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| Author |
Message |
    
Heather Sparks (Malski)
| | Posted on Tuesday, Mar 6, 2001 - 9:29 pm: |   |
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this site and enjoy reading all the questions and answers. I have a problem with my weight (or my saddle) always shifting to the left when I ride. I use a breast collar and make sure that the cinch is tightened and will stop during the ride to check. I am constantly being told by my buddies behind me to straighten up.Maybe my legs are not the same length? I have tried shortening the left stirrup but that hasn't helped.Things will go fine for awhile but then I'm crooked again. Any ideas? I don't want to be known as "Lefty Leaner" anymore.
Thanks,
Buckskin |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2001 - 7:06 am: | |
Heather,
If your saddle is shifting to the left, it would indicate that your left stirrup is bearing more weight and should be lengthened rather than shortened. But if this takes your leg out of proper position on the horse we may correct one problem and substitute another. Best would be to find a good teacher in the discipline that you are most interested in to help you with your seat. Second best would be to start riding in the arena with no saddle: you will learn to sit centered or you will fall.
DrO |
Amy E. Coffman (Redroan8)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2001 - 9:33 am: | |
Hi Heather,
DrO is right; this indicates that you are putting more weight on your left foot (and therefore your left seatbone) than your right. I have the same problem unless I consciously think about it---due to old back injuries I don't have the same flexibility in my right hip as I do my left, and I'm "shorter" on my right side. We get so used to moving in whatever way we habitually move, that we don't even notice these things, but once it was brought to my attention I noticed that in almost everything I do (walk, stand, sit in the car, etc), I have about 60% of my weight on my left leg/seatbone. Over time, this kind of thing can make a horse sore and irritable, and can predispose him to injury since he's constantly compensating for unbalanced weight. He'll also develop unevenly.
I haven't yet been to a chiropractor because I don't know any in the area, but I have been to a massage therapist a couple of times and found that after each session it was much easier for me to distribute my weight 50/50, whether standing or whatever. This rebalancing also has the strange effect of making you feel lighter on your feet, so I can only imagine how much of a difference it must make to the horses we ride.
You might think about how you do things other than ride--how do you sit in a comfy chair? how do you stand for any length of time? If you are spending more time on one side than the other, you may want to explore why that is (old injury?) and investigate ways to get fuller use of both sides of your body.
Hope this helps.
~Amy |
Christine C. Mills (Chrism)
| | Posted on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2001 - 6:59 pm: | |
Measure both stirrup leathers with a yardstick and make sure they are the same length - perhaps they have stretched unevenly.
If you are working in ring, choose regular checkpoints (I use dressage letters) to do a quick audit of your position - every time you pass the checkpoint, check yourself for correctness! This helps establish a new habit.
If you are very used to being crooked, it may feel odd at first - this is where an instructor is very helpful - telling you when it is right when it may feel odd.
Also, your horse may be traveling a bit crooked - this is very common. So an instructor could help you learn to feel the horse's crookedness and correct for it.
Also, I am a firm proponent of lunge lessons to establish an independent seat. A nice school horse that lunges is worth his weight in gold for teaching a student how to sit straight and comfortably in balance.
Riding without stirrups (or even without one stirrup at a time) can be helpful, too.
Just some suggestions. |
Melissa Kolb (Mmkolb)
| | Posted on Saturday, Mar 9, 2002 - 10:58 pm: | |
I have a "leaning to the left" tendency too. Last year I began a weight training program, to increase my general health and strength, and I learned (with the assistance of a fitness trainer and my workout buddies) that I tend to use my left leg as my "balancing" leg, and my right leg as the "stepping up or out" leg. I think a lot of people do this. To find out if you are one, think about which leg you use to step up on a curb from the street (you will be BALANCING on the opposite leg). If you step up or forward consistently on your right leg, then the left leg is balancing you, and you may be doing the same thing from habit in the saddle!
The weight training has helped me increase the strength of the balancing muscles in my right leg so it is more even with my left, and it is easier now for me to be centered in the saddle. (I still have to be conscious of it though and adjust the saddle to the right every once in a while).
You don't have to get a trainer to help you with the "evening out" exercises. Just stand in front of a full length mirror and watch the way you use your body as you do a series of squats (feet a comfortable distance apart, facing the mirror, and bend your knees as if you were going to sit in a chair. Your behind will go out in back of you, put your arms out in front of you for balance, go only as deep as is comfortable for you - you'll get better with practice- and then return to a standing position slowly). Watch to see that you use both legs in the same way (you may be uneven at first from left to right but if you do these consistently it should begin to even out).
Overall, taking up this exercise program really helped my riding, I am stronger, more flexible, and more balanced. I am more aware of my body and its positioning.
I hope this helps you- good luck! |
Phyllis
Member
Username: Dandy234
Post Number: 4
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Feb 17, 2003 - 2:16 am: | |
I also have a leaning problem. What i do is I put more weight in my left stirrup and seat bone but to compensate for that, I lean to the right. This leads to leaning forward off my horse's shoulder and tucking my right elbow and wrist into my stomach and bringing my knee up above the flap of my saddle. I only do this to the right usually but every once in a while I lean to the left.
My trainers are helping me but I can't have lessons every day I ride and I do not know what the correct position is (due to the fact that I have had so many trainers that put me in so many different positions) so this is very hard to fix.
When I stand and look in the miror, I am completely straight and normal, it is only when I am sitting. Any ideas? |
Christine C. Mills in NC
Member
Username: Chrism
Post Number: 885
Registered: 4-1999
| | Posted on Monday, Feb 17, 2003 - 1:23 pm: | |
When I am trying to break an incorrect habit by doing something else, I use each arena marker as a "check point" for correcting my issue.
So, if you are confident as to what you are supposed to be doing/feeling, you can check/fix every letter, then every other letter, etc. Use that as your focal point for several practice rides, and you may only need to check it infrequently after the correct habit is more established.
Retraining our bodies takes time.
Other things to experiment with are trying to do things with your "other" appendages in daily living. So, if you are right handed, try subsitituting your left hand for some tasks. Carry your business case on your opposite shoulder, etc.
I also think the positions in Peter Egoscue's book, Pain Free are a great, easy way to align our body parts prior to riding and after sitting at a desk all day.
Cheers. |
