Please critique my position :)

I need advice on how to cure my penguin feet

Poor rein contact...

Argh penguin!


Please help me! Do you have any exercises I could do on and off the horse, to improve my position and those awful feet!

I'm sorry if the pictures are huge

Ride with your stirrup ONE HOLE longer, and DO NOT pinch with your knees! You should be able to easily imagine someone could slip a piece of paper between your knees and the saddle when you are riding. Strength comes from gripping with your CALVES. If you fix this muscle memory and get your upper leg in a more appropriate position, fixing your toes will be easy; but the real problem is in your knees.

Yes, even work "without" your stirrups Will be helpful! Relax your knee!! Ask to be lunged if need be while you practice...Nice upper body by the way ��

You should probably start by lengthening your stirrups and using the INSIDE of your calf.. not the back... to give cues.

You sit up so nice and tall, and your hand position is lovely!

I think you might be gripping up with your lower leg. Pony doesn't like that , either, since you are pulling your lower leg back and gripping his abdomin in the top photo.

Can you think about getting the weigth to flow down the OUTSIDE of you leg, and really try to feel it on your outside ankle, with a bit more weight on your little toes than your big toe?

All the previous advice is excellent

Also, pay attention to how you walk and stand when you aren't riding too. I used to walk a bit 'duck footed' and stand with my feet turned out. Paying attention to that and making and effort to almost walk 'pigeon-toed' eventually helped me break the habit of turning my feet out in the saddle and on the ground.

I used to ride like that too *adding on cause I was a nutter butter beforehand*

You need to think actively about your feet positioning. Of course ontop of everything else needed to ride.. but just think "Are my toes pointing forwards or out?"

I can feel when I'm using the wrong calf muscle.. and correcting that really helps my foot position since you can't use the right one with your feet being way jutted out like penguin flippers.

You'll get it :)

Thank you everyone for all your advice, I shall be having some good old position practice on Monday :) I'll do some no stirrup work as unfortunately my stirrups are at their longest already...
I think my hardest obstacle will be understand how to "hug" with the inside of my calf, yet not pinch at the knee... I'm struggling to see how I'm going to do this, but I'll try really hard!

I did attempt to keep my toes pointing forward during my lesson last night, but I may have been doing it wrong as my ankles were very very sore the whole lesson.

I used to take riding lessons with a girl who's toes always pointed out. It was just the way she was built and no amount of stretching, exercise or practice could change it. She eventually just had to realize that this is the way her body is and she rode like that. I'm not saying that this is your case but if you try everything that has been said and it is very painful to keep your toes forward it might be that you are just built that way.

When you first get on your horse and several times during the ride, place your hand under the back of your thigh and pull all the muscle of your thigh to the back. This will put your thigh flat and turn your knee and toe forward.

When you finish riding there should be no grease from the horse on the outside of the seam of your boots.