Posted by Sandy
on 5/15/2008, 7:17 pm, in reply to "Strong lower leg"
205.188.116.207
Hi Angelica,
To get a snug lower leg without pinching your knees into the saddle, at the sitting trot, ask your trainer to help you ride without stirrups, on the longe line and on the rail. If in his or her judgement, it is safe to do so, ride without them daily, about 15 - 20 minutes, when riding on your own. Let your leg hang down as far as you can stretch. Then turn your toe up and ride like that with no irons. You will find yourself getting the feel of sitting "into" your horse, rather than "on" him. That's what you want. Resist the urge to try to be tight by squeezing with your legs. Relax in your lower back, allowing your abdomen to undulate forward, toward the front of the saddle. While riding without your stirrups, try bridging your reins in your outside hand. Take a hold of the pommel of your saddle with your inside hand and use it to pull yourself forward and down into the saddle. Don't allow your upper body to go forward, just the seat. At the same time, pretend there is a string in the center of your chest, pulling you upward, like a puppet being held aloft by this string, so that you are stretching upward with your upper body, from the waist, through your helmet. If your horse is not spooky, slowly let go of the pommel and drop that arm down, relaxing it at your side. Now, slowly begin to rotate the arm forward until you are reaching straight up with it, keeping your elbow and entire arm straight. Reach for the sky or ceiling and feel the stretch in your upper body, while the area from your waist to knee relaxes and softly moves with the horse's motion. When riding your horse, in the future, remember the feel you had when performing this exercise. Recreating that same position in your body, with both hands on the reins, will continue to serve your purpose in aiding you toward a quiet, effective position in which to train your horse and/or show him. These exercises work equally well to help you learn to sit the canter.
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