Sounds like a strength and balance issue, not a size issue. Your upper and lower leg can't be connected to each other. You wouldn't be able to bend at the knee if so.

I'd suggest hiking up your stirrups and doing two point work. It will strengthen your legs and give you balance training which should help you do what she's asking.
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that is bizarre. I have never heard anyone say the size of the thigh being the problem. If you are restricting the movement with a large thigh, it's to do more with how you might be gripping iwth the knee, or the saddle is putting your thigh too horizontal or other issues. But, it being too large ?

What happens if you have heavy thighs is tthat the fat make it hard for your thigh to rest parallel to the saddle. the roundnees of the thigh will pop your knee outward, then your lower leg has to come back at an angle toward the barrel.
If you look at a well positioned rider from above, mounted, your ankle will be right under your hip, thus invisible, and you will not see the inside edge of the thigh or knee, at all. it will be just following along the outline of the saddle.

if you have large thighs, the view will show the knees pointing more outward, and some air might be visible between the knee, lower thigh and upper calf and the saddle, because of the mmore "V" like orientation of your legs. YOu will work against that, and maybe the tension you create doing that might impede the hrose.

the more you can work at rotating the leg inward FROM THE HIP SOCKET, the more you will have the long, cohesive leg desired in dressage.

 

First, congratulations for managing your weight!

I don't think it's thigh-size, but shape. You can have big thighs but if they're flat against the saddle (not rounded with hard muscle) they should present no problems.

Here's a (yes skinny) teacher you might like. She might be coming here later this year, and I'm excited. She addresses at least one reason you might be restricting your horse.

 

Other people have given you riding suggestions, but I just had to say, as a person with bulky thighs, I have found no exercise that makes that smaller. I have tried just about every type of exercise, and my thighs only get firmer, not smaller. Sometimes I even think exercises, other than walking, make them bigger. Losing weight all over helps to a certain degree, but even at my thinnest, my thighs were still not thin. Sometimes people with naturally thin legs don't realize that everyone isn't built that way.

 

Well as far as making them smaller - not easily no. If its the first place your body stores fat its going to be one of the last places it will draw from. That's why so many women get bigger boobs when they put on some pounds but they shrink back down when they lose weight. It's last in, first out. You'd basically have to use up enough fat stored in other body parts before it will tape into the source on your thighs.

More muscle will firm them up and tone them though.

(I've also got big thighs!)
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Well as far as making them smaller - not easily no. If its the first place your body stores fat its going to be one of the last places it will draw from. That's why so many women get bigger boobs when they put on some pounds but they shrink back down when they lose weight. It's last in, first out. You'd basically have to use up enough fat stored in other body parts before it will tape into the source on your thighs.

More muscle will firm them up and tone them though.

(I've also got big thighs!)
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Id rather have big thighs than big boobs/belly, like me. it makes you top heavy and you get unseated easier.

 

I honestly am with Tinyliny in saying it is likely you are gripping with your knees and therefore are restricting the horse's movement due to being restrictive in your own.

 

In my area, I have noticed upper level riders are not of the tall and skinny type. One of my coaches has trained multiple horses (and students!) up to GP. And she is not a thin and tall woman. In fact, perhaps you'd be shocked!!

But she rides and trains with lightness and balance. Maybe she's had to work harder than others, I dunno, but she's one of the few correct GP trainers around.

 

to be honest (im a western rider/barrel racer) but i completely agree with your instructor. i am heavier then i used to be, and can really tell a difference in my riding abilities. im much worse then i used to be.

you can find exercises online that will work on just your lower half of the body. just have to search for them.

great for your for losing your previous weight! good job!
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Unfortunately we can't spot reduce, the only way to reduce the size of your thighs is by lowering your body fat %. If you have short round legs, there is nothing you can do to make them long and skinny!

I have large thighs, and to be honest, yes, it has hindered my riding in the past. I lost a bunch of weight and it made it easier for me to be effective with my legs. Then I started weight training, focusing on doing compound lifts with free weights (a barbell) and I got even more effective, even though my thigh size didn't really go down all that much. Now, I lift heavy stuff 3 times a week and I'm doing an MMA styled strength and conditioning program which has improved my cardio and my flexibility. I can't tell you how much my riding has improved just by adding in other fitness work.

