If you were to get comfy over a coffee and have a heart to heart with any rider, the chances are there is something about their position or their effectiveness in the saddle that they have to work on each time they ride. It might be that their hands move too much, or their elbows poke out. Maybe they can’t keep their toes pointing straight ahead, or maybe they lose their stirrup(s). For some riders, turning right or left is more challenging and sitting straight requires a herculean effort. Some riders you will see having a really hard time keeping their leg underneath their hips. The point is, every rider has their own challenges. The aim of this month’s article is to give you a few tips on a couple of often seen problems with riders’ arms and legs and where they might be stemming from, so that you can address the area that might be the most to blame.
Of course, there are a multitude of reasons that may be causing a positional issue, and far too many to cover here, so this month we take a look at contact and leg position.
Inconsistent Contact
The aim of any rider should be to have a seat that is independent not only within itself (ie having arms and legs that move independently from the seat) but to also have a position that can maintain its integrity regardless of what the horse is doing underneath. Being able to hold your position until your horse gives you a great feeling is really the ultimate challenge.
In order for anything to be independent, there needs to be an anchoring element. For the arms and hands to be independent of the rest of the body (and of the horses antics) the shoulder girdle needs to be anchored.
When a riders’ hands and arms move too much and are unable to hold the reins straight or to maintain a steady and consistent contact with the horses mouth; regardless of whether the horse is ‘in the contact’ yet, is a sign that the stability of the shoulder girdle has failed.
The shoulder girdle should be considered as your scapulae (shoulder blades), shoulder joint and all the associated musculature of this area. When you see someone holding good posture, their appearance is one of being very tall and upright with an open chest. In this position, the scapulae have been drawn together and the muscles across the back hold them together and downwards. From here, the arms can be independent from the torso, allowing the shoulder joint full range of movement, as the shoulder blades have been ‘anchored’. This allows for positive tension to be held at the back of the body, whilst maintaining full range of movement with the arms to hold an elastic contact. That means your arms and hands stay on the same trajectory as your horse’s mouth; staying proactive rather than reactive to any inconsistencies.
The secret to gaining the ability to anchor the shoulder girdle is a) adopt neutral spine (actively bringing the shoulder blades together and downwards) and b) strengthening the short, deep muscles of the shoulder girdle through targeted exercises.
Exercise 1: This is not a complicated exercise at all, as it is very specific in the muscles that it targets. Take a yoga block (or a rolled up towel) underneath your elbow and with your arm in a riding position, slowly externally rotate your forearm. Return to your starting point and repeat 10 times with each arm. The point of this is that it is a small movement so that it targets the muscles that often get overlooked by the big, bulkier muscles that take over when the shoulders are not in alignment.
This exercise turns on the deep stabilizing muscles of the scapulae and increases the mobility of the shoulder joint. It is a winner in terms of helping to create the ability to have a more stable and consistent contact.
Be sure to keep the scapula drawn downwards as you complete this move.
TOP TIP* To help maintain your shoulder and arm positioning on horse, imagine you are pressing downwards on somebodys hand with your elbows. This activates the lats which are a strong shoulder and upper arm stabiliser.
Legs that just don’t behave
When it comes to leg positioning, riders can suffer a whole host of difficulties. Perhaps the most common is having the leg too far forward in the saddle, with a closed knee and hip which pushes the rider’s seat to the back of the saddle and immediately out of balance with the horse.
The fundamental aim of any rider should be to stay over the horses’ centre of gravity, which is situated just behind the withers. In this position, the horse is able to move in balance without being conflicted by trying to balance a rider in the wrong place.
A rider that is forced behind the centre of gravity by an incorrect leg position will negatively affect stride length, speed, contact, balance, and comfort. A rider who is always trying to keep up with the horses’ movement slows the horses hind leg, and pushes it out behind them. This means they will always have the feeling that the horse is behind the leg and leaning more and more on the forehand. It is at this point that longer spurs and whips start to feature in their training when really all they needed to do was to align their body and get over the centre of gravity!
So what makes the leg sit in the wrong spot?
The root cause of most positional problems stems from incorrect alignment through the body at the most basic level; ie every day, doing every day activities. The body that is held in a position that is not correctly aligned ‘off horse’ will most certainly not be in alignment ‘on horse’. It is not possible to sit with a perfectly aligned position in the saddle if you do not stand and walk with the same, so in order to address incorrect pelvic and leg position in the saddle, we need to strip the body back to being re-educated from a standing position.
Let’s take a look.
We have all heard about neutral spine, and this is essential, but we have to go another step on from there in order to achieve correct loading and alignment that will set us up for a great pelvic and leg position in the saddle.
As a generalization, most people will tend to lean their upper body forward and load the front of the feet when they walk, relying on momentum rather than leg strength via full hip extension to power them forward. This posture overloads the quads and the hip flexors, forcing them to be contracted and tight. When people with this positioning stand, they may look upright, but if you were to look closely they would actually still have their weight over the balls of the feet, the pelvis out of ‘neutral’ and their rib-cage thrusted upwards, creating the illusion that they are standing straight.
Moving in this position every day ensures that the muscles around the hip remain too tight, the glutes switch off and the lower back remains weak. We may get away with this posture when our feet are on the ground (we won’t indefinitely) but when the pelvis has to be stable in the saddle on top of a moving structure, and strength is only available at the front of the leg; ie the quads and the hip flexors. They do what they know best and contract to try and hold the rider in the saddle; thus giving the rider the knees towards nose position.
To correct the positioning of the pelvis and the hips in the saddle it is necessary to correct it on the ground!
HOW TO:
Standing with feet pelvic width apart, rock your weight back over your heels so that your pelvis is sitting above your heels. Next, put your bottom front rib directly over the front of your pelvis. Your shoulders should then sit on top of your ribs. Draw the chin back towards your neck, lifting the back of your head upwards.
This is likely to feel quite strange, but try to adopt more of an upright position when you walk; keeping the shoulders, ribs and pelvis sitting over the heels.
It really will make a difference to the health of your joints and and will allow you to get into a more balanced position in the saddle.