How to stop looking down?

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igglepop

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When i ride i keep finding i look down any tips to stop it? Also whilst I'm asking questions does anybody have any tips for keeping shoulders back, i injured them years ago and they now seem be forever curved.

Ps let me know when your bored of solving my problems lol.
 
Remember to look where you want to go, looking down means you may end up where you are looking:D:eek:

Looking where you are going will help with the shoulders too, your posture will improve if you look up.
 
Find something straight ahead to focus on. Eg a tree for straight lines, something at each of the four points of a circle etc. And just stare. But looking down could be linked in with your shoulders, if you hunch forwards your eyes will end up looking down. To keep shoulders back, focus on holding your stomach & back straight. Not just when riding, good posture in everything you do. Imagine you have on a lycra dress a size too small, in a room full of good looking men. Result is you holding your back straight, stomach in, boobs out & shoulders back.
 
be positive said:
Remember to look where you want to go, looking down means you may end up where you are looking:D:eek:
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I always think i am looking but others say I'm looking down.

littlelegs said:
Find something straight ahead to focus on. Eg a tree for straight lines, something at each of the four points of a circle etc. And just stare. But looking down could be linked in with your shoulders, if you hunch forwards your eyes will end up looking down. To keep shoulders back, focus on holding your stomach & back straight. Not just when riding, good posture in everything you do. Imagine you have on a lycra dress a size too small, in a room full of good looking men. Result is you holding your back straight, stomach in, boobs out & shoulders back.
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Will try staring at trees also cant i just have a room full of goodlooking men would be easier :p
 
Re: How to stop looking down?
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By looking up? :confused: :D

If your shoulders are still sore, you could try a back/shoulder support (Mine is actually called a 'shoulders back'), I have found they make a huge difference, both to my posture and pain/ache level :)
 
Well... I was wondering whether to give you a shortcut, or, tell you why you are looking down...

I'll go with telling you why :)

Riders look down when they are concentrating. It's very natural. We look down at the newspaper, to study, on the laptop... that is what we do. We concentrate when we are schooling because it's like studying a movement and you want to SEE if you are doing it correctly..... right?

Well, do you look down when you are driving? Or running? Maybe you do when you are walking but that is how you walk into lamp-posts!

Anyway, my point is, when you drive, you FEEL what you are doing. You instinctively KNOW where the pedals are, where the gearstick is.

If you can FEEL what you are doing it becomes instinct. You now need to FEEL what you are doing when you are driving the horse.

Ask a friend, your teacher, whoever to lunge you on a large circle and sit up straight and close your eyes. FEEL what the horse is doing. Work out which leg is where and build this up. Obviously you have to trust your friend and the horse. Build up from small sessions a day and start to ask for lateral movements, bends, halts. TRUST in what you are asking. Before long you will be looking where you are going and not counting mane-hairs...

Hope that helps. Rather long winded. I could have just said stick your boobs out but it wouldn't have solved the problem :)
 
rhino said:
By looking up? :confused: :D

If your shoulders are still sore, you could try a back/shoulder support (Mine is actually called a 'shoulders back'), I have found they make a huge difference, both to my posture and pain/ache level :)
Click to expand...

Thanks rhino dont think i have tried looking up yet :) I have tried a thing similar to shoulder back will try that one if you think it works. They don't hurt too much anymore as they have been injured since around 07 ish they just don't work properly The fact i have fibromyalgia probably does not help either. Thanks for the suggestion will order it now.
 
Put the neck in the back of your collar, look just above the head of the man in front of you and brace up....oh wait that's something else. :)

I saw a picture of me looking down and realised I had a horrendous double chin then the penny dropped! :eek:
 
A few things to try - all shamelessly stolen from other HHO users! They are all different imagery phrases to help you either look up or stop rounding shoulders.

- Think (if you are female!) about the flower/daisy whatever in the centre of your bra, and imagine that pointing up the way. As if it was being pulled by a string from somewhere above your horses ears.

- Think (again, if your are female) "Dazzle, don't dip". I'll let you work out which part of your anatomy that refers to :D

- close the back of your armpits. An unusual but hugely effective one.

- Lift your chin.

- Drop your shoulders. I tend to find this immediately releases some tension and results in me sitting better.

I'm terrible for rounded shoulders and looking down too. I found pilates was good in general, and being video'd was painful but massively helpful.
 
Ride while other people are in the arena sometimes; then you have to look up to make sure you aren't going to crash into them. I always spend less time looking down in the warm up arena than I do in the actual test ;)
 
Allegedly, Arthur Kottas (esteemed dressage master) has been known to instruct lady riders with "ladeez, please, sit tall, busts East and West"!
 
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