Keeping the lower still and passive...

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Maia

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Dragged a friend out to video me schooling today as I wasn't convinced that what I was feeling was what a set of eyes on the ground was seeing. Anyway, turned out my gut was right but that is a different matter but what was really evident was that although I (thought) I was trying really hard not to overuse or nag with my leg, it was not as still as I'd convinced myself it was and made me realised that it is probably the reason for a lack of being in front of the leg.

It's not like I'm kicking every stride but it is bouncing/stroking/generally busy so then when I want a bigger response I'm having to use a more definite thump or clamp with my heels which just leads to tension in both me and the mare. Doesn't seem to make any difference whether I am in jump or dressage saddle and mare in question is quite backwards (she'll stay in trot/canter but doesnt really feel like she's 'taking me' so probably doesn't help matters but I know that until I can discipline my legs this is unlikely to improve as she (understandably) switches off!

Clearly what my head is convinced my body is doing and what it is actually doing are 2 very different things so, short of enlisting an instructor or person to lunge/shout/threaten me into keeping a still, passive leg, what else can I try...

For the record I've done pilates for 4 years now and do have a fairly decent core and balance, just evidently no coordination and self awareness of my limbs!
 
I have this problem and a lot of it is due to the very wide barrel I am trying to drape my legs around - they just won't. Is your horse wide?
 
I was doing this with mare she is rising 5 & has always been on the backwards side then my friend picked up that I was constantly nagging not kicking but just v.slightly nudging her. I've worked so hard not to ... I now do 1 squeeze if she doesn't respond she gets a boot or a tap with the whip behind the leg then left alone until she falls behind & then I ask again, honestly she is so much sharper off my leg now its amazing, appart from today when we had our 1st dressage of the season & we went v.babyish & forgot everything ! But I can forgive her that
 
No, not wide at all, 16.3hh ex racer, med saddle, short coupled... We're a good 'fit' if that makes sense.

kassieg said:
I was doing this with mare she is rising 5 & has always been on the backwards side then my friend picked up that I was constantly nagging not kicking but just v.slightly nudging her. I've worked so hard not to ... I now do 1 squeeze if she doesn't respond she gets a boot or a tap with the whip behind the leg then left alone until she falls behind & then I ask again, honestly she is so much sharper off my leg now its amazing, appart from today when we had our 1st dressage of the season & we went v.babyish & forgot everything ! But I can forgive her that
Click to expand...

This is it exactly! But how did you manage to retrain yourself? No stirrups is not an option with this one as she is sharp as they come and I don't want to eat the school more than I have to; thinking 'legs still, leg off' all the time is clearly not working from today's video... I had thought about those Velcro straps that go from stirrup to girth but she is quite tricky so shoulder/quarter aids need to be quite exaggerated at the mo and this would mean slipping my foot out the stirrup if I need to put my leg back or forward to shift quarters/shoulders over (not ideal I know but it's improving)... How do I keep the damned things still and off?!
 
Ooh I'd love to know the answer to this, I've been thinking the exact same. I'm not moving them myself as much now but they're definitely moving/jiggling! And he is behind the leg naturally so I'm really not helping matters.
 
I still did it bareback so I dont think no stirrups is any good

Erm I found working on turning my toes inwards so my heals werent touching her all the time worked better than just thinking dont niggle
Ive always struggled with keeping my toes in as my legs dislocated but ive found if I open my hips a bit more & lengthen my leg down then I can jam my heals down & turn my toes in more so I focus on this rather than nagging her
 
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I was trying to do this today, and if I could feel my weight through my stirrups more I was better at not nagging. My mare was definitely more responsive. She is also very sharp but we spent ages in walk today at the start of our session, so I quit (but didn't cross) my stirrups. Which did help me ride with a longer leg.

My instructor also pointed out that only my toes were in my stirrups and my lower leg is much more stable with more of my foot in the stirrup.

I've by no means fixed it, just working on it today and had a better session.
 
Are you gripping with your knees or otherwise tense in your legs? I know riding without stirrups is out of the question but one of the things you learn to do is relax your whole leg from the thigh down - is your sitting trot relaxed and soft? The other question is about your stirrup length. When your feet are out of them and your leg is relaxed do the treads come to below your ankle bone, but not so far below that your are reaching for them?
Of course, you could wear spurs - THAT would make you keep your leg off! ;)
 
Might be talking nonsense but... when you're thinking legs 'off' are you actually trying to keep them 'off'? As soon as I think that (even in my desk chair!) my legs tense. I never think legs 'off' or 'still' when I ride, I try to think 'don't nag' ie. don't actively use an aid every stride, only aid when I need to or the horse needs correcting. Your legs HAVE to move while you ride to some extent & trying to make them be still will make them jiggle... because the horse moves them! Also, if your mare is sharp that's another reason I'd want to definitely not be too 'legs off. Improving my seat (how it/I interacts with the horse, as opposed to actual balance/strength) has definitely helped me develop stiller legs, and more ability to use them as I wish, with less tension :)
 
Definitely not gripping with knees (can see that from video) but I do suffer from tight hips and it is very possible that in trying to keep still I am tensing.

Toes generally pretty well behaved at pointing forwards, the exception being in canter when my entire leg can have a mind of its own and do some slightly strage things (but I think that is a forwards issue too as she will drop me in canter).

I do tend to drop my heels a lot (survival tool?!) and as such stirrup is under and slightly in front of ball of my foot and did notice in rising trot this may have contributed to the issues as as I rose the flexion of my ankles increased, then decreased slightly again as I came back down, almost as if my ankles were little springs.

Played around with stirrup length today and didn't really make a huge difference... At normal dressage (saddle) length: Standing in my stirrups I can put a fist between me and the saddle, legs loose and the stirrups are about level with the nobbly bone that pokes out the side of your ankle... Definitely not reaching for stirrups.

In pilates we do a lot of throwing balls while kneeling on a firm gym ball, sometimes rising up and down, so I know my core and balance are pretty good... Rode for hours as a youngster bareback and judging by my stickability my seat isn't too bad but it could be that it is more defensive than ideal and this leading to tension?
 
I have this very same problem that I've recently found/attempted to tackle!! Sounds very basic but tying my stirrups to my girth has helped immensely, I'm quite amazed at the difference just by having my legs kept in the same place! My muscles definitely knew about it afterwards for the first few times!!!
Can also vouch for remembering to keep toes turned in :) good luck - glad I'm not the only one!
 
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