Basically, I think that regardless of what your shape is, I believe that if you want to be at the top of your chosen sport, you need to be fit. I would put money on the top level riders doing some sort of strength and conditioning work off of their horses.

A different saddle may help, one that has a narrower twist, so that there is less bulk under your leg.

A different horse might help, but a different coach might help too! I don't want to be rude, but if your coach's successful riders all look like they came out of the same mold, then maybe that is an indication that the coach isn't as well rounded as a truly good coach is. They should be able to make adjustments in the way that they teach to accommodate for different body types, and any physical (or mental for that matter) issues a rider might have.

You don't have to be tall and skinny to be a top dressage rider. Isabell Werth has thighs, and she's one of the best dressage riders in the world.

 

A different horse might help, but a different coach might help too! I don't want to be rude, but if your coach's successful riders all look like they came out of the same mold, then maybe that is an indication that the coach isn't as well rounded as a truly good coach is. They should be able to make adjustments in the way that they teach to accommodate for different body types, and any physical (or mental for that matter) issues a rider might have.

You don't have to be tall and skinny to be a top dressage rider. Isabell Werth has thighs, and she's one of the best dressage riders in the world.

This statement is incorrect. A good coach puts a "stamp" on their riders. Can you tell, watching upper level dressage, who rides for which country? Yes. Every coach has a style of rider they produce and should not be condemned for doing so.

I do agree that one needs to be fit to ride though!
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Thanks everyone for the great input. I would love to see Erica Poseley! She seems awesome.

Regarding gripping with the knee, we worked that out a while back. Now it's just my thighs that get in the way. Hopefully I will continue to see a difference as I lose more weight and get more fit.

I wish I lived in California or some other place where there are lots of dressage riders and instructors. Not much going on here in the Mid-West, sigh.

Glad to hear I'm not the only big legged girl in the dressage barn

 

Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' with it!

 

I know exactly how you feel. It seems like everything gets smaller, but my thighs. I'm the thickest person with thighs at my barn too. Everyone else is like a size 0, and well, I'm definitely not. But, I have as much success as they do. You can too! Just keep working at it. Maybe we can pledge to work on our thighs together :lol:

 

I don't believe this is a weight issue, but is a balance issue. Would it be easier if we had no thigh buldge, sure. But everyone has to compensate for some body issues. <br />
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Men normally have the best thighs for the flat leg and angles needed for optimal dressage seat.

Side note: apparently only women with no thigh muscles or thigh fat are considered attractive in fashion world. Please don't push that belief into my most treasured sport. <br />
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ALthough one can restrict movement by pinching, the thighs are not taken off the saddle (except when working on a lunge in certain exercises)...I dont even know how one would take the thighs off and keep the lower leg on.

Work on doing some two point, stretching from hip to heel. Take the back of the thigh and pull it backward, or have a very long leg and then pick the leg up, turn the toes in even a little so there is no pinching.

Women's thighs (even skinny woman) are round, wereas most guys have a flatter inside thigh (easier to have slapped onto the saddle).

FOr what it is worth, some of the best trainerss may have rounder thighs and not perfect 'riding figures.' Who cares? Work through it.

Learning how to TRAIN a horse is what dressage training is about, and they reveal how well our technique is working. That is the job of your teacher: to give you tact and timing, and your job is to refine it.

 

... Take the back of the thigh and pull it backward, or have a very long leg and then pick the leg up, turn the toes in even a little so there is no pinching..

I also wanted to mention this. It was something I did a lot when first starting dressage lessons, and I still manually "shift" my thighs if I haven't ridden for awhile.

 

Tiny has it correct in that the size of your thigh will turn your knee out and also you toe.

I am not one to help with loosing weight in particular body areas but, one thing you can do to hep with the placement of your thigh is, when you first get on and several times during the ride, is to place your hand, from behind, under your thigh and pull all the flubber ( sorry, muscle) towards the back. This will place your knee flat, toes will point forward more easily and the inside of your lower leg against the horse's side.

It will feel strange to start and you need to be aware when it all slips forward and pull it back again. It doesn't take long before it becomes natural and remains where you want it.