Has anyone else got a rogue right heel?

Coblover63

Coblover63

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:p I know that I have a twisted spine and a wonky pelvis so I'm sure that contributes but unless I concentrate, my right heel creeps up all the time - I swear it has a mind of it's own and I've ridden long enough for it to no better, frankly!! If I push my heel down, it then feels like my stirrup is much longer than the other, even though I'm told they are dead level.

I know, I know... I'm sure a chiropractor could sort me out but all my money goes on the horses :o

Anyone else got a rogue right heel.... or a left one for that matter?
 
My daughter just can't get her heels down, when she really tries hard they just look straight and mostly creep up again. She has tried step exercises and finds it impossible to walk on her heels. When she first learned to walk she went everywhere on her toes and we were constantly reminding her to walk "properly"...so maybe she shortened her Achilles tendons, or was it pre-birth :confused: Never mind, she seems to cope!
 
After my pelvis injury last year my hip doesn't open very well at all on my right hand side, making it a lot harder for me and the horse to get the correct canter lead on the right rein.

Also means that my right foot wiggles around a lot more, especially in canter! It's very annoying.
 
*Normally* I find its a "fault" further up - most positional problems originate in the pelvis - if your tighter in your right hip that will often draw the heel up - also if the top of your pelvis is pushed forward (back hollow)that will normally do so? :)
 
I have an issue with my right heel too, it means I am far more likely to lose my right stirrup in canter.
 
I also have a wonky problem, always feels like one stirrup longer than the other and saddle sometimes goes to one side too. What professional do I need to see to help straighten me out?
PS I do have flat feet and hypermobile joints with my right being more mobile than the left, no idea if its anything to do with the wonky problem though.
 
weebarney said:
I also have a wonky problem, always feels like one stirrup longer than the other and saddle sometimes goes to one side too. What professional do I need to see to help straighten me out?
PS I do have flat feet and hypermobile joints with my right being more mobile than the left, no idea if its anything to do with the wonky problem though.
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I'd suggest a good physio, although a good chiro could also help? Just like with horses, IME the important thing is to be given suitable exercises to "re-educate" the muscles - just "clicking" something won't last long term if its been like it for a while and the muscles like it how it is :)
 
Coblover63 said:
:p I know that I have a twisted spine and a wonky pelvis so I'm sure that contributes but unless I concentrate, my right heel creeps up all the time - I swear it has a mind of it's own and I've ridden long enough for it to no better, frankly!! If I push my heel down, it then feels like my stirrup is much longer than the other, even though I'm told they are dead level.

I know, I know... I'm sure a chiropractor could sort me out but all my money goes on the horses :o

Anyone else got a rogue right heel.... or a left one for that matter?
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It is most definitely your back and pelvis causing the problem.

Please for your own future health get yourself to the chiro and get your back sorted. It is not fun being older with back problems - they don't go away and you owe it to your horse to get fixed as while your back is out you cannot sit straight on him which makes it very hard for him to work straight while he tries to keep you balanced above him.
 
Yep, in fact my whole right side tends to clench up and my left side is hyper mobile to compensate for it. I have a new instructor and we have spent lessons just walking and trotting and trying different excersises to learn how the right way feels. Realy ought to have some chiro too
 
I'm the same but with my left side. I had an injury to the right hand side of my back years ago, and have been subconsciously over-compensating so now my left side is wonky, if that makes sense?

I can't seem to open my left hip, my left leg is further forward, my left stirrup needs to be shorter, I can't keep my left heel down, and I'm generally pants on the left rein altogether! If I have photos taken of me riding on each rein it looks like two different riders, one *****, one alright :p

Will be a long slog to correct it...
 
It really is worth getting this sorted by a professional. If there is a physical imbalance nothing you do will make any difference, I know I have been there. Spend a bit on putting it right, any professional worth their salt will be able to recommend some exercises for you to do to help. You and your horse will appreciate the difference it makes, I always know when my pelvis has gone out of balance (same as u on right side) because I will start to loose that stirrup, as soon as it is put right everything returns to normal.
 
