Ideas to Strengthen Position with Dyspraxia/Hypermobility

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CobLover883

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Hi everyone, hoping this is the correct part of the forum to post this in,
I know there's surely lots of people here who are dyspraxic and/or hypermobile, and I'm wondering if ye would be able to share any exercises ye use to strengthen your muscles for riding? I'd also love youtuber recommendations or anything like that, I'm a novice rider and I just feel so unbalanced in the saddle and struggle keeping my position - as soon as I bring my legs back underneath me so my heels align with my hips and shoulders, my pelvis is tilted wrong, or immediately as I start to canter, my heels are up etc. I have been doing normal Pilates but sometimes my joints aren't very happy afterwards so I'd be interested to hear from people who have tried and tested different exercises! If anyone has any tips for riding with Dyspraxia/hypermobility in general either I'd welcome those too 🙂 Thank you all.
 
If you can afford it then working with someone like Equimech, or Pilates at Blue House, would be a great idea, at least the former has some free content on Youtube but it's not aimed a hypermobility per se. I follow these guys on FB but that's all I know:

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Bear in mind that the saddle is critical, you'll likely be fighting it if it's a riding school saddle, sadly as obviously they can't have the right basic geometry for everyone (bit like a bike) let alone the right shaped seat for the pelvis (just like a bike except with the convex shape!).
 
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Hello fellow bendy person. I also have a cob - are you me? 😄

The best thing I can recommend is strength training, for core control. HM is a funny thing, as my core is very strong (I've had people thump me in the abs to test them!), but my brain just refuses to communicate effectively as the muscles don't engage, but doing more weights (there are lots of workouts on YouTube and also the Nike App has loads of free ones) and circuits has made them engage more. I also run and do lots of hills, which helps control my hypermobile coccyx. I used to do a lot of pilates. It helps, but wasn't enough for me. I haven't tried Reformer, though. If you've never done weights or gym, might be worth investing in a few sessions with a PT (many gym memberships also come with some free sessions).

Saddle wise, whilst I do have a very nice Black Country GP, I find my position is always best in my Thorn Pad, as I ride longer in the leg. Combining it with a Heather Moffett Hip Saver gives me a little more security and providing I focus on keeping a good alignment at the start of the ride, the memory foam shapes around me and I feel very secure, but not held in.
 
CobLover883 said:
Hi everyone, hoping this is the correct part of the forum to post this in,
I know there's surely lots of people here who are dyspraxic and/or hypermobile, and I'm wondering if ye would be able to share any exercises ye use to strengthen your muscles for riding? I'd also love youtuber recommendations or anything like that, I'm a novice rider and I just feel so unbalanced in the saddle and struggle keeping my position - as soon as I bring my legs back underneath me so my heels align with my hips and shoulders, my pelvis is tilted wrong, or immediately as I start to canter, my heels are up etc. I have been doing normal Pilates but sometimes my joints aren't very happy afterwards so I'd be interested to hear from people who have tried and tested different exercises! If anyone has any tips for riding with Dyspraxia/hypermobility in general either I'd welcome those too 🙂 Thank you all.
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Highly highly recommend Jen at Pegasus physio in Cheshire if you’re nearby (or even if you’re not!). I am hyper mobile and had a session with her last month. I have implemented what she showed me and it’s made the world of difference, I feel so much more secure in the saddle now. She has a great Facebook page which explains rider biomechanics - definitely go and have a look at it
 
Get an instructor that has a decent awareness of rider biomechanics and a saddle that doesn't try and kill you!
And work with what you've got.

I'm hypermobile and have a cracking anterior pelvic tilt, so I just don't align shoulder hip heel without pain and instability no matter how much I want to, making me a nasty unbalanced lump for my horse to carry if I force it.
So my hips are usually slightly behind me and my shoulders ahead but I'm in line with my pelvis and my centre of gravity is in the right place.
I can't ride with too long stirrups or my hips pop out while I'm trying to keep my lower leg stable so I just ride at the goldilocks zone between long being hip pain and short being knee pain.

Also try and work out if you're quad dominant. Lots of us bendy people don't even realise we can't activate our glutes, figuring out how to do that helps a lot!
 
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