Riding video, Criticism needed.

Dwyran_gold

Dwyran_gold

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So as some of you may remember I’ve just been getting back in to riding after a long break. After a bad experience with riding schools I’ve started having lessons on my friends 18 year old tb mare with an independent instructor. I love constructive criticism and welcome it. At present I am quite ‘flimsy’ with my cure so I feel I move about quite a lot (after having kids and time off) I also feel my seat is rather armchair like, I would prefer my legs further back, maybe again that’s down to cure.
anything else you’d like to pull me up on I’ll take on bored and will be much appreciated ?

 
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The saddle is not helping you much- you are falling to the back of it and then your leg shoots forward. I would forget 'leg to rein' and all other complexities for now and just focus on your own balance and strength on the horse. This is best done in lunge lessons IMO, you should make rapid progress as your basics are fine
 
I absolutely agree about the saddle, and It’s actually too far forward (from what I can see). I also agree about lunge lessons. You’re also burying your hands at times - carry them a little more and forward.

How many times a week are you able to ride?
 
I think the main problem is that you're very rigid, especially through your elbows. Think of your elbows as shock absorbers for the horse - at no point should your hands/wrists/elbows be stiff. There should be fluid movement happening all the time to allow the horse to move freely.

I think you'd benefit from some no stirrup work to get your leg in the right place too. It looks like you're sitting on your coccyx each beat and you shouldn't be.
 
TheMule said:
The saddle is not helping you much- you are falling to the back of it and then your leg shoots forward. I would forget 'leg to rein' and all other complexities for now and just focus on your own balance and strength on the horse. This is best done in lunge lessons IMO, you should make rapid progress as your basics are fine
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thank you for your comment. That’s how I felt when I looked at my video. Like I’m way too far back in the saddle, giving an armchair like seat. What would you suggest in lunge sessions? X
 
Amymay said:
I absolutely agree about the saddle, and It’s actually too far forward (from what I can see). I also agree about lunge lessons. You’re also burying your hands at times - carry them a little more and forward.

How many times a week are you able to ride?
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Thank you for your reply. Im riding just once or twice a week at the moment x
 
I agree about the saddle. Contrary to amymay though I'd advocate putting a finger through a neckstrap for the time being as your hands are quite unstable and possibly causing some of the unsettledness in the mouth. Putting your hands up and forwards is more of a long term goal, but only if you can do it without catching the mare with them.

I'd want to see you riding without reins and stirrups on the lunge to develop your core, and gaining more independence with your hands.
 
SpringArising said:
I think the main problem is that you're very rigid, especially through your elbows. Think of your elbows as shock absorbers for the horse - at no point should your hands/wrists/elbows be stiff. There should be fluid movement happening all the time to allow the horse to move freely.

I think you'd benefit from some no stirrup work to get your leg in the right place too. It looks like you're sitting on your coccyx each beat and you shouldn't be.
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thank you. That’s what I was thinking xx
 
JFTDWS said:
I agree about the saddle. Contrary to amymay though I'd advocate putting a finger through a neckstrap for the time being as your hands are quite unstable and possibly causing some of the unsettledness in the mouth. Putting your hands up and forwards is more of a long term goal, but only if you can do it without catching the mare with them.

I'd want to see you riding without reins and stirrups on the lunge to develop your core, and gaining more independence with your hands.
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Excellent points ???
 
Another option not on the lunge would be to spend some time in you lessons getting your seat up out of the saddle and balancing on your stirrups in a forward/jumping position. This will help you to balance correctly with weight down through your legs and heels and counteract your chair seat. Start in halt and move up through walk, trot and canter as you gain balance.
 
Thank you all for your advice, I’ll take it all on board for my next lesson. Do any of you by any chance have an example of what I should be doing in a video ? Either yourself or a video of sometime else? I’m one of these people who you can tell me all day and I’ll really try but I find it easier to see to do xx
 
JFTDWS said:
I agree about the saddle. Contrary to amymay though I'd advocate putting a finger through a neckstrap for the time being as your hands are quite unstable and possibly causing some of the unsettledness in the mouth. Putting your hands up and forwards is more of a long term goal, but only if you can do it without catching the mare with them.

I'd want to see you riding without reins and stirrups on the lunge to develop your core, and gaining more independence with your hands.
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this is really interesting thank you, I tend to keep my arms quite straight and I was trying here to bend at the elbow, something since I’ve started back I have to think about. I don’t think I carry my hands high enough though. This particular mare is apparently a little unsettled in trot on the mouth and I was told that before hand, she’s 18 years old, a retired race horse and is a little stiff in the hind legs so she tends to lean on you in canter and shake a little in trot. Her owner is doing great with her though she’s come on loads and she hasn’t owned her long xx
 
Amymay said:
I absolutely agree about the saddle, and It’s actually too far forward (from what I can see). I also agree about lunge lessons. You’re also burying your hands at times - carry them a little more and forward.

