# Trying to fix upper body



## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

Video isn't working


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

That's weird, I can see it and I know I have it set to public. Then again, I am youtube challenged.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Two things to look at for your issue:

1) How's the posture on the ground and would you benefit from Pilates? (Moot point - I think most people would benefit from Pilates...)

2) Is the saddle properly fitted to your horse and you as a combination? When it is, you will naturally be quite balanced. A saddle problem can throw your posture all over the place, and you can't "force" the right posture as it needs to be a relaxed, natural thing.

A "Shoulders Back" type elastic support can be useful for helping people adopt better posture on the ground and horse.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOMA6GtX0ck

Does this work?


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## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

Hmmm... Might have just been me because I see someone else was able to watch it. It was telling me to create a channel if I wanted to add a video. Maybe I'm the one who's YouTube challanged!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

SueC, did the video work for you?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

the video works. 

MBC, you know i am not a jumper, so take this with a grain of salt, but my impression is that the issue is not your upper body so much as your lower leg. if you freeze frame when you are taking off over the second jump in each shot, your heel has come up, you are pinching with the knee, and end up with the upper body "leveraged" foraward when the hrose hesitates. 

a more solid , not rigid, lower leg, with soft, dropped heel will allow a more open upper body, because the "held" movement wont be transferred up into it, but rather absorbed in the soft ankle and knee.

pretty words from a non-jumper, huh?


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Them's are some pretty words indeed! Makes sense too. My heels have always been an issue. I just figured they were coming up cuz my upper body was dragging them along for the ride. I'll try it with more leg and see what I get. Thankfully I have a very patient horse who lets me experiment every which way. 



tinyliny said:


> the video works.
> 
> MBC, you know i am not a jumper, so take this with a grain of salt, but my impression is that the issue is not your upper body so much as your lower leg. if you freeze frame when you are taking off over the second jump in each shot, your heel has come up, you are pinching with the knee, and end up with the upper body "leveraged" foraward when the hrose hesitates.
> 
> ...


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I love your horse! He is such a capable and honest looking fellow.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> I love your horse! He is such a capable and honest looking fellow.


He's not without his moments, but I couldn't have asked for a better horse. I love him to bits!


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Yeah, the video worked, but the comment I made was just a general comment for posture problems, because I actually can't see very much on the film as you are quite small in the frame and pixellated!  I do see that you have some gorgeous scenery...


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## 74017 (Sep 2, 2013)

The biggest thing I saw was that your heals are not down at all. Make sure you are bunkered down, especially in an open field situation. It also looked like maybe you were stuck in a chair position. I'm not sure if it would help, but maybe shorten stirrups by a hold and think about stretching your body up and down like a tree. Crest release for jump. Maybe later half seat for jumping, but I don't think half seat now would help fix the upper body.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

A moving upper body will cause a moving lower leg. Not usually the other way around. 

You improved when you got your horse moving a little more forward 

I also think that you are tight in your hips. If you allow your hips to move more with your horse, you won't have to rock your upper body and then swing your legs. Think of looking behind you with your seat bones and sweeping the saddle with your tush. When you are in a jumping saddle you want to sit forward on your seat bones.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Gypsygirl, yes my hips are not at all supple. I've had some success mixing in a few beats of sitting trot when warming up, otherwise my hips are just plain stuck. I have tried so hard to get them involved in absorbing all the motion, but they remain uninterested. 

If I do understand what you are saying about pointing my seat bones behind me, would that not encourage my upper body to collapse even more? My current instructor says I should be approaching fences in a dressage seat canter and that I can't sit back far enough. I'll certainly give your way a try. You're saying light 3 point with body inclined slightly forward right?

Kitten, yes my heels suck. Unfortunately that's good day for us. If I can even get them level, I'm in business. I've learned to compensate with more lower leg and just plain old balance at this point The chair seat you see is a form of defensive riding I have had to adapt because he's got a teleport spook in him this year like nothing I've ridden before. It's explosive and we quickly find ourselves about 20' from the point of occurrence. If I don't stay in the "Fred Flinstone" position, I'd be getting dumped every time he did it.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

Jump saddles are not made to be ridden dressage in, that also makes it harder for you and your horse when you meet the fence. 

