Riding Success Without Stress
By Joni Bently
And you thought is was all your fault you couldn’t sit straight
• Have you been diagnosed by your trainer as having a collapsed hip?
• Does one of your stirrups feel shorter than the other?
• Do you loose one or both stirrups?
• Do you grip up?
• Do you often find yourself with one or both shoulders around your ears?
• Do you bank in around corners or sit to one side?
• Does your saddle twist or slip to one side?
The usual answer to correct crookedness in the rider - like the horse - is to mould them into an, "outline;" i.e. fix the bits that stick out, like prising apart that shoulder and ear that have become inseparably one. Seems reasonable to push down the offending shoulder and tip the head the other way, but guess what? within moments, like long lost friends, they will soon be nestling in the warmth of each others company! Then we have the collapsed hip syndrome. You are told to stretch up through that side, which sounds easy enough, but within minutes your teacher’s voice rings through your ears, leaving you feeling hopeless as you are reminded that it has collapsed AGAIN! Not only do these quick fix corrections not work, they compound the problem of asymmetry by adding new layers of crookedness on top of the old ones.
The reason the above solutions don’t work is because of one-sidedness and the fact that our feelings are unreliable.
A wise man once said "The world is as we are." Put another way, "A crooked man will walk a crooked mile." We are led to believe that our feelings are reliable but could it be that we are wrong?
Check out the following exercise and find out if you are one-sided
Lace your fingers together.
Unlace them and lace them quickly about 5 times, then look down and see which thumb is on top.
Repeat the same exercise but this time deliberately put the other thumb on top, i.e. if your right thumb was on top make sure you lace your fingers with the left thumb on top. Ummmmmmmmm feels strange doesn’t it?
Now, fold and unfold your arms a few times. Notice which one is on top, then deliberately put the other arm on top. How did that feel? Are you beginning to see how this may affect your contact?
Cross and uncross your legs. In the same way notice which one is on top, then choose to place the other one on top. How did that feel?
Walk up and down the stairs a few times. Which foot did you lead with on the way up? Which foot did you land on, on the way down? What does it feel like if you swap over and lead with the other foot? Imagine how this one-sidedness affects your stirrup contact especially in rising trot?
Ok Joni, so I am one-sided, my feelings are unreliable and quick fixes don’t work, so what’s does work?
In the first photo you can see that Louise has no support under her left seat bone. Why because Jay, her horse, is a left- hind-driver, which means he favours his left hind over his right - as you have seen above, we favour one hand and leg - and therefore it has become much stronger than his right. (More about that next month) You can see in halt his strong left hind has pushed his quarters over to the right, photo 3 and Louise is compensating for the lack of support on her left side by leaning to the right. Sitting like this now seems normal and right to Louise, and Jay. It is what they are used to.
Here is how Louise straightened up her act by using her stirrups as a point of reference to keep her straight in the centre of her horse.
Look very closely, the difference is subtle.
“Although I felt straight my instructor told me I was collapsing my right hip, gripping up with my right knee and thigh, and tipping my head to the right. After struggling for months to try and correct myself, she finally suggested I go to Joni Bentley for help. Joni helped me realize that it was Jay that needed correcting first. On the workshop I quickly found out that my horse was a left hind driver. Because his left hind was more dominant than his right, he habitually pushed his quarters to the right leaving me with no support under my left side. photo 2 and 3 To address this imbalance I unconsciously leaned over to the right, which made me collapse my right hip. On the workshop we learned an amazingly simple technique that was the first step to straightening the horse’s quarters and stopping me from sitting squiffy. So often, when I was riding, my left stirrup felt empty and my right stirrup felt higher and shorter, I soon began to understand why.
I must admit that the corrections felt very strange at first. When Joni said I was sitting straight, to me it felt like I was hanging off to the right? Joni videoed me to set my mind at rest knowing full well how RIGHT CAN FEEL WRONG and how much it helps the rider’s mind to accept the facts! As I used my stirrup contact, it started to affect my horse’s way of going. Very soon I was able to keep a 50/50 even contact on each stirrup and remain in the middle of my horse. I found it especially useful on turns and circle where I normally banked in. There were so many brilliant straightening techniques given to us on the course, but my favourite was the stirrup contact exercise because it is so easy and has such an immediate effect!