How many times a week are you able to ride?
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thank you, I’ll be tacking her up for my next riding lesson and I’ll take what you say and I’ll post a video. See what you think x
 
Dwyran_gold said:
this is really interesting thank you, I tend to keep my arms quite straight and I was trying here to bend at the elbow, something since I’ve started back I have to think about. I don’t think I carry my hands high enough though. This particular mare is apparently a little unsettled in trot on the mouth and I was told that before hand, she’s 18 years old, a retired race horse and is a little stiff in the hind legs so she tends to lean on you in canter and shake a little in trot. Her owner is doing great with her though she’s come on loads and she hasn’t owned her long xx
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Yes the horse certainly isn't in a position to give you the feel of being really into the contact (which isn't a criticism - horses for courses, and she's being very sweet with you). In dressage terms, no your hands aren't high enough, and bending your elbows will definitely help with that, but it's more important to get them independent and "still" (or rather moving with the horse instead of you) first. Can you see how they rise up and down with you in trot? They do the same to a lesser extent in canter, where it's less obvious as you're not rising. Fix that, and lifting them up in front of you will seem easier :)
 
First of all- well done for getting back in the saddle ! You don't look bad considering you've had a long break!
I won't repeat the good advice already given but just wanted to add that it might help if you think of your knee as the hinge in the middle hinge of the arms of a clock and your thigh is like the arm , moving forwards and backwards whilst the hinge stays in place. The wobbly leg is often caused by the rider trying to stand up in the stirrups as they rise.
Have a Google on Mary Wanless and Ride with your mind , she'll explain the knee as a hinge concept a lot better.
And I can only second the suggestions of lunge lessons, you really do learn so much in those. Closing your eyes as you're on the lunge is actually a good idea too as it's surprising how much more you feel when you're eyes are closed. Well I do anyway!
I'm recovering from a broken back at the moment so I'll be in your position in the summer too.
 
I'd look for another instructor. That one is doing you no favours. You need someone to be working with you, in walk to start, to get your basic position better, and then to show you how to maintain that in trot and canter. The saddle is really, really not helping, but there are small things that could be changed that would get you sitting better and that in turn would make everything else easier.
 
Leo Walker said:
I'd look for another instructor. That one is doing you no favours. You need someone to be working with you, in walk to start, to get your basic position better, and then to show you how to maintain that in trot and canter. The saddle is really, really not helping, but there are small things that could be changed that would get you sitting better and that in turn would make everything else easier.
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Hi Leo, it was our first lesson so she just went through all gaits to see what I could do, how confident I was and what I needed to work on. She said now she’s gotten to know me as a rider she’s going to concentrate on my balance and seat for the next few lessons. She’s also given me some homework to work on my core strength x
 
A few of you have mentioned the saddle, is it too far forward as In not placed properly or not fitted properly or just not a good shape? X
 
Im not a saddle expert but the following pics might help you see why you feel unstable. Imagine if the horse was whipped out from under you, would you land on your feet. In the picture of my horse I’ve drawn a line approx shoulder hip heel. If this horse disappeared I would probably land on my feet and be ok. The second two I screenshotted off your video. One line shows your shoulder to heel, the other is shoulder to hip. If this horse disappeared you would probably land on your bum! Some of this can be caused by the saddle either tipping you and making you work against it, or by the balance being ok but the stirrup bars being set too far forwards. If the stirrup bars are far forwards vs the balance point of the seat, then it will always push your leg forward (unless maybe you jack your stirrups up and ride in jumping position). I couldn’t achieve an even half decent seat until I changed my saddle. Obviously you aren’t in a position to change saddles on a horse that isn’t yours but Perhaps you could discuss the saddle with your instructor at the start of the lesson so you both understand the influence it may have? (I’m no expert so others may come along and correct me!)
E839744A-597A-43DF-8BE2-4224F8F22C89.jpegBF3432C5-33DE-4A1B-AC5F-5E0B330C7856.jpegF8D596B3-FEB9-4F23-AEA3-2761B02F13D0.jpeg
 
I think you've already gotten a lot of helpful feedback, but I'll just weigh in a bit too. First of all, I don't think it's that bad! Yes, you're a bit unsteady, but I think you'll get there. If you've just returned to riding, you need to build fitness and stamina (and balance) again to get that beautiful calm, but efficient seat that we all dream about. It will get easier with time.

My tip is to go on youtube and watch videos of Charlotte Dujardin, Cathrine Dufour and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. And then try to channel that when riding. What I find helps me is not to sit too much on my bum, but remember to sit on a triangle made up from the pubic bone and the two seat bones.
 
AUB said:
I think you've already gotten a lot of helpful feedback, but I'll just weigh in a bit too. First of all, I don't think it's that bad! Yes, you're a bit unsteady, but I think you'll get there. If you've just returned to riding, you need to build fitness and stamina (and balance) again to get that beautiful calm, but efficient seat that we all dream about. It will get easier with time.

My tip is to go on youtube and watch videos of Charlotte Dujardin, Cathrine Dufour and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. And then try to channel that when riding. What I find helps me is not to sit too much on my bum, but remember to sit on a triangle made up from the pubic bone and the two seat bones.
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Ouch do not sit on your pubic bone unless you want a sore daisy ?. (HHO veterans will know that term) I think known as the fork seat.

You’d be better looking at some Mary Wanless videos as she helps explain how to achieve the posture you are looking for.

Basically you are sitting in a chair seat with your legs in front of you. You should be able to remove the horse from underneath the rider and stay upright with your hips and ankles aligned. In your position you will fall backwards. The forward cut of the saddle may not help but you can still bring your thigh back and your heels back so that they are underneath your upper body and you will then be more stable. Once you are more stable in the saddle you will be able to relax your shoulders down and your arms will be less rigid and bouncy.
 
Dwyran_gold said:
Hi Leo, it was our first lesson so she just went through all gaits to see what I could do, how confident I was and what I needed to work on. She said now she’s gotten to know me as a rider she’s going to concentrate on my balance and seat for the next few lessons. She’s also given me some homework to work on my core strength x
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Glad your instructor has given you some core work as homework - that was going to be my suggestion. My break from riding was 30 years and I know how tempting it is to "hang on" with your hands!! Get your core stronger and the legs and hands can then do what they are supposed to do. But for a first go - well done!!
 
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