We have to somehow or other get our leg underneath us so that we can carry our selves. Our position is neither sitting nor standing, it is in-between. It is more like squatting. Many people find it difficult to squat in balance on the ground – never mind on a moving animal! This is our challenge!
Mary Wanless is very specific about recommended leg angles in her book “Ride with your mind essentials” (9): 100 degrees for experienced riders and 90 degrees for novices. Her words stimulated me to trawl through books and magazines and measure the angles of riders I admired. I discovered a wider angle between thigh and calf in pictures I admired than Mary recommends, commonly around 110-120 degrees.
William Micklem has different advice in his book “The Complete Horse Riding Manual” (5). For dressage he recommends 120-130 degrees. For jumping 105-115 degrees (but if you are short and the horse is big, it may help to ride a little longer). William says, “the wider a horse is, the shorter the stirrups must be. This is because as the distance between the knees increases, the knee and hip joint have to close to allow the lower leg to be in a vertical line and stay in contact with the horse’s sides.”
I find the shape of the horse’s back and the impact on the rider to be very interesting. On a flatter backed horse the rider will naturally carry more weight on her thighs and this will naturally spread the load for the horse over a broader area. On a more slender creature it is even more vital to get the heel under the rider’s centre of gravity as more weight will naturally flow down in to the foot. If this does not happen then the slender horse feels more weight in the riders seat – on the most sensitive section of his back! Ouch! I have noticed that slender horses tend to be more sensitive than their wider counterparts. Perhaps this is part of the reason why? And also why beginners are better on cobs? A more experienced rider can achieve more with the slender sensitive horse as her ability to hold her weight off her thighs gives more aid alternatives.
Look at classical engravings such as those in Paul Belasik’s book – Dressage for the 21st Century” (7). The classical baroque riders are portrayed with legs almost straight ie nearly 180 degrees! Is this an honest representation of what the artist actually saw? Is it even physically possible? Is it a good thing for the horse? I think that many dressage riders think “I do dressage now so I lengthen my stirrups”. What matters most in dressage is balance not stirrup length. We should set our stirrups to a length where we feel we are balanced. Longer is not necessarily better!
Is this all there is to it? What do you think? What affects leg position?
Here are some factors I think have an effect on leg position:
-Length of rider’s thigh and calf bones
-Shape of horse’s barrel – depth, curvature
-Type of saddle eg GP, dressage, jumping
-Depth of seat on saddle
-Size and positioning of knee and/or thigh rolls
-Type of riding eg jumping, flatwork, hunting, dressage
-Fit of saddle to horse
-Fit of saddle to rider
-Position of stirrup bars
-Position and stability of rider’s upper body
Breathing is a great help! You can learn to breathe in such a way that you assist your riding. Pilates and swimming have taught me the power of coordinating my breathing with my movement. My breathing can make me stronger and/or more relaxed. Breathe out as you sit – as you ask for any change. Many of us fail to use our breathing effectively and yet it is an amazing tool. Breathing helps us connect our mind to our body. Most of us take very shallow breaths and, as a result, fail to work the muscles in our chest. Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try sucking in air through your nose using your throat. We can breathe in to different parts of our body. Breathing out emphasises letting go and relaxation.
We can develop our balanced seat best by
-Being lunged. The Spanish Riding School advocates this method. But some of us don’t have the luxury of another person to help us in this way.
-“Lunging your-self”. There is no third party involved here. The point is that you are riding purely with the intention of working on yourself. This is explained in more detail in the section on Initial Assessment and warm up in chapter 9.
Remember that in riding, as in life, we become strong by letting go not by hanging on.
Many books and riding instructors focus on what I call the externals of the rider’s position. I don’t think that this helps at all. It just makes us more and more fixed and less and less acceptable to our horse. Indeed, trying to mimic the position of another rider will never work.
Instead of focusing on straight lines here and there go inside yourself and focus on feel. You need to be
-Balanced
-Relaxed
-“With” the movement (harmonious not blocking).
When you are all of these things then your position as it appears on the outside will be perfect for you and your horse!
