unbalanced rider

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emmaohlson

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I am looking for some advice - I compete to a good level and 2 years ago sustained a fairly serious shoulder injury.I had severe muscle wastage which I have been slowly rebuilding. I have had physio, and oesteopathic treatment but I have been noticing I feel more and more one sided when I ride and its started to affect my horses performance. My right hip seems to be further back than my left - my left ankle is bent and fairly forward and my right leg is constantly sliding back and my stirrup feels longer. I am now so uncomfortable when I ride. I have tried a chiropracter but it didnt change anything. Does anyone have any ideas? I am at a loss for what to do next.
 
To be perfectly honest, it maters not what position your exact joints are, it matters what you communicate to the horse.

Disabled riders and their horses adapt quickly to aids that are considered the norm for riding. This is not true.

Your post sounds so exasperated... not with the horse but with yourself and reading it makes me tense up. Please, relax and take it one bit at a time. You're so desperate to get back to whence you once were it's making you a bit dizzy.

For the sake of both of you. learn to slow down, start things you both knew to a level YOU know and then teach the horse. Set him up so he can learn the new stuff. Don't punish for what he should know. He's just a horse and you are just a human. Give yourself some space and time to recover. It's difficult.

I also had shoulder surgery in April, and it's been a long 3 months. All I've done is be a bit more patient and ASK a few more times than normal. i.e "PLEASE listen to me horse, I'm different, I'm weaker". He's listened and responded.

They KNOW!!!! All it needs is a bit of TIME :)
 
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You need a mechanical horse and a biomechanics teacher!

The mechanical horse never lies about your balance will help you find a place where you are balanced and not in front or behind the horses movement. A good biomechanics teacher with the horse will help you find that really really fast.

If you PM can recommend someone - she got interested originally because she many bones and is crook herself - but she is now pretty experienced and has now worked with various para teams, etc.

Anyway, PM me, sure if she is too far away may be able to recommend/advise?
 
Not sure where you are in the country but a visit to someone with a simulator with computerised read outs of balance will help you 'see' what is happening with your body. A good instructor will be able to recommend a decent body worker too. I can recommend one in essex/suffolk?

As for suggestions, i have a right shoulder problem at the moment that is starting to cause a whole body twist (right shoulder wants to be up by my ear, in turn my left hip has something strange going on, to the point where i am getting a sore left ankle when i ride now). I am looking at having a mayofascial release treatment done (but the cost is putting me off!). This might be worth looking at?

You sound at the end of your tether and i can well believe it. My shoulder pain isn't too bad but i am all too aware of how it is tweaking my body and i don't like it and want it fixed! Have tried sports massage but it isn't working so well now. Shoulder problems are notoriously difficult to fix. :(

Hope you find something to help, keep us informed - let me know what works!
Trina x
 
If you've had NHS physio, consider paying for private treatment. I was told by NHS physio, that she could only treat the joint which I had been referred for (ankle in my case), despite the obvious fact that the fall which broke my ankle must have caused other problems, to say nothing of those caused by using crutches for almost 3 months.
I had private physio for a different problem 3 years later and she sorted out all sorts of issues for me. She also said that their training tells physios to treat the whole person.

I can also recommend a mechanical horse.
 
try a mechanical horse. And as silly as it sounds, try a neck strap! has worked wonders for me!
 
I've got something similar going on due to breaking my leg. I'm fine until I'm getting a little tired and the way my body compensates makes for an odd position, the longer I ride, the more akward I get.
I just don't go that far now, I know I have to go that bit further to strengthen weakened areas, but I find it counter productive to push it too far.

It really takes time and patience, my accident was 2 years ago, and my body is not back to normal, I wonder if it ever will be.

I like the idea of a mechanical horse, and would try one if I knew where one was, anyone know how to find one?
 
Not sure where you live but google Felicity Mann she teaches on a mechanical horse and also does the Alexander Technique to help you realign your body.
 
trina1982 said:
Canteron - great minds and all that ;) :)
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Think we are talking the same girl here!

I would travel huge distances to go to this girl - in fact even in one session I learnt huge amounts about my riding why I was unbalance and how to start to address it - information which is difficult to get elsewhere.

Although I carried on and did more the most dramatic improvement definitely came from the first session and I think if you lived far away would be worth it and should give you the information you need to move forward fairly quickly.
 
canteron said:
Think we are talking the same girl here!

I would travel huge distances to go to this girl - in fact even in one session I learnt huge amounts about my riding why I was unbalance and how to start to address it - information which is difficult to get elsewhere.

Although I carried on and did more the most dramatic improvement definitely came from the first session and I think if you lived far away would be worth it and should give you the information you need to move forward fairly quickly.
Click to expand...

Well, i am talking about Becky Chapman at Ashen EC, is that who you meant? Becky is absolutely inspirational, but i can quite appreciate that finding any instructor that knows about biomachanics can improve your riding tenfold. And you're right, it's the first session where the lightbulbs are going ding, ding, ding in your head!
I hate to think what a wreck my back would be by now had my hollow posture not been caught and changed about 6 years ago (i was only 23 and x rays showed that i was starting to damage my spine). So so glad I hit upon biomechanics. Changed my life quite frankly.

Trina x
 
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