Advice?, Rant? I dont know lol

[Kumagorou]

Hi, this is my first time posting here, trying to find some online support groups because I just feel lost.
I have been riding for 7 years now and I feel like every step I take forward I take a billion back now.
- when I started riding I took English lessons everything was going great (or so I thought) but then the barn I was riding at had abit of a mess and lessons stopped there, I managed to find a barn close to my house where I now lease a horse, I love the barn I'm at now and everyone is supper friendly and helpful, but everyone rides endurance and as I have taken lessons there and have improved my riding alot in the process of that I have lost my seat/legs .
I ride in an all pourpose thurogood saddle, I find my saddle very comfortable and feel great riding at a walk in it, also in a Trott but I feel like my lower leg could be steadier my leg also feels short dispite the stirup length being slightly longer then the recomended ankle bone length (have tried the stirups shorter and longer already, lengthening them my leg feels good but i end up reaching for them so my heals dont stay down or i am loosing them). The problem is that I just can't for the life of me get my leg back as it should I keep being told my leg is too far forward and it must be true because I'm very unbalanced in 2 point. My new instructor has been getting me to ride in her endurance saddle which is nice I feel supper balanced in 2 point and my leg position feels great but I seem to struggle with the posting Trott not sure if maybe the stirrups are too long? I'm told my leg position looks way better in this saddle and it's nice to not always be told your legs too far forward, but I'm struggling in other ways with the switch, this saddle is also used by another rider so I feel bad if I play around with the stirrups as I tend to forget to put them back .
I'm so torn on what to do? It's nice to use your own equipment and I feel like being that it's my saddle I need to learn to work with it. But I'm discouraged as it's been 2 years and in the process of trying to get my leg back I have lost all my balance and am struggling to get it back, and am still told my leg position sucks, or do I continue riding in my instructors saddle and have my balance/center feel great but the rest of my riding seems to have flopped in it . I can't afford to buy a new saddle at the moment, as my car is having issues so need to get a new one.

Sorry I feel like this is more of just a rant

 

[chunky monkey]

It could be that you are a different size/shape to the other rider. In which case the way they sit in the saddle might actually be different to you. So dont feel bad.

Secondly dont worry about changing the stirrup length. As a general rule always check your stirrups before you get on especially if others use the saddle. The other rider should be aware that its a shared saddle so should also check there stirrup length is right for them. Dont feel bad that you have to change them or that there is a set rule says if you change them you must put them back to what they were. Just maybe be more diligent yourself and get in a habit that as soon as you get off you adjust them back before untacking.
I often change stirrup length on mine on a hack if im doing a long hack. I prefer long. But if im doing arena work or jumping, I need my stirrups one or two holes shorter as i loose my feet.

 

[Jessey]

It sounds to me like the saddle simply doesn’t fit you, you shouldn’t have to fight with it to get in the right position. Small adjustments can be made by adjusting stirrup length, or even the type of stirrups you use but sometimes the saddle itself is just not suited. Are you particularly tall/short, or the saddle small or more a jump style or anything? I personally have one brand of saddles that I just can’t stop leaning forward in, I’ve been riding 40 years and can sit up straight just fine in others but that brand makes me fight for my position so I just accept it doesn’t suit me.

You could buy your own set of stirrups and leathers so you just switch the whole thing out on your saddle, and back for the other rider. Or perhaps if you can afford to buy a saddle for yourself that fits you and the horse, obviously you’d need to ok that with his owner though.

Endurance riders generally have very good seats and stable legs, so you’re in a great place for good advice, they can probably give your match to the saddle a critical look too.

 

[Skib]

rider so I feel bad if I play around with the stirrups as I tend to forget to put them back

It is normal for each rider to adjust the stirrup leather length to what they personally need. In general the lenth required by a rider may vary with shorter for jumping and medium for hacking and longer still for dressage. You dont need to put them back; it is up to the next rider to sort them out for themselves.

