Re: RC: One leg shorter than the other

[Abby Bloxsom <goneriding@snet.net>]

> >so I was wondering if anyone on the list could offer suggestions to tide me
> >over until then.
> >

Tracey -

The cause of the asymmetry in your leg positions is the position of your
pelvis relative to the saddle and horse.  My recommendation (easier said
than done) is to rearrange your body on the horse somehow such that the
*pelvis* is the center/basis of your position and everything else falls
as it may in relation.

Let me put it another way for clarification:

I would set your two seatbones in the appropriate position on the
saddle, such that your pelvis is perpendicular to the horse's direction
of travel.  If your left shoulder is then in advance of your right
shoulder (or vice versa) due to twisting of your upper body, you should
advance your right hand (or vice versa) to equalize them.  It's
essential that you remain upright through the spine (laterally, not
front-to-back) and not "collapse" your ribcage on either side toward the
hip.  That would cause the horse to compensate for a weight shift by
bending to one side.

If your leg is actually shorter *by measurement* on one side, by all
means adjust the stirrup length to reflect that.  I have found, though,
that many people who believe they have a leg-shortness problem on one
side find that it magically disappears when their pelvises are rotated
correctly so as to be in line with the horse.  

The most important thing should be settling in the saddle during warmup
so that you feel total symmetry *under your seat* from the knee on both
sides up and through the seat bones.  The symmetry should be in the
angulation of your knees & thighs, the placement of the muscles of your
inner thigh, the placement of the seatbones on the saddle, etc.  If
these are placed well, the lower legs should hang naturally into the
stirrup in the same way on both sides.  

You can affect this feel and position by doing a simple stretch when you
first mount up:  reach one toe forward and the other back as far as you
can, and hold it for at least 20-30 seconds; reverse the position and
stretch the other side.  Maintain an upright body position during the
stretch, and when you're all done you can use your hands to kind of
slide the inner-thigh muscle to the rear, allowing the femur to then lie
close to the saddle (some of us have more need for this than others,
naturally <g>).

Through it all, do not let your desire to place your *shoulders*
straight get in the way of keeping your *pelvis* straight.

Hope this is useful to you.

-Abby


-- 
* * *
Abby Bloxsom
ARICP Certified Instructor
Level III Recreational and Distance Riding
Colebrook, CT USA
dearab@horsecom.net
goneriding@snet.net