Sitting evenly when riding

[JosieSmith]

Does anyone else feel like they don't ride straight? When I'm doing rising trot in particular my lower leg seems to move more than it should and I've noticed that at times I can feel the girth under my left leg and the stirrup leathers are uncomfortable against my leg (I have the leathers turned the correct way). It never happens on the right side and I wondered if I'm possibly twisting my body, or maybe the saddle needs checking.

I plan on having an instructor have a look and tell me what I'm doing, but until then I wondered if anyone else had the same problem

 

[sj_xc_hannah_]

I used to feel like I wasn't sitting straight, but in my lessons I do a lot without stirrups - like the whole hour! When I finish my legs tremble a little bit. I find that now I feel like I really sit up and straight.

If you have a safe horse and feel safe doing it then try a little bit of no stirrups. Make sure you don't grip with your legs too much and occasionally hold both legs away from the saddle.

 

[JosieSmith]

Actually I think I do grip the saddle sometimes. My last instructor said my lower leg was too far forward so I've been practising moving it back but my top half then tilts forward and I grip to keep my balance, it's a vicious circle

Belle has good and bad days but on good days I can definitely work without stirrups so will try it as often as I can, it makes sense really

Thanks

 

[Bosworth]

Best way to check for straighness in your position is to sit on teh horse, legs out of teh stirrups and close your eyes. Then you become aware of your bodies position. straighten up and then try again. Then once you are straight put your feet back in your stirrups and try again. Then try riding forwards with your eyes closed. Obviously you need to be sure you are not going to hit anything and don;t do it on a mad horse. Closing your eyes blocks off everything outside your body so you have a far greater awareness of your body. Then with your feet in the stirrups stand up and gently bounce on the balls of the foot and sit down. You should sit down square after that. Working without stirrups helps a lot - however closing your eyes is by far the most effective way.

 

[puddleshark]

My horse has asymmetric shoulders & when she is unfit, her saddle constantly gets thrown to the left. I have to keep centering myself by lifting my knees so that all my weight is on my seat and none in the stirrups, then closing my eyes to feel whether I have equal weight in both seatbones. The exercise where you take your feet from the stirrups and swing your legs back and forth (one leg going forward whilst the other goes back) from the hips really helps you loosen up if you have a tendency to clamp on with one leg.

The one thing that helped me the most though was riding bareback (but only if you are lucky enough to have a calm horse!)

 

[JosieSmith]

Thanks for those suggestions. I could always get OH to lead her while I close my eyes, that way I won't crash into anything and if she spooks at something he'll hopefully spot it and keep control.

Bareback is not an option unfortunately as she becomes terrified and just shakes or bolts! I'd love to try it if it was an option though as I used to ride my last horse bareback and it was much more natural and I could sit better without saddle imo.