Tips for strengthening weak lower leg

Queenbee

Queenbee

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Anyone got any fantastic tips for strengthening the lower leg, mines never been great but I feel I notice it flapping around loads as I try to school my boy in trot at the moment!! And it's annoying the hell out of me :mad: so any tips would be very much appreciated :)

I'm also thinking of getting a different saddle for schooling as my bates elevation is very forward cut and I don't think that helps matters, however really need some more strength in my legs!
 
Make sure your horse is foreword and in front of the leg as if you are constantly kicking this wont help! Unfortunately the secret is practice practice and more practice, try imagining you have a winning lottery ticket between your calves and you can't lose it! Also work on your general position as this will have a huge impact on your lower legs, work on the shoulder, hip, heal line and maybe invest in a lunge lesson. Also make sure your toes are slightly higher than your heel and pointing foreword and you should be rising with 80% of your weight in your knees and only 20% in your feet so ride without stirrups and you should still be able to do rising trot. Hope this lot helps :)
 
grumblebee said:
Hello

My suggestion would be lots of work without stirrup and also lots of working standing in your stirrups, both will strengthen your legs in different ways!!

Good luck!
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Yeah, I did think about this but Ben is only 6 months under saddle so don't want to do anything to flap him, especially since he is a bit fresh at the moment, although I may just take the plunge and try the work without stirrups with him

Buzzybee11 said:
Make sure your horse is foreword and in front of the leg as if you are constantly kicking this wont help! Unfortunately the secret is practice practice and more practice, try imagining you have a winning lottery ticket between your calves and you can't lose it! Also work on your general position as this will have a huge impact on your lower legs, work on the shoulder, hip, heal line and maybe invest in a lunge lesson. Also make sure your toes are slightly higher than your heel and pointing foreword and you should be rising with 80% of your weight in your knees and only 20% in your feet so ride without stirrups and you should still be able to do rising trot. Hope this lot helps :)
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I did have a lesson booked for a fortnight ago but my yo/instructor went into hospital, heels are always down, toes up and inside leg on his side, but its the rising from the knees I can't quite do, I can when I lose the stirrups (know this from my mare) which is why I feel that it may be partly down to the saddle, I just seem to find my legs hinging forward when I rise... Not good :( it's an event saddle and I naturally ride quite long.... Don't think the two quite go together :(

And I don't constantly kick
 
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You could try putting your stirrups up a hole it might help, you may be rising too much and sounds like your lifting from your legs, when you rise trot you should only be tilting your pelvis forward not lifting your upper body with your legs, it should come from your seat only, try sitting more on your seat bones and tuck your back underneath you its easier to rise correctly then you legs will not move so much, good way to check your seat is when your sitting on your horse put your hand in the small of your back it should be flat all the way down to your bum, if its not your not sitting right, hope that makes sense I used to have lessons with a classical rider she taught me to use my seat correctly and once your sitting right your weight will not be in your lower leg.
 
grumblebee said:
If he has only been 6 month under saddle I wouldn't overdo it on the "no stirrups" bit as he probably won't have the muscles developed to cope yet. A little bit won't hurt though!
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Pinkvboots said:
You could try putting your stirrups up a hole it might help, you may be rising too much and sounds like your lifting from your legs, when you rise trot you should only be tilting your pelvis forward not lifting your upper body with your legs, it should come from your seat only, try sitting more on your seat bones and tuck your back underneath you its easier to rise correctly then you legs will not move so much, good way to check your seat is when your sitting on your horse put your hand in the small of your back it should be flat all the way down to your bum, if its not your not sitting right, hope that makes sense I used to have lessons with a classical rider she taught me to use my seat correctly and once your sitting right your weight will not be in your lower leg.
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I think the main problem is that I damaged my back a few years ago, I naturally tilt forward from my hips to compensate so when I get in the saddle, it's difficult to correct this! When I try to correct it causes pain right up my back.... Especially inbetween my shoulder blades since my whole back is out! Grr!! I have bought a back brace to help myself with posture and also am starting to be more religious with massages/chiro to keep my muscles from tensing up. Weird thing is when I rode without stirrups on ebs, I had no problems with balance or rising correctly, put my feet in the stirrups and it all goes to pot... Even though without stirrups I can quite clearly do the job :(. With regards to non stirrup work with Ben I would not dream of doing too much with him, no more than walk without stirrups for us as he is only 3 1/2 at the moment.
 
Although when rising the knee is the hinge which allows forward and slight elevation the weight should not stop at knee but drop down into the heels. This will allow stabilising of the leg to the horse's side. Try not to rise up off the stirrups but think of rising lowering the weight down the back of the leg and allowing hips to swing forward with the movement of the trot. :)
 
Sorry you have damaged your back it makes it hard to do most physical activity i would imagine, a while back i had a shoulder injury and it would hurt so much when i rode i found those heat things meant for your back helped quite a bit, i also found i was tensing it so i had to try and relax it more which is hard as your expecting it to hurt all the time, i am sure in time as your back improves so will everything else in the mean time i think your doing the right thing with massage and the back brace hope it feels better soon.
 
Pinkvboots said:
Sorry you have damaged your back it makes it hard to do most physical activity i would imagine, a while back i had a shoulder injury and it would hurt so much when i rode i found those heat things meant for your back helped quite a bit, i also found i was tensing it so i had to try and relax it more which is hard as your expecting it to hurt all the time, i am sure in time as your back improves so will everything else in the mean time i think your doing the right thing with massage and the back brace hope it feels better soon.
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Cheers :). I'm actually still quite nimble :) the problem I have is that I have an uneven build up of muscle in my lower back... This causes me to naturally want to twist when rising:rolleyes: which I'm trying desperately not to do, the brace is helping... When I remember to put it on:rolleyes::rolleyes: and I'm trying to really consciously place my legs further back, thinking about it today while riding, whist a pain to have to keep checking myself did start to work. I just about have it nailed when he trots steadily, but when he's trying to do his trotter impression... I get in a bit of a mess:o. We will get there though, and the massages loosen everything up, I normally ride a lot better for about a month after a good massage so hopefully this will improve with more conscious riding. Well, that is the plan anyway:rolleyes::D
 
Off the horse, stand on the bottom stair with the balls of your feet on the stair and without moving the ball of your feet OFF the stair alternate sinking your weight down the back of each leg so that you develop a sort of walking movement but without lifting either foot.

If you work in an office, kick off your heels and put a copy of the yellow pages or similar under your desk; rest balls of feet on book and keep heels on floor. If you have a chair with wheels move forwards and back which will vary the tension on your achilles.

On the horse either practice cantering in a two point seat and or in trot rise for one sit for two and then rise for two sit for one. Kinder on the horses back but gives same result as no stirrups as far as getting weight into lower leg goes.
 
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