# Critique My Position



## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

I do take lessons, but when I'm at home I don't have someone to tell me what I did or didn't do. Could someone critique my position over jumps and on the flat? I know when I canter I have a really bad habit of bringing my knees up and gripping with them, but I think I'm improving with it, could you tell me how that looks too?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I think you can feel what the issue is; the gripping with the knee, and thus the lack of the weight going down through the lower leg into the stirrup. Your upper body is pretty good and it looks like you maintain a fairly steady and sympathetic hand to bit orientation. YOu will want to really work on allowing your weight to fall down through the whole leg, and out the stirrups. right now, it kind of stops at the knee. think of riding AROUND the hrose, not on top of it.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

That pesky knee!! Otherwise it'd be lovely lovely lovely


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's what I see:
- you're pinching with your knee, and using that as a pivot to balance off of, which has caused your heel to come up and your seat to pop out of the saddle. You have to relax your knee and instead find your balance through your seat and calf. You want contact through your calf - think about trying to touch your inner ankle bones (not heels) together through the horse. Sunk your weight down and around, like you're lifting your horse's stomach up with your legs. You don't want your knees floppy, but you don't want them pinching the saddle either. Visualize a baby bird between your knee and the saddle. You want to keep the baby bird there, but not squish it. 
- you're too ahead of the motion. For an obstacle this size, you don't really need to two point or close your hips much, you can let the horse do that action for you. You want your shoulders in line with your hip and heel. In most of these pictures, your shoulder is much further ahead than your hip and heel. Sit up, open your chest, shoulders level. If your horse stopped, or played after a fence, you'd be a lawn dart. 
- floater hands. Especially in the takeoff pics, you're pulling the reins back towards your body, then you have no release over the jump. You're trying to hollow the motion of the jump with your hands - you need to learn how to release instead. If it makes it easier, use an extra stirrup leather around your horse's neck as a grab strap.
Look at the picture "JMPN4" - you're completely squished up from top and bottom and through your arms. Kind of a horsey fetal position - haha! We have all been here and we all have things to improve. I'm still kicking my own *** over my crap lesson on Thursday. Anyways - to improve this picture: drop your leg down and around, loosen up that knee, heels down. Stretch up through your body, let the horse come up to you. You're waaaaay too far ahead of the motion. If you took away the horse in this pic, you'd topple forwards onto your face. Let your horse have some release to stretch his neck to jump. You've brought your elbow back and have offered him nowhere to go with his neck. 
Is there a reason you need a guide pole on the side?
I do love that you're looking ahead and have an expression that says "I love this!" - that speaks volumes. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

Are there any exercises I can practice in the saddle to help with the knee gripping?


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

It's all in your head. Gripping with your knee, or anything really, will not keep you on the horse. 

You need to learn to let go and just.. go with the horse. Be loosey goosey, instead of tight and clampy


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

I've edited my response to add more. 
I do agree, Sky, that its in your head - but I disagree that you want to be loosey goosey. You want to be giving in the right joints, but you also have to keep other muscles very firm and working, such as your core. You do need to work every stride, not be a bowl of jello for most of the ride. 
I've slipped into some horrible habits recently and have gotten my *** kicked for doing so. It's a steep learning curve!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks guys!
JDI, I'm saving your response in a sticky on my desktop so I can read it and remind myself before I ride!


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

JustDressageIt said:


> Is there a reason you need a guide pole on the side?I do love that you're looking ahead and have an expression that says "I love this!" - that speaks volumes.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


It's one of my many trot poles, and I wasn't using it for jumps or poles so I set it on top of the bucket so it was somewhat out of the way and acted as a guide in case she ran out, but she doesn't usually.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

One word: heels.


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

Root of problem: knees.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

JustDressageIt said:


> I've edited my response to add more.
> I do agree, Sky, that its in your head - but I disagree that you want to be loosey goosey. You want to be giving in the right joints, but you also have to keep other muscles very firm and working, such as your core. You do need to work every stride, not be a bowl of jello for most of the ride.
> I've slipped into some horrible habits recently and have gotten my *** kicked for doing so. It's a steep learning curve!!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I guess my definition of loosey goosey is going back to staying with the horse. Being jello would not accomplish that, but clamping down doesn't either. It's a fine mix of relaxing but also making sure that you aren't being thrown around regardless if you're posