How to keep lower leg back?

dibbin

dibbin

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Have been having some issues when schooling Dylan on the right rein. Basically, on the left rein we can walk, trot and canter round circles and corners with fairly good inside bend and without falling in. Try the same thing on the right rein, however, and he collapses inwards with his body, turns his head and neck out and won't bend the right way! I can fix it in walk (if I concentrate really hard lol), but as soon as we go up into trot I block and can't figure out how to do it!

I've lunged him on both reins, and done tight circles, and he bends fine then so it isn't stiffness on his part ... which led me to the conclusion it must be something I was doing.

Last time I went in the arena, I noticed that when I go into trot on the right rein, my inside leg comes forward, and I think that's what's causing the problem, because it's not in the right position to push him round a circle. This never used to happen, and I'm not quite sure how to fix it :confused:

Any ideas? Sorry, didn't mean for that to become the epic story it is :p
 
Ditto, shorten your stirrups, and have a go at working without stirrups so you are forced to push your leg back yourself, to strengthen those muscles! :) Also, booking in for some lessons always helps I've found. xx
 
I have the same problem with bend on the left rein! In walk & trot!

Basically my horse isn't really straight enough. To remedy it, I will trot in the shape of a 50 pence piece, keeping him straight on the straight parts & then making each turn quite deliberately if that makes sense. Only by getting him straight can I then achieve correct bend. If I try & ask for left bend straight away I get exactly what you describe.

Once I have got him doing his 50 pence pieces, we then do lots of spirals in & out of a circle, then we achieve the correct amount of bend to get good canter transitions on both reins.

Hope this makes some sense!
 
Imagine that you are going to kneel down when you ride, your weight going forwards into your kneecaps and not down into your heels. Think about curling your toes up and not pushing your heels down too.
 
Thats me on both reins, but these days i dont have the same control over my legs. It drives me nuts, but it's just lack of riding for me. I have also been told to "kneel" when trotting, and it does help, it brings my legs back into position and my instructor also gets me to rise slightly higher in the trot!! Seemingly, 90% of people do not rise in the trot correctly, and she has been trying to correct me, but it's difficult to fix 19 years of bad habbits!!
 
A lot of this can be caused by muscular imbalances. It is likely that your hip flexors (muscles at the front of the hip that lift the knee up) and quads (along the front of the thigh that both lift the knee and straighten the leg, thus bringing your lower leg forwards) are quite strong/tight in comparison to your glutes and hamstrings. If this is true you will find it difficult to maintain the correct lower leg position and it will also tip your pelvis out of alignment. If this was the case I would focus on stretching your hip flexors and quads daily, including before you ride. I would also work on strengthening the glutes (bottom muscles!), as when they are properly engaged they will draw your entire leg back more effectively!

(Yay, a topic I can contribute to in a knowledgeable way! Id get someone to check your posture.)
 
Maybe instead of a circle, try going large and riding RIGHT into the corners - start in walk as its easier! then progress into trot, people (me included) really tend to cut the corners way too much - if you look at the tracks left most people don;t ride into corners as they should. Also, agree shorten stirrups and bring leg back from hip.
 
Nope, right handed.

It seems to be my leg that's the problem, I go to ask for bend and have a complete mental block and can't figure out what to do! It's only been happening for the last few weeks, and when I noticed my leg was coming forward I reckoned the two were probably related.

Weird thing is, I used to ride better on the right rein, and it was Dylan's preferred rein; now he's equally bendy on both reins I seem to have switched sides ...

(I apologise if this isn't making any sense at all)
 
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