Do you have trouble stopping your horse? Do you brace against your stirrups while pulling back on the reins? Does your horse fall forward when you move off? You may be doing too much with your arms and not enough with your seat. Stabilizing your elbows by your sides may be the answer.
Elbows Sticking Out
Do you have trouble keeping your elbows by your sides? Does your instructor keep yelling at you to keep your elbows in? Perhaps you have only one wayward elbow that you can’t seem to control. The answer may be in giving you a tactile sense of where your elbows belong and letting you feel the benefit of having your elbows in the right place.
Level Your Seat
Do you feel one seat bone more than the other? Do slide off one side of your saddle? Does one leg always stick out more forward than the other one? Does your horse always drift or bulge in one direction but not the other? The answer may be that you aren’t sitting level in your saddle. Here’s a quick tip to help you level your seat.
Your Ankle Alignment
Do you have discomfort in your ankles? Do you feet fall asleep when you ride for long periods of time? Do you have trouble getting your heels down? Do you push your feet out in front of you? All of these common riding problems may be due to your ankle alignment.
How to Ride a One-Rein Stop
Anyone who has ever been to a Horsemanship clinic knows the value of a one-rein stop. It allows you to regain control of a troubled horse, helps supple the neck and begin to teach the horse how to catch its balance so that you can direct the feet. However, if the rider is not sitting […]
Help For Unsteady Hands
Do you have trouble keeping your hands steady? Does your instructor yell at you to keep your hands quiet? Do your hands move up and down as you post? Do you tend to drop one hand lower than the other? Unsteady hands are a major problem for many riders. Here are two suggestions to quickly improve your hand position.
