Horse rider imbalances, how to improve your horse riding poistion

What made me interested in imbalances in horse riders

I sat on the red table in my reception class, with the blackboard positioned to my right. Therefore my pelvis spent that first year of school rotated to the right, with more weight through my left seatbone, my young spine bent to one side, and my shoulders unlevel. Bad news!

As I spent many hours in this position, my very adaptable young hips and spine adjusted to this. My adaptable brain unconsciously modified my activities accordingly. For example, I found it less of an effort when sat on the floor to sit with my legs out to the right side of my body rather than the left, reinforcing therefore my asymmetry…………and so on it goes. The efficient brain always finds the path of least resistance to conserve energy.

A few decades later, I have studied photographs of myself on board my four legged friend, and am horrified to see the imbalance in my riding position.

I have been riding since I was a scrap. Have I been in denial all this time? I have known for ages that every horse I ride is one sided and I have the same battles no matter what I ride. I can't blame the horse, it's me!

But my brain kept telling me that I was straight!

This is because your brain judges your body's balance by the messages it receives from stretch receptors within the muscles, which provide a reading as to how much tension is within them. If you have a lengthened muscle on one side of a joint and a shortened muscle on another, then your brain will balance the tension reading from the muscles by bending the joint towards the shorter tissue, thereby equalising the tension in both muscles, tricking it into thinking this is the joint's "neutral" position!

I set about trying to identify why I was sitting crooked. I can tell you this was no easy task. Never try to assess your own faults, it's nigh impossible! Trial and plenty of error later I am closer to solving my mystery, in other words where the problem originates.

From the photograph, you can hopefully see that the right side of my body is shorter than my left, putting more pressure onto my left seatbone.

Now when in action, I infact fall out to the right! For example if I am riding on the left rein, my weight falls out to the right, and surprise surprise so does my horse!

When riding, the imbalance in my hips causes me to "lose" my pelvis to the right., causing my horse to fall out to the right. I therefore have to compensate to stop me falling off! My left leg grips to hold me on which in turn draws my pelvis down on the left, lifting the right seatbone and making the right leg less stable. I shorten the right side of my body in an attempt to throw my weight in the opposite direction. My right leg wobbles pathetically being hopeless at supporting the outside of my poor horse who continues to fall out, causing me to fall out more, causing the horse to fall out more, causing me to fall out more……………………. .

When on the right rein, my horse falls in. She does not engage her inside hind very well on this rein, probably as my weight is on my left seatbone rendering my right leg less effective. Also as the hamstring originates from the seatbone it pulls down to try and "right" my lifted seatbone and I use it to put my leg on by bending at the knee instead of using my hip muscles as I should to apply the leg aid. My hamstring often aches as a consequence.

My right shoulder often aches when I ride as I fix down through the right side of my body with a big muscle that attaches to the front of my shoulder, causing my right shoulder to be pulled down.

I find that my right hand is more mobile. As I am fixing down through the right side of my body with a muscle that attaches my arm to my body, the arm is moving with the pelvis rather than being independent of the pelvis, therefore giving a less consistent contact through the right rein.

Although my weight is in my left seatbone my pelvis and horse have shifted to the right!

It can be so difficult to analyse your own body, especially as you can't stand back and look at it. Your brain is very clever at keeping your body balanced over your base. If one segment of the body is "off centre" it creates an equal and opposite reaction in another body part to compensate.

I need to try and let go through the right side of my trunk and left leg but to do this I need more stability and balance in my hips and pelvis, and this is what I am now working on off the horse. Only then will I be able to straighten myself when riding.

Riders that try in vain to straighten themselves when riding will simply fail.

You must identify the weak link and unless you learn to control this, you will continue to have to compensate. Your body has no choice or you will fall off!

I have had to become more aware all the time of my static postures, standing and sitting, and constantly check and amend myself. It is not enough just to think about your body position when mounted. You need to check yourself regularly when dismounted!

But you need to know how first!
That's why you should attend a Physio4HorseRiders Workshop!