People always talk about a flat back, but that is not ideal, as our backs naturally have a curve in them. If you sit on the front of your seat bones, it may look like you are leaning forward, but that doesn't mean you are. As long as you don't collapse your core or roll your shoulders forward, you are not collapsed. If you ride with a forward seat, you are in a much better position to jump from.

It's hard because so many trainers don't want people to ride with a forward seat because they think it's posing or will make you jump ahead. This is not true.

What you are doing now is jumping ahead, because you weren't with the horse's motion in the first place.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, hard to look over on my mobile! 

I strongly encourage you to read Daniel Stewart's books or clinic with him sometime, he is brilliant.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

No it does make sense. I will try to adjust to a forward seat and see what I get!


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

I promise everything will get much easier!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## picup436 (Nov 22, 2012)

gypsygirl said:


> A moving upper body will cause a moving lower leg. Not usually the other way around.


I found it to be the other way around. My upper body improved when I worked on strengthening my lower body off the horse. 

Position wise, you look like you are gripping with your knees but others have already given you great advice to help you fix that. 

The other issue I see is that between the related distance, your horse chipped in a stride, which put you more off balance. Say for example you walked it, and it walks 5.5 strides. So knowing that the distance is a little off for him, you should make the decision even before you land over the first fence if you are going to ask for a more larger, rolling stride and get the 5 strides, or will you ride him a little more quietly and make the six fit, but have 6 nice even strides between the 2 fences. 

A stronger core and base will help you improve your position, regardless of where your faults are. You don't have to spend hours every day working out, and there are many different ways to achieve the same goals, be it strength training, bodyweight programs, dance, yoga, pilates etc. Personally, I have found that my riding has improved best with a combination of strength (heavy compound lifts), mobility (dynamic stretching and pilates) and cardio (running). 

If you have issues with hip mobility, look at any of these articles. There are a lot of different exercises that you can do to help improve your hip mobility.

How to Improve Hip Mobility | Mark's Daily Apple

8 Movements to Improve Your Hip Flexibility

7 Dynamic Stretches to Improve Hip Mobility | LIVESTRONG.COM

Sorry about the novel! I am really fascinated about health and fitness in relation to improving riding, and tend to waffle on about it a lot!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Thanks for the links picup364! Those should help. I kinda stopped riding the first time through that related distance. He finally jumped in with proper impulsion. Instead of sit up and ride the line, I let him barrel through and get deep to the second fence. I did go back next pass and correct it.


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## Corazon Lock (Dec 26, 2011)

To me, it looks like you need to work on waiting for your horse to come up to you. You look a lot like me in my first year of steady jumping lessons. Instead of bending at the hips slightly, you're letting your whole body go forward. 

To strengthen your muscles, working in two-point for ten minutes each ride and alternating that with proper no-stirrup work will help greatly. 

What helped me was to ride in an arena with mirrors. I know what I'm supposed to look like, but I didn't know how to make my body do it. By looking in a mirror, you can adjust your position and then try to remember how the correct position feels. This will be great for your two-point work. 

Another thing that has helped me greatly is not worrying about getting into jump position when I jump. Just make sure you release, and your horse's takeoff will do the rest. You may find that you need to move out of the tack a little more later, but for just starting, just quietly sit and just think about your release. 

I know you mentioned in another thread that your horse has started to run out sometimes. Jumping ahead can cause run-outs - the horse knows that he can get away with it because you are not in the position to correct him. Perhaps correcting your position will also help with that!  

If you can, do some grid work. Get your horse moving out, and then focus on your riding. Since the striding is set up to be a "no-brainer," it should really help you get a feel for your horse's movement.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Thanks for the input. I agree I am not waiting and probably just overthinking this whole thing instead of just bending at the hips. Luckily his dirty stop/run out problem has passed and he's back on auto-pilot so that's why I am finally back to working on me. 



Corazon Lock said:


> To me, it looks like you need to work on waiting for your horse to come up to you. You look a lot like me in my first year of steady jumping lessons. Instead of bending at the hips slightly, you're letting your whole body go forward.
> 
> To strengthen your muscles, working in two-point for ten minutes each ride and alternating that with proper no-stirrup work will help greatly.
> 
> ...


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