Leg position--grrr!

[CLAUDIA]

Okay, I was told not too long ago that I point my toes out away from the horse a little too far. It was neither of my instructors that told me this, and they've never said anything about it. As far as I can tell my toes don't stick out that much when I'm riding, but on certain horses they do a little more than when I'm riding others. Should I be concerned about this?

Also, my instructor told me during one lesson that I was riding with my lower leg a little too far forward, and I need to bend my knee some and get my leg back. She only told me this during one lesson. I struggled quite a bit to keep my heel under me, but I think I have it under control now. Could it be that particular horse or the horse's saddle, or is it more likely me?

I thought I had my leg position under control!

Any suggestions?

 

[Sarah]

hello!

If your toes are pointing way out, it could be because you are gripping the horse with your calf muscles. As Heatehr says, let your legs grip the horse like a wet cloth grips a barrel - ie the leg should be there in contact with the horse, but not gripping on for dear life!

Hmm, the leg too far forward problem. In most saddles it is very hard to get your heel sufficiently far back due to where the stirrup leathers are hanging - usually too far forward. The shape of some horses can also not help with this. Looks like it isn't you with the problem at all! Heatehr sells a seatbone saver thingy which helps with putting you into a better position on the saddle to help with this, you could email her for more info. (By the way, can i get some commision here heather?) ho ho.

hope that helped. By the way, how is your riding team doing? When do your competitions start? Do keep us informed on how you do!

bye!

 

[cynthia]

hey, claudia!

take a look at this thread, as it helped me when i had the exact same problem. heather's comments were quite useful, as were Kiersten's (where has she gotten off to, anyway?!) and Misty's.

http://www.newrider.com/bbs/Forum4/HTML/000151.html

good luck with it... i still find myself having to force my toes inward at times, even though i may not feel like i'm being particularly grippy with my calves. sometimes i really do think it's just my conformation, but i'm sure it's something that'll improve with time (and perhaps even when i begin taking dressage lessons soon, and as such, concentrate more heavily on leg position).

don't despair.

-cyn

[This message has been edited by cynthia (edited 15 November 1999).]

 

[Myrmex]

...you know you're a 'real' horseperson when you start criticizing your own conformation!

 

[Horselover2]

Hi Claudia! Nice to meet ya You may also want to check your stirrup length; if you are too long, you will not be able to get the proper knee angle, which will make it difficult to keep your leg from falling forward. Just a thought.

 

[fran]

Hey Claudia - congratulations on the cantering!! A couple of weeks ago my new trainer said exactly the same thing about my legs being too far forward. I waggled my legs around a bit and found that it was my upper legs that weren't open enough (I thought they were but they weren't)...hence tendancy to grip with knees in canter and lower legs doing fine imitation of forward-sloping noodles. So over the past fortnight I've been concentrating on opening my hip joints from the start of the lesson (which feels weird and pulls at first) but it does work. Lower legs are now further back and much less grippiness from the knee. I'm finding it helps too if I think hard just before going into canter of having only my lower legs touching the horses side (as Heather says, like wet cloth), and it's suddenly much easier to keep the canter going rather than sliding back into trot.
good luck!