- bring one knee right up in front of you so that your foot is near your derriere
- stretch that leg right back along the 'top edge' so to speak of your horse's body
- swing (slowly) the leg forwards into your stirrup

This should get your leg more relaxed and stretching down underneath you.
 

Magicmillbrook

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Try prentending to cycle your horse with no stirrups, loosens up the hips and helps no end. If it doesnt work it will give everyone around you a jolly good laugh.

I like the sally swift centred riding book (think it was sally swift), I got it out of my local library. I only buy a book if I reakly realy like it.

She uses lots of visualisation techniques. Ones that stood out for me was pretending your legs have been cut off at the knee and pointing your stubby legs to the ground. Another one was to pretend you have no shoes on and the bottoms of your feet are dragging along the ground in soft warm mud - sound weird but I can realy feel it helping me.
 

Teasel

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Thanks Tickles - I shall certainly try that exercise.
I definitely don't stretch my legs down enough! I'm not sure though whether this is a consequence of gripping with my knees, or whether gripping with my knees is a consequence of my legs not being stretched enough! I've tried visualizing the weight falling down through my leg and into my heels - but the moment I stop this I begin my gripping with the knee again!
 

BobbyMondeo

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Best way is to do work without stirrups imo my instructor, way back made me do 3 sessions in a row to stop me gripping as if you grip without stirrups you are very likely to come off as you will just bounce all over the place especially in trot
 

Teasel

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MagicMillBrook - Excellent ideas, thank you - I like the idea of pretending to cycle - as you say even if it doesn't work it sounds like a laugh! I do have very tight hips too so it sounds like that would be a huge help to me! And the visualization ideas are excellent too - I shall certainly give them a good try!

Ginger_Nut - Thank you for the suggestion! I'll get back to some riding without stirrups - I know it is good for me (it must be - it hurts!)!!! Gosh though, three sessions in a row - did it work?
 

Quartz

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I don't mind trotting without stirrups but hate to canter, as my thighs must really grip as my horse speeds up really really fast and doesn't want to stop. Good exercise to stay on though, trying to stop without falling off and circling round smalls circles!!!
 

LizzieJ

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Lots of work without stirrups, if you grip then you create tension and will get bounced around, you soon learn to relax the leg down :)
 

kerilli

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i think it's a habit that has to be un-learned, so i encourage people to let their knees flop completely off the saddle so they are sitting like a frog (!) with knees and toes pointing out. their weight then travels naturally down to the heels without needing to force the heels down. easy in walk, harder in trot and canter but it comes in time. it looks a bit messy for a while but it's worth it long-term for the security you get and the improved elegance of the longer leg. Plus, the longer leg is much more effective - the calf muscles are taut 'like the bow of a violin' as my trainer says, so can give an accurate aid, rather than a flat 'thump' from untaut calf muscles.
after a month or two of this, once it is a habit to keep knees off saddle and weight down, the knees can be softly closed against the saddle again, and won't grip.
 
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