Critique!

[DRTY.2]

This was my first private dressage lesson ever... had a little bit of instruction (twice) at pony club since February, but there was not much focus on me... so didn't get a lot out of it. I've got a bit to work on my position (I'm not used to having my leg so forward, so there's a few pics with my leg too far back. I'm used to a GP saddle which my leg feels further back in.) My horse Red is a rising 9yo TB who I've had since December '07 (though used to own him from beginning of '03 to beginning of '06 and I backed and started him myself). The girl who owned him from '06-'07 didn't ride him as she was afraid and she did natural horsemanship ground work.

Here's an album of pics - http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?MemberId=15395175&PhotoNbr=1&PhotoAlbumId=7883160950

[angel]

Bridget, my girl. Shorten those stirrups until you can keep the weight of your foot on the rear edge of them. Until you can balance correctly, your horse will be on the forehand. Remember also that when you go to learn the sitting trot, that AP saddle will be a big handicapp.

[faluut42]

you are posting on your toes, im not sure how to explain it (this is why i should never become a trainer :lol:), but keep you weight in your heels and post using your quads (or what ever muscle is on the front of your thigh). You dont really feel like you are using it but you are (see what i mean).

also you have piano hands, remember the wine glass trick, pretend you have a wine glass in your fist, if you tip it over your gona get wet!

[rileyt]

You need to shorten your stirrups... at least one hole... possibly 2 or 3. They're not offering you any base of support, so your lower leg is swinging back, and you're riding off your knee.

I think that will really help you keep your leg in the right position.

[SisterToSoreFoot]

The horse is a nice one...

Others have said the comment about posting on your toes. In step with that, don't do such a dramatic pulling back of your leg to get the horse forward. It's making you tip forward and get on your toes, and he shouldn't need such a big leg movement to go. If he doesn't go with an slight inward pressure, he needs a tap with the whip.

Also, bend your elbows and relax your arms...your elbows are almost perfectly straight (look at pic Red4) making you pull down on the bit.

[Ambrey]

also you have piano hands, remember the wine glass trick, pretend you have a wine glass in your fist, if you tip it over your gona get wet!

My daughter's instructor says "DON'T DROP YOUR ICE CREAM!"

The wine is a better analogy for adults, but my trainer just has to say "HANDS!" and I know what I'm doing ;)

[AmandaandTuff]

I'm not a dressage rider (and quite honestly have little to no intrest in dressage at the moment, once a great fan), but I agree you need to shorten up your stirrups and that you are posting on your toes. Elbows need a little bend in them too, you look stiff.

It almost looks like you're gripping with your knees too much and sending your lower leg back, try heels down and gripping with your calves.

[slc2]

I'm not so sure that raising the stirrups is going to get at the problem. This is probably just going to make the position more difficult to correct.

I feel the rider has a very, very long thigh, especially compared to her upper body which is very short and her calf is also short. So pictures are 'hard to look at' and I think the build makes it hard for the rider to find a good leg position. What she has done is pull her lower leg too far back, and her knee too far forward and too up. I think the appearance of needing a shorter stirrup comes from a point higher up - the knee up and the lower leg unstable and far back.

Also, she holds one lower leg very, very different from the other. THe right leg is held very far back and the body is crooked.

I think what's going on is this rider is trying to find a way to cope with her ...'conformation', that very long thigh.

The first thing I'd do, oddly enough, is get rid of the short soft boots. I'd get some boots with spanish tops that fit higher, and are stiff. What that's going to do is help keep the side of the leg on the horse and her ankles not c0cked. Yes a person can still twist their lower leg in stiff boots, but it still helps. IF showing, the spanish tops will make the rider look more in proportion. She'll still have to fix what's there, but it will make a more harmonious picture at a show - the short boots actually emphasize it.

Like a lot of people, her 'conformation' is in a lot of ways really fantastic, other than this one thing. She tries to sit beautifully upright, has a very short upper body (though the lower back is quite hollow and may need more core strength, and this allows the hips to tip forward, making it harder for her to open the hips and correct the base of her position).

It's not so bad to have a long thigh - at least you have more leg on a horse than I do! The key is coping with it correctly, and not having it distort your position.

Instead of trying to raise the stirrups, what would be much more difficult, but I think would get at the issue much better, is, yes, to DROP the stirrups for a time, and find a comfortable way to deal with these proportions that involves opening up the hip, getting the knee down, the lower leg in the correct position (shoulder, hip, heel, instead of shoulder, hip and heel behind or one leg more behind than the other), and the side of the calf against the horse without the ankle c0cked.

I think she's trying to create some stability for herself by c0cking her ankles, getting her calf against the horse, and holding one leg further back and twisting her body. Part of it may be the big, stretched out gaits of this horse which needs more balance, suppling and bending and roundness, and then would be easier to sit and get a stable position on. I hate to say it, but the horse has gaits that are hard to sit. They're very big and have a lot of motion; people can find that sort of horse hard to be stable on. I'd try to learn the basic position on an easier to sit horse, develop the strength and then ride this type of horse. That's not always convenient or possible - people have to ride what they have.

Raising the stirrups might be a quick fix, and that's what a lot of people say any time they see a heel drawn up or an unstable lower leg. In this case, though, if this was me, I'd think about what is pulling that heel up, actually drop my stirrups, try to open my hips, and try to more worry about getting straight on the horse, without the twist or difference in the position of my lower legs.