An open focus – internal or external
A major problem area for me has been my focus. I often find myself focussing on an area just in front of saddle and my horse’s head and ears. This undoubtedly tips me forward. It makes it more difficult for my horse in transitions as I am loading his forehand.
Stand without shoes with your feet directly beneath your hips. Look at a point at eye height ahead and rise up onto your toes. Now tip your head forward. What happens? When we ride we must ensure we are looking forwards at eye height.
Be proud; no apologies, aware of everything but not focusing on any one thing. To do this we need to relax our eyes. Release tension in your eyes by thinking of breathing out through them. Sally Swift describes this as “soft eyes” in her book Centred Riding (12).
In riding, our eyes affect our ability to feel as well as to see. When we stop seeing our feeling sense is heightened. Whilst mounted try closing your eyes and feeling the weight in the rein. Whilst dismounted try focussing your eyes on something at eye height and standing on one leg. Now close your eyes. What happens?
For good riding we need to strike a better balance between seeing and feeling (internally or externally focussed). We see but it is not our main focus. Our main focus is feeling inside. Most of us are probably 90% external and 10% internal. We need to rebalance not just for riding but for life!
Testing the quality of the connection
We can test the quality of our connection by giving away one or both of the reins.
What could happen when we give away the rein? What does it mean?
The horse falls onto his forehand and rushes? Why? The horse was relying on the hand for support…and/or the horse is not sufficiently connected to the riders seat. Why? Maybe the horse is not strong enough to complete the movement or has lost balance for some other reason or is fatigued.
The horse hollows? Why? The head was being “held down” by the rider. Perhaps the horse has been trained in draw reins. Why?
The horse comes into a beautiful poll high, nose in front of the vertical carriage? Why? The horse was held in front by a rider who already has the horse in her seat. I have seen this with some very capable riders.
The horse opens the angle under the jaw? Why? As previously, but perhaps the horse is more novice. I have witnessed this when I allowed a strong rider to ride my young novice horse.
The last two results are likely to happen when the horse is over-bent as a result of a rider with too strong a hand. Note that a horse that was over-bent because it was avoiding the bit (ie behind the bit) will likely stay the same when the rein is given!
The desirable result is that the horse gently lengthens his frame to seek the same contact at a point further forward. The rider encourages and supports this stretching and relaxation with her seat.
Giving the rein is a brilliant exercise and should be done frequently to test self carriage or to enable stretching and relaxation of muscles.
To test self carriage give either one or both reins. Is the same frame and rhythm and balance maintained?
To encourage stretching allow the rein to gradually get longer (often described as the horse chewing the rein out of the riders hand). If the rider just throws the rein at the horse she will really unbalance him. If he was in good carriage before he will feel a lot more weight in the bit from the given rein. This can be done in all 3 paces but with rhythm and balance maintained.
Never allow the horse to get his head too low and drop through his wither. This will push him onto his forehand and the horse will deposit the weight of his head in your hand or curl up and hang behind the vertical. Encourage the horse to stretch only to the point where he can maintain his balance. Be sure not to tip forwards yourself! If you do you will overburden his forehand. Instead, open the angle at the elbow and allow the reins to gradually get longer.
A good rider can achieve both these feels at will. She can give the rein and encourage stretching or seeking and can give the rein and retain the carriage in her seat.
At lower levels of dressage competitions the give and retake is asked for in canter and is often poorly executed. The free walk is asked for from Preliminary level and also provides a good test of the connection.
Sit in or write for a dressage judge in tests requiring a “give and retake”. What is the variation in marks? What sort of comments did the judge make? How could the g&r’s you saw be improved?
Things to remember
A good rein contact is light and consistent. It is achieved when we have “rein equilibrium”.
Only when we can control ourselves can we have a good pair of hands.
Only then the horse will seek a “rein equilibrium”.
Successful stretching and give and retake exercises depend on the mechanics of “rein equilibrium”.
A skilled rider can change the outline and maintain “rein equilibrium”.
To improve our hands we must improve our balance which means that we must improve our seat.
The connection is proven by our ability to give it away.