Stupid sticking out feet...Grr!

[ChiffChaff]

Today I had a semi private lesson with a friend, our instructor is fantastic, and it was a little intimidating to have all her attention divided between us. I ride at a riding school, and I chose to ride Jackson, a fiery little tb x welsh with bags of attitude. He was very good, he was going in a lovely outline, and it felt lovely – like I was really riding .

A major problem I have is my feet sticking out. They do this when I walk too (my knees turn inwards naturally – which is far from ideal for riding). I have managed to train myself to tuck my toes in during walk on a horse, but as soon as I go into trot (i.e. use my legs) they stick out in a hideous way. It not only looks ugly, but also means my heels turn in, and I use them instead of my calf when putting my leg on . Does anyone else have the same problem? My instructor said just to keep remembering to tuck them in until it becomes natural to have them that way. It looks horrible and is very frustrating, but also quite uncomfortable to tuck them in. Will it ever feel more natural?

Thanks for any advice

xx

 

[Orson Cart]

Have you considered getting physio to strengthen your outer knee muscles to stop them turning in? They may be able to give you some good exercises to do to help things become more natural on the back of your horse. I'm no expert though! I just know that physio helped my twisted hips and knees enormously ...

 

[ChiffChaff]

Thank you, that isn't something I had ever considered but will definitely look into it. Especially since it isn't just my riding that is affected, forcing my toes to point forward when I'm walking has made my ankles quite weak. Hopefully some physio will help!

x

 

[Hippophilia]

Ride without stirrups as much as you can, in trot especially which will help strenghten your leg and deepen your seat. Yoga and pilates are also great to help develop core strength which will help massivley with your seat.