[Kathy Johnson]

You are riding on your fingers and toes. In regard to the toes, the answer is indeed to lengthen the leg, rather than shorten the stirrups. But it takes a long time to open the hips and let femur and knee drop. Very often the heel hikes up in the sit phase of the trot, as the rider squeezes with the calf. In the one picture of the up phase of posting trot, your leg is much longer. So, I would compromise by shortening the stirrups one hole, then do five minutes of two point trot per ride (to strengthen the leg), and five minutes of sitting trot without stirrups (to stretch the leg).

A good exercise is to get in two point, then stand up on your toes, then stretch down in your heels, just standing still, holding mane. The front of your boots should crease as you feel the weight drop behind the stirrup iron and into your heel. If you're ok with that, try it in trot, letting the ankles act like shock absorbers, bouncing the heels down. If you work without stirrups and in two point every ride, we should see a marked difference in about three weeks, and at that point, you might be able to lengthen the stirrups.

In regard to the fingers, in your efforts to be light in the reins (and I'm quite sure your hands are very light), you are pushing your fingers so far forward, you have pulled your arms out of the sockets. This is what is causing your shoulders to look round, although your posture isn't bad at all. Roll your humerus around in the rotator cuff, not moving your shoulder blades at all. With the arm down and back in the cuff, your elbows will hang naturally at your sides, allowing you to "carry" your hands, rather than straightening the elbows and pushing your hands away from you.

Think of it this way. If you let your arms come out of the sockets two inches, it is like lengthening the reins two inches. Red does as he is told, and puts his nose out two inches. If you lean forward at the same time, it is like lengthening the reins two more inches. If you open your fingers at the same time, you have given the horse about 5 inches of rein, and all good horses will keep reaching out for the reins.

Red21 is quite a nice picture, with you in near perfect position, and Red also in near perfect position, as it should be. Nice work, lovely racing stripes on the little red corvette.

[egontoast]

I highly recommend Susanne Meisner's book, Balance and Movement.

This is a classic fork seat (as opposed to chair seat). Shortening the stirrups and finding your balance over your feet in two point might help but if the saddle is low in front ( as in too big, usually) then you will need to balance the saddle first.

if it's the saddle, this will not be hard to fix.:)

'Been there', as they say!:cool:

[slc2]

Pic 14 shows how beautifully she can ride, with the knee down, heel level, weight in the heels, hip, ankle and shoulder in line. Her shoulders are a little rounded in that one but that is easy to fix once the base is stable, the leg is down, the hip is open, the balance is over the seat.

That photo also shows very clearly that the stirrups are not too long. What has to happen is the knee stay down like that. That is from opening the hip, stabilizing the core (ab curls, exercises that supple and strengthen abdominal, lower back and upper leg muscles).

There is a fork seat, that is weight on the front of the seat, on the 'ouch bones' :) but only when she gets her leg back and tips forward. Pic 14 is what she can be. Beautiful position.

[DRTY.2]

Great, thank you for all your advice :D I think it's brilliant and will help me a lot :D

I have an old injury in my right ankle/leg (broke falling off a horse that I was riding for someone else... there's 2 pins in my ankle and a metal plate and screws in my leg, so that ankle doesn't have as much movement in it. Slowly getting better as I ride more.)

The stirrups are on the last hole as they are (I'm a short 5'3") so I will buy a hole punch next week so I can do some work in two point to help strengthen my legs. Does anyone recommend any good books or websites with exercises that will help me strengthen my core?

[2boys]

Does anyone recommend any good books or websites with exercises that will help me strengthen my core?
PILATES!! It helped me stay with my bouncy tb soo much!:yes:

[Piaffing]

Great, thank you for all your advice :D I think it's brilliant and will help me a lot :D

I have an old injury in my right ankle/leg (broke falling off a horse that I was riding for someone else... there's 2 pins in my ankle and a metal plate and screws in my leg, so that ankle doesn't have as much movement in it. Slowly getting better as I ride more.)

The stirrups are on the last hole as they are (I'm a short 5'3") so I will buy a hole punch next week so I can do some work in two point to help strengthen my legs. Does anyone recommend any good books or websites with exercises that will help me strengthen my core?

Take yoga classes. They are great for the core strength and breathing.

[Surviving the Dramas]

You can't be that far from me if you have lessons with Jeannie. :D

Agree with what the others have said, shorten your stirrups, heels down, elbows IN, and hands with the knuckle of your thumb on top. My instructor calls it dogs paws when I roll my hands over at the wrist.

You look like you are kicking a bit too much in these photos. Use that whip to give him a hurry up if you feel like you are doing too much work.

[DRTY.2]

Don't have time for yoga classes with work and the horses taking up almost all of my time.

Usually I'm very good with keeping my thumbs on top but I was having to think about other things and think I forgot all about my hands!

Yes, I do do a bit too much work with my legs, so we did a good exercise of me slowing him right down and then making him go very forward... made him a lot more active than he usually is so I was pleased :)

Surviving the Dramas - cool :D I live basically right in chch city but it takes me about 20-25 mins to get to where my horses are which I hate :s

[2boys]

Don't have time for yoga classes with work and the horses taking up almost all of my time.

I simply bought a pilates video, and do it at home when I have twenty to thirty minutes for a "tune up".

[Carol Ames]

It looks like you are twisting off to the right; do you have more weight in your right stirrup/foot?? The very best answer would be for you to find a centered Riding or,, 'connected riding ":winkgrin: instructor; :yes:once you are balanced over your seat bones you will be able to release the hip, thereby releasing your thigh;allowing the weight to travel down through your leg;A good starting exercise would be to change your diagonalevery three /four strides by staying up ; vary the number of strides ' This is a good exercise to do every time you get on a horse; when you are able to change posting diagonal without your horse changing stride, you are balanced evenly over your feet;Another good execise is "three seats at the trot"