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Would love some new perspectives!

1K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  amp23 
#1 · (Edited)
Alright so I never have anyone really watch me ride, and I really don't do much more than trails now anyway. But my BF one day had my camera and messed around taking some pictures, so I'd love some input.

I know my absolute biggest problem is that I need to look up! This may be part of the reason why Hunter isn't as forward as he should be. :? But I have worked on it and am getting better. He's also arthritic, but once he gets warmed up he starts loosening up. He is also lazy and can be hard to keep moving.. Anyway, critique away. Please don't be terribly harsh, even though I've ridden for almost 10 years I've only had maybe 8 lessons total! :D

sitting trot




posting trot





attempting to keep him cantering



 
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#3 ·
And I think you tend to lean to forward while riding. It seems to me your feet are going to far back which is probably making you a little off balance.
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#4 ·
Yeah, I have bad shoulder posture in and out of the saddle :hide:

Sometimes the only way to keep him moving is to keep my heel into him, but I'll definitely see if straightening my leg forward a little more helps my balance/shoulders at all!
 
#5 ·
this is the best photo, best position:



int that photo your lower arm maintains a pretty close to straight line to the bit. in many others, you have your hands pointed downward, and an odd bend to your wrist, almost as if you are holding a tea cup delicately at a tea party, pinkys out! very lady like, but not correct or effective.

if you have to work so hard that you are squeezing with your legs a lot, and it makes them come up behind you , which make you off balance, then it's long past time to take a crop and "remind" your horse of his job. if he needs time to warm up, do it mostly at the walk, and then at trot, for a bit, have a very loose rein and get him to stretch forward and move as loosely as possible before taking up any contact. But once he has been given a fair chance to warm up, and you ask for him to trot out, and he is asleep at the wheel, bop him one!

you also have too much roll forward in the small of your back. it means you end up riding too much on your "peepee", for lack of a better word. bring your pubic bone upward a bit (tucking your tail bone under a little but do not collapse at the waist), and when you post, and you go up and forward, think of your whole pelvis going forward. to counteract your tendency to bring your waist forward first, think of advancing more your pubic bone.

I didn't really even notice looking down as an issue. horse is cute, and you look very cute on him.
 
#6 ·
if you have to work so hard that you are squeezing with your legs a lot, and it makes them come up behind you , which make you off balance, then it's long past time to take a crop and "remind" your horse of his job. if he needs time to warm up, do it mostly at the walk, and then at trot, for a bit, have a very loose rein and get him to stretch forward and move as loosely as possible before taking up any contact. But once he has been given a fair chance to warm up, and you ask for him to trot out, and he is asleep at the wheel, bop him one!
I do ride with a crop some days, and some days I use spurs. I have found that often spurs work best- if he knows I have them on, he immediately perks up. The lessee that rode him for 6 months used a crop, and he got to where he didn't respect it so much. :? I also hate having extra stuff in my hands if I can help it.. lol

you also have too much roll forward in the small of your back. it means you end up riding too much on your "peepee", for lack of a better word. bring your pubic bone upward a bit (tucking your tail bone under a little but do not collapse at the waist), and when you post, and you go up and forward, think of your whole pelvis going forward. to counteract your tendency to bring your waist forward first, think of advancing more your pubic bone.
I see what you mean. Do you think this could possibly be because of a sensitive tailbone? I've badly bruised it (I swear there was a fracture that was missed on x-ray weeks later) and it's easily agitated. I'll definitely think about this when I ride again!
 
#8 ·
yes, you could be trying to protect your tail bone. I know that reacently i have had back issues that make me want to curl over, like a shrimp, to keep my back from being pressed upward. essentially, I am doing the opposite of what you are doing.

I once bruised my tailbone, really hard, and it took A YEAR to heal. but it did, so have faith@!
 
#9 ·
Thanks guys, I know what I'll be trying to work on when I ride this weekend! Maybe I can set up my camera to record. This is the result of rarely riding and never having anyone watch me (and I can't currently afford lessons) :/

Tiny, I hurt it almost 2 years ago now :shock: still have a lot of off and on soreness from it!
 
#10 ·
Thank you all for your input! I really appreciate any criticism :)

Here are some more pictures from 2 days ago. The original pictures were from a month or two ago.. Ha. I tried thinking about my leg and shoulder positioning all while trying to keep Hunter moving, so let me know how I look.

One thing I paid more attention to 2 days ago was the fact that if I sit deeper in the saddle (even if I still have a fairly light seat), he will slow down. I remember now when I rode western he was good with a light seat, but any change to a slightly deeper seat and he will slow down. This is why I am not on his back much. Does anyone have any suggestions on improving my posture without sitting too deep?

I am currently switching back to western, though, so I'll get more pictures when I get the saddle in and see if my position/posture change.

I am realizing how incredibly out of shape I am :cry: I'm hardly riding with so much going on with my schoolwork!





Slowing down... He's VERY bumpy slowing down from the canter




Trying to keep him moving.. He wanted to stop to see the trainer at the fence


Little crossrails..














And just for fun... :)
 
#12 ·
My wrists do look funky. :? Will work on that. Shoulders are better recently than the first set of pictures. I'm currently working on my posture in and out of the saddle.. I'm bad about it. My heels were down in all of the more recent pictures..

Is there any way to really keep your heels down while keeping good enough contact to keep a lazy, narrow horse moving?
 
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