The more I used my feet to sense my stirrup contact, the more sitting centrally over my horse began to feel easy and normal. To my surprise and absolute delight Jay’s posture improved dramatically. He naturally lifted his back by stretching forward and down to the bit for the first time ever! Photo 5 and 6. Because he was now so light in the mouth (that was a first too) I was able to sit up straight and release my lower back which had always been a huge problem for me. My legs seemed to grow out of their hip sockets which made me feel more secure in the saddle. Then we went on to learn how to level up my seat bones and rein contact. I smiled and glowed all the way home, we were two very happy bunnies!
Find out if you are sitting squiffy with the following questions!
Ask your friend to watch you from behind and give you feedback because as you learned above what you are used to feels right when in fact you may be very crooked.
Ride around the arena in walk and trot on both reins and notice if one of your stirrups feels shorter than the other.
• Is your horse dropping you down to one side making you collapse like rider A in the illustration below?
• Are you and your horse straight, (very rare I may add) that means your shoulder hip and heel will line up like rider B in the illustration below?
• Are your feet parallel to the ground both on straight lines and circles in walk, trot and canter?
• Does your horse chuck you more over into one stirrup than the other?
• Do you have a tendency to loose one stirrup?
• Are your feet parallel to the ground or is one higher than the other?
Words of WARNING before you start the following exercise.
If your saddle is too narrow in the wither area, standing in the stirrups will cause pressure and soreness. To check this place your fingers nine inches inside the top of the pommel and slide them nine inches down the side of your horse’s wither bones. The saddle should not be touching your fingers. Then ask a friend to assist you by placing their hand inside the pommel to check the wither clearance when you place your weight into your right or left stirrup. A well fitted saddle will not move or interfere with the horse’s vertebra in the wither area. If your friend feels any pressure pressing against your horse’s wither bones stop and call your saddler. If any part of the pommel touches your friend’s hand the tree is too narrow. Do not be put off by saddle fitters telling you there is nothing wrong with the fit of your saddle. Judge for yourself, if it is pressurizing or pinching you, it is pressurizing and pinching your horse’s delicate vertebrae which is very serious. Some saddles are so tight I can’t even get my hand inside the pommel!!
Now go into rising trot and instead of rising forwards and back, rise 4 beats into the left stirrup and four beats into the right stirrup. You should soon begin to notice that one stirrup feels higher.
When you find your high side:
• Rise with more weight into it and reduce the weight into your lower side.
• Change the 4 -4 beats to 8 into the high side and 2 into the low side for one lap around the arena. Then ride normal for one lap. Then go back to the 8-2 ratio for one lap and so on.
• Ask your friend to check you from behind making sure you are keeping your shoulder hip heel alignment.
• When your horse starts to seek the bit and lower his head and neck, little by little, you know he is starting to straighten behind like Jay in photo 5.
If you have any worries or concerns about your riding please feel free to contact me for help on http://www.jonibentley.co.uk or call 01494 791776
Before you read this article, it may not have been immediately obvious to you how your horse’s way of going can make it difficult for you to sit straight and remain in control. You may have thought, "why can't I just ride crooked and enjoy myself?" Now you know that crooked riding can be dangerous to your own and your horse’s well being, but you also know now you don't have to feel helpless about it!
If you visit my website now, you will find a free workbook that will start you on your journey to straightness and NATURAL STRESS-FREE RIDING.
Here's my recommended 1-2-3
1. Get my free workbook "Riding Success Without Stress"
2. Call Tel 01494 791776 or email: jonibentley@btinternet.com and let's see if a "rider friendly" workshop, at your yard or mine, would be perfect for you and your horse. You can also keep an eye on my website for local evening lecture demos.
3. Can’t make a workshop? No problem. My newly published 2 part cutting-edge DVD and CD Home Study Course are now available.
