I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we are either left handed
or we are right handed. It might not be "crooked" riding at all, but, the
fact that we do prefer one side over the other. You know, I used to think
it was the horse, not the rider. That it was the horse who was left footed
or right, with right being the predominant side just like most humans are right
handed.
When my wife, who is left handed (I'm right) started doing endurance it
became obvious that it is the rider, not the horse. The horse is, of
course, perfect, but, the rider is not. What convinced me of this was the
fact that we would both ride the same horse and inevitably, my wife
would prefer to be on the left diagonal during the trot. Even if she
switched over to the right side, the horse would attempt to get her on his
left.
Riding the same horse, I would be on the right diagonal and would be hard
pressed to stay on the left. Definitely felt better, for me and the horse,
if I was on his right. Horses not only can hear your heart beat (no
monitor required), they can tell immediately if you are right or left
handed. Quite amazing. Try to fool them sometime; I bet you can't do
it.
What's really cool is, if my wife and I both ride the same horse, he ends
up being "fair and balanced" (you gotta read Al Franken's new book) and we both
get to ride the side we prefer. Funny, I always thought I'd prefer to be
on the left. haha.
My suggestion is to make yourself ride on the opposite side as much as you
can. I'm not sure if this will fix the problem, but, it might make you
aware that there is one.
First I'd suggest having her ride without stirrups for
10 - 20 minutes and to pay attention to how that feels, then to pick
up the stirrups and note the difference. Keep
alternating with/without stirrups thoughtout the ride. Riding
without stirrups, or bareback, is, I think, the BEST way to
ride straight. I am always amazed when I drop my stirrups
to discover how crooked I have been sitting.
I also like Sally
Swift's books. She also has tapes, I have not seen
those.
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