Tips for keeping lower leg still please..

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pipper

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i have developed a really nasty habit of nagging with my lower leg - kicking with every stride! i am working really hard to stop this awful habit - but do any of you have any 'quick fix' tips or advise please?
many thanks
 
pipper said:
i have developed a really nasty habit of nagging with my lower leg - kicking with every stride! i am working really hard to stop this awful habit - but do any of you have any 'quick fix' tips or advise please?
many thanks
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Lunge lessons might help, if you're able to arrange one! My mum does mine and used to take the stirrups off and make me go round holding both legs right off the saddle - if you're thinking completely about your legs and nothing else you can get them sorted without worrying about what the rest of you is doing! You could also try taking your stirrups up as short as they'll go so that your lower leg becomes as strong as possible, and with all your weight off the saddle and going though your knees into your heels you might find kicking becomes much too awkward to do without thinking about it!!
 
Tie it to the girth with baler twine ;)










then with the baler twine, thread it through your horses mouth and it also acts as a great aid to a lovely outline ;)

Seriously though, whack your stirrups up 4 holes and trotting round the school do 5 standing strides and 5 rising strides.. your lower leg will have to be still to ensure you dont fall back down into the saddle :)
 
kickonchaps said:
Lunge lessons might help, if you're able to arrange one! My mum does mine and used to take the stirrups off and make me go round holding both legs right off the saddle - if you're thinking completely about your legs and nothing else you can get them sorted without worrying about what the rest of you is doing! You could also try taking your stirrups up as short as they'll go so that your lower leg becomes as strong as possible, and with all your weight off the saddle and going though your knees into your heels you might find kicking becomes much too awkward to do without thinking about it!!
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i agree, no stirrups should get you to concentrate more on your balance and less on your legs.......or try focusing on something completely different like are you keeping your hands up etc.....
 
OP, did the problem start because your lower leg was insecure or was it that the horse you were riding wasn't coming off your leg properly? I sometimes become aware that I'm half-heartedly kicking a lot when I should just use the schooling whip or administer one large, hefty kick to the ribs instead of nagging!
 
No stirrups is best way, this will in turn stop you gripping with your knees and get you sitting in the saddle properly.
 
I rode on a mechanical horse a few weeks back and they made it very very bouncy so I was flapping all over the place! I was told to put all my weight into the balls of my feet - despite being told continuously as a child to keep my heels down - and hey presto my legs were totally still. Told this by a saddle designer, not an instructor so not sure how "correct" it is, but worked a treat.
 
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