Rider crookedness

[trundle]

What exercises can I do (either on or off the horse) to improve my straightness in the saddle? My lovely share mare is VERY sensitive to weight aids, so will go sideways if I sit wrongly, which isn't helping my schooling at all.

I think I tend to fall over to my left side, and put much more weight in my left stirrup than my right. When I concentrate on evening out my weight, it does help for a while, but then I fall back into old habits and we dance off sideways again...Help?

 

[Stoxx]

How about having some lessons on a mechanical horse? Then the session would be entirely about you and your position and riding

 

[Blizzard]

Work without stirrups so you are concentratnig on your position and weight distribution, and cant accidentally put more weight into one stirrup.

 

[kerilli]

have you been straightened out by a mctimoney chiropractor? i cannot recommend them highly enough, i was a crooked as anything before, however hard i tried.
NEVER sit with your legs crossed (other than at the ankles), because it twists the pelvis.
try to do everything as ambidextrously as possible. e.g. carry two 1/2 full buckets of water, rather than 1 full one. it makes a difference, believe it or not.
maybe pilates or yoga if you have time?
make sure you start off sitting exactly central (check by bringing your knees up to touch, like a jockey, as long as the mare's calm enough to let you! that way you can feel your seat bones under you.) sticky-bum jodhs can help too.

 

[lexiedhb]

At least when your mare goes off sideways you know to correct yourself!! My mum had a lop sided pelvis that was sorted by a chiropractor... not that she rides, but always used to ache down one side of her back as she was wonky!

Echo above re riding with no stirrups, perhaps on the lunge???

 

[trundle]

Thanks all, i know St_Bernard reported great results with McTimoney on her horses, but wasn't sure how good it was for people. It appears there is a lady actually in my town who does this, so I will give her a ring and see if she treats people and if she can straighten me out a bit !

 

[trundle]

PS. i rode with no stirrups last night and promptly demonstrated my complete wonkiness and poor balance by heading out of the side door. Only a combination of a mare who puts her head up to push a slipping rider back on, and a solid neckstrap, prevented me from making close friends with the arena surface.

I am such a crap rider

 

[cobden99]

The Ride With Your Mind stuff is very good for dealing with asymetry. The courses are excellent but a cheaper option is to try one of the books ? RWYM Essentials is probably the best.

 

[Suzibn]

It's really hard to tell what's going on by your description of what is happening to you. I will tell you I developed a terrible "trainers tilt" for quite some time when younger, as I tended to tilt my head sideways to (for some stupid reason) see what the horse was doing with his head. My coach, who was Spanish Riding School trained used to say if I did that on one of the horses there I would half-pass clear across the school! What cured it was hours on the longe on a really big steady horse while my friends sat around the arena and told me all sorts of stories having nothing to do with riding! It took my mind off "doing it right" and I relaxed and everything just sort of fell into place. Perhaps you have such patient and understanding friends with a horse you could sit on?
Suzi

 

[Blizzard]

You are not a crap rider!

I wish Lance was that responsive, you could be bouncing up and down in one stirrup and he would just carry on, makes life much easier to have a sensitive horse!

Im sure once your crookedness is sorted out you will really enjoy how responsive she is!

My McTimoney girl doesnt treat humans, so def check out the one you are thinking of using does!

Ive only everhad physio on myself, not McTimoney, but Im sure it will be just as effective as with the horses!

 

[sfward]

I have exactly the same wonkiness problem as you, so very interesting reading the replies! I have been visiting a chiropractor and have found it really helps, so definitely do that. I also try and ride without stirrups regularly - it makes me sit straight, as otherwise I would fall off!! Think also about holding your weight with your inner thighs and through your torso rather than relying on the weight in your stirrups, again riding with no stirrups helps with this. When you're going in a straight line, check you can see the same amount of the horse's face on either side to see if you're sitting straight, I find this is good as a quick check (as long as the horse is straight obviously!) Presumably like me you find the problem mostly on right circles, so think about stepping into your right stirrup every few strides, even if you have to do this 7 or 8 times on a circle. Do it down the long sides too if necessary. Finally, get someone to stand behind you as you ride down the long side and tell you how straight you're sitting. If you twist (as I do a little) a back brace might help.
Hope some of those suggestions help a little!

 

[Honeypots]

Work either without stirrups or in a forward seat. My friends daughter has just had to sell her little horse because she is crooked and he is oversensitive about it and keeps shooting off...

 

[tabithakat64]

You're not alone, I'm crooked too

I ride on one rein with my outside shoulder further forward making one of the green horses I ride jump into the corner, nearly scraping me off on the fence, which makes me panic and twist inwards, which makes things worse

and I just cannot seem to solve it so any exercises that any of you can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kerilli]

tabitha, looking over your outside shoulder will help to correct that kind of crookedness, i think. also, being aware of your shoulders and if necessary lifting them both towards your ears and then letting them fall back into place.
tbh your shoulders should follow the line of the circle or bend, so your inside one should be slightly back compared to your outside one, unless you're riding in a straight line. it sounds like a naughty youngster trying it on, not necessarily all your fault!

 

[tabithakat64]

Thanks Kerilli

I will try those exercises