Legs (mine not the horse's)

[stimpy]

I have recently had a lesson with a well respected classical dressage trainer who picked me up on something that I know has been an issue for a long time but I have not been able to fix. I am short (5'1") with proportionally short legs but I have a very small horse so my lower leg does pretty much reach to the bottom of the girth. However, I do not seem to be able to keep my lower leg in decent contact with the horse's side however much I try. The trainer I saw recently told me it was a problem but didn't seem to be able to tell me how to fix other than saying "Just drape your leg round the horse". In attempting to fix it I am rolling my feet in the stirrup to the point that I am getting a sore on the outside of my right foot, it's making my knees come away from the saddle and is all round super uncomfortable. My ear, hip, heel line is usually pretty good but I do feel that I have been reaching for my stirrups recently so I have hoicked them up two holes and it does improve things but I am still really struggling. Are there any biomechanics experts who can explain where I am going wrong or what the possible cause of this symptom might be?

 

[philamena]

I empathise - fellow short-arse here with wide barrelled warmblood! You're starting at the wrong end of your leg, if you're starting with your foot

You might need someone on the ground for this (you CAN do it by grabbing your own jods) but what you need to do is pull the very top of your thighbone out to the side from the hip to make sure the hip is open laterally, then let the thigh bone feel like it's dropping low in the hip socket and then rotate the thighbone (not just the knee!) inwards (so think of the left thighbone rotating clockwise around its own central core of bone marrow, if you know what I mean, rotating right from within the hip socket itself... and similarly the right thighbone rotating anti-clockwise around its own core, starting from within the hip socket itself). This opens the hips, puts more of your seat in contact with the saddle, puts much more of the correct part of your thigh in contact with your saddle (the middle and forward parts of the inner thigh more so than the hamstring area further back), it brings the whole correct part of the inside of the thigh in contact down the saddle flap, gets your knee resting on the saddle pointing forward rather than out, and from there your lower leg CAN actually 'drape', with the side of the calf rather than the inside back edge of the calf against the ribs. You can't force a 'drape', it ends up as a 'push' or a 'cling', both of which bring tension. And you have to start this at the hip and work down to the feet... If you get it right, your legs instantly feel longer and you can immediately see the difference if you have mirrors too. A classical instructor that I use manhandles people to make this happen in their first lesson, and she says sometimes people can't open the hip enough if their hips are tight, but usually it's a muscle memory thing. Give it a go - good luck!

ETA: Finally, really really make sure your'e still sitting on your seatbones after all of this. Until you get the feel for it and the right muscle memory, it can tip your weight forward onto your fork, and it can feel like an effort to stretch enough across the front of your hips to stay on your seatbones with your thighs dropping down correctly, until you get used to it. And you'll have to stop and re-set a few times each session for sure!

 

[Bernster]

I'm with P, and nicely articulated too. I am similarly challenged in the leg department. For me, it's def a case of this starting from the hip (I have tight hips and am not symmetrical). I have by no means cracked it but happy to share what I've been taught so far.

As well as doing off the horse exercises (which I totally fail at, apart from doing some hip stretches at night), then work without stirrups is key, which again I'm a bit rubbish at doing regularly.

For stretches in the saddle, doing the hip stretchy thing explained above, 'cycling' alternately with your legs to loosen the hips (lift them up and in front then put them back), putting them over the front of the saddle, opening them outwards (sideways) whilst in normal riding position (that hurts). Then back to no stirrup work. Obv only with a sensible horse and generally with my instructor watching. As P says, be careful these don't throw your seat/balance out, so resume back to alignment before you pop back into your stirrups.

I also need to get some physio to help with the tightness, so that might be an avenue worth exploring for you too.

 

[stimpy]

Bernster and philamena, you guys are great! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one

Gah, so starting at the foot is entirely the wrong thing to do... well I'll stop that then. My right foot will thank me too as it's killing me. I definitely feel like I am clinging (excellent descriptor, a chime went off in my head when I read that) in pursuit of the elusive drape. The hip thing makes total sense, I know I have very tight hips, a physio I used to use said she thought I had the tightest hip flexors she'd ever seen, she thought they might be made of granite I have also suffered in the past from the tipping forward onto the fork thing, so I'm fairly well tuned in to spot that, but thanks for the reminder.

Oh what I would give to be as supple as my horse! Twenty years younger wouldn't go amiss either.