What you look like on a horse and where your legs hang really doesnt matter. You need to be comfortable but riding is about balance in the saddle and communication between the rider (or handler) and the horse.
I was taught by one of the most respected RIs in the UK and I dont think she ever once mentioned leg position nor keeping one's heels down. She talked about relaxing our ankles and feet.
The main horse/rider communication is through your seat in the saddle. If you push your feet down, that lifts your seat from the saddle and reduces what you can feel - so that is not good.
When I rode in RS tack, I kept a little piece of paper in my pocket with the stirrup leather hole length I needed for each RS horse.
I need my stirrups left and right to be exactly the same length - because I am an elderly and crooked rider but if my stirrups are equal, that straightens me out as I ride.

Having said that, these days I always take my own leathers and safery stirrups and fit them on any horse I hack. Even on the one horse I now share, the length will be affected by the clothes I wear. Bulky winter clothes lift ones leg and mean slightly shorter stirrups,

I hope this helps, but be comforted that this problem is the same for everyone.

 

[carthorse]

Like @Jessey I think it sounds like the saddle simply doesn't work for you for some reason. It may be that it's too small for you which makes you sit towards the back, this means your in the wrong place in relation to the stirrup bars and so your leg is dragged forward and before you know it you're in a chair seat. Needing to ride very long backs this up as it means you can bring yourself forward in the saddle so the alignment is better, but then the stirrups are too long to ride in.

In the endurance saddle I wonder if your stirrups are too long to post? Can you shorten them a hole? And don't rise too high, more novice riders often try to get too much height and in doing so lose the balance and rhythm - there's no need for much height, just go with the flow. And again I agree with Jessey that the hours they spend in the saddle and the need to make carrying them easy for the horse means endurance riders often have the good seat and legs that come from a stable core and plenty of feel. Endurance saddles are cut to help this too.

 

[domane]

Does the saddle fit your horse correctly? If it is too narrow at the front it will tilt backwards and your lower leg will automatically be flung forward. Only asking because I have had this problem in the past.

Can you post a photo of your horse (stood on level ground) wearing the saddle sideways on so we can see how it fits?

 

[carthorse]

Another thing to consider is how you're trying to get your leg back. It's easy to just think about moving the lower leg back, but in reality that's something you won't hold and will make you unstable. Instead try to think of relaxing the hips and moving your whole leg back, and maybe your bottom forward too. I find a useful check is would you stay on your feet if the horse suddenly disappeared from under you? If not then you're not in balance.

 

[Kumagorou]

It sounds to me like the saddle simply doesn’t fit you, you shouldn’t have to fight with it to get in the right position. Small adjustments can be made by adjusting stirrup length, or even the type of stirrups you use but sometimes the saddle itself is just not suited. Are you particularly tall/short, or the saddle small or more a jump style or anything? I personally have one brand of saddles that I just can’t stop leaning forward in, I’ve been riding 40 years and can sit up straight just fine in others but that brand makes me fight for my position so I just accept it doesn’t suit me.

You could buy your own set of stirrups and leathers so you just switch the whole thing out on your saddle, and back for the other rider. Or perhaps if you can afford to buy a saddle for yourself that fits you and the horse, obviously you’d need to ok that with his owner though.

Endurance riders generally have very good seats and stable legs, so you’re in a great place for good advice, they can probably give your match to the saddle a critical look too.

Thanks for the reply, thinking about it I think the saddle just may not fit me right, I am pretty short (5'3) and I wouldn't necessarily say my legs are short but they deffinantly arnt long lol. The saddle is an all pourpose one, but my instructor said it reminded her more of a jumping saddle/that she hated all pourpose because she felt that they were all like that. I would love to say it's the horse I ride that gives me a bad position in it but I have tried it on other horses as well with not much improvement. - the thing I like best about it is that it has an interchangeable gullet, being that I'm just leasing at the moment I liked that i was able to change the gullet in case I were to end up switching horses in the future. I don't think its the stirrups themselves but the positioning is very far forward (the endurance one is awesome as it's adjustable).
That's a good way to look at it though! I'm glad I posted this, I never thought that maybe it just didn't fit me/would never work, was pretty Adimit that I was the problem and that I must have been doing something wrong!