An interesting thing I found when teaching is that women who have had children are often crooked - from carrying babies on the same hip for several years.

AS for a chiro - I have Pat Smallwood to thank for setting me off on the road to relief and sitting straighter. I was hobbling round the yard one morning with back bent and she asked my what was my problem - the day before I'd been riding a horse that had stopped and flopped onto a barrel jump and had wrenched my back - damaged many years earlier.

She told me to get in the landrover and then took me to see her chiropractor who after a twist here and there had me feeling like a 25yr old should, straight and pain free - I've been going to a chiro since - when my back is grumpy over a few days I go, he clicks it after a lovely massage and I'm fine again for some time.

Bear in mind that it takes time and several treatments along with strengthening exercises to get it right - so don't think one session will fix the problem. One side of your muscles will be weaker than the other and the only way you will get a permanent fix is to get all your muscles working evenly. My chiro has a year long plan - You pay x amount at the start of treatment - he may treat you daily for a week, then fortnightly, then monthly but after the initial treatment you pay so much each week that means that by the end of the year you have a much healthier back.
 
Tnavas said:
It is most definitely your back and pelvis causing the problem.

Please for your own future health get yourself to the chiro and get your back sorted. It is not fun being older with back problems - they don't go away and you owe it to your horse to get fixed as while your back is out you cannot sit straight on him which makes it very hard for him to work straight while he tries to keep you balanced above him.
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Please emigrate from NZ and teach for my PC :D ;)
 
Don't waste money on a chiropractor - medical research has found no proven benefit but instead proven harm (vertebral artery dissection)
Wonky spines can only be fixed with surgery (unless caught young when bracing is an option)
Stay healthy, keep fit and work on core stability. It really helps - I find yoga particularly helpful for posture awareness and flexibility.
 
chazza44 said:
Don't waste money on a chiropractor - medical research has found no proven benefit but instead proven harm (vertebral artery dissection)
Wonky spines can only be fixed with surgery (unless caught young when bracing is an option)
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CRAP!! apologies to our sensitive readers

FROM 35 years of EXPERIENCE - the chiro has kept me going.

I lived on pain killers for many years before my first treatment - damage was done originally when I was 15 years old. The chiro has given me many years of pain free life. I can go to see him almost bent double from the pain, after a click or two am totally pain free and straight again.

I asked for surgery about 20 years ago and was refused because I was too active - they don't do surgery just because you have a bad back.
 
How odd thought it was just my son that had this problem! He is only 8 though but his right heel unless constantly nagged at creeps up so much he lucks like hes doing ballet on horse back!... No words to describe how much it annoys me i dont have the problem and it truley makes me cringe to see my son doing it! (he still has a much better seat than me though! :) )
 
rowan666 said:
How odd thought it was just my son that had this problem! He is only 8 though but his right heel unless constantly nagged at creeps up so much he lucks like hes doing ballet on horse back!... No words to describe how much it annoys me i dont have the problem and it truley makes me cringe to see my son doing it! (he still has a much better seat than me though! :) )
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My friend takes her toddlers to the chiro - the things we do to ourselves as babies can put things out of alignment.

I used to do ballet as a child and could always left my left leg up in front of me higher than my right, and my right could go higher behind me than my left. It turns out that my pelvis has been slightly rotated for most of my life - possibly done when I fell out of my high-chair, out of the tree, over the guy ropes of the tent - back care needs to start from a very early age.
 
I've been having this exact problem for a couple of years, I bear more weight on my left side and my right heel comes up. I've tried physio and chiro but found it made little difference. I was telling my physio about it and she said she would watch me ride and video me and work out where I was going wrong.
It's been a massive breakthrough. I now wear a shoulder support and tape my leg and foot until my muscles develop. I'm having much less pain and my riding is much more secure. Something that the physio worked out from the videos was a lot of the problem was coming from my knee which was turning out and stopping me dropping the weight into my heel. If you could find someone that does biomechanics and is a physio it would be invaluable
 
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