 

[Kumagorou]

It could be that you are a different size/shape to the other rider. In which case the way they sit in the saddle might actually be different to you. So dont feel bad.

Secondly dont worry about changing the stirrup length. As a general rule always check your stirrups before you get on especially if others use the saddle. The other rider should be aware that its a shared saddle so should also check there stirrup length is right for them. Dont feel bad that you have to change them or that there is a set rule says if you change them you must put them back to what they were. Just maybe be more diligent yourself and get in a habit that as soon as you get off you adjust them back before untacking.
I often change stirrup length on mine on a hack if im doing a long hack. I prefer long. But if im doing arena work or jumping, I need my stirrups one or two holes shorter as i loose my feet.

Thanks for the reply!
I don't know why it's just me lol I just feel bad If I don't, but think I will try tomorrow for my ride and see If it makes a difference.
I just want to grow as a rider and it's so discouraging when I don't seem to he progressing.

Like @Jessey I think it sounds like the saddle simply doesn't work for you for some reason. It may be that it's too small for you which makes you sit towards the back, this means your in the wrong place in relation to the stirrup bars and so your leg is dragged forward and before you know it you're in a chair seat. Needing to ride very long backs this up as it means you can bring yourself forward in the saddle so the alignment is better, but then the stirrups are too long to ride in.

In the endurance saddle I wonder if your stirrups are too long to post? Can you shorten them a hole? And don't rise too high, more novice riders often try to get too much height and in doing so lose the balance and rhythm - there's no need for much height, just go with the flow. And again I agree with Jessey that the hours they spend in the saddle and the need to make carrying them easy for the horse means endurance riders often have the good seat and legs that come from a stable core and plenty of feel. Endurance saddles are cut to help this too.

Thanks for the reply, I'm going to try shortening them a hole tomorrow on the endurance saddle to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Kumagorou]

Does the saddle fit your horse correctly? If it is too narrow at the front it will tilt backwards and your lower leg will automatically be flung forward. Only asking because I have had this problem in the past.

Can you post a photo of your horse (stood on level ground) wearing the saddle sideways on so we can see how it fits?

I'll see if I can get a picture sometime this week (tomorrow I'm going to ride in the endurance, but the tack room isn't very level so I can't just put the saddle on quickly for a photo) - it's hard to tell I was told it fit but I also need to use a riser on her.

 

[Jessey]

I'll see if I can get a picture sometime this week (tomorrow I'm going to ride in the endurance, but the tack room isn't very level so I can't just put the saddle on quickly for a photo) - it's hard to tell I was told it fit but I also need to use a riser on her.

If you need a riser, it doesn't fit. Though they probably use the riser to improve the fit. A riser could also be tipping the saddle out of balance, and as it has an adjustable gullet you might want to consider if the horse has changed shape a bit and now needs a different gullet for it to fit better (be aware though that an adjustable gullet only changes the front of the saddle but the rock or curve from front to back, also needs to be right for the horse so even though it's adjustable they won't fit every horse), do you have any professional saddle fitters where you are? it's a bit of a fine art so would be worth spending a little to get it checked out by a pro.

 

[carthorse]

There's nothing wrong with AP/GP saddles but like any other saddle they have to fit the horse and the rider. Likewise there's nothing wrong with jumping saddles and they certainly aren't designed to swing your leg back because that's the last thing needed over a big course. No this sounds more like a saddle fit and/or design problem - fit because width isn't the only factor to consider and design because there ae still too many saddles out there with the stirrup bars too far forward.

I'd agree you need a professional saddle fitter out to look at it if possible, a few tweaks may make a lot of difference or it may be that the saddle is just unsuited to the horse or has problems that can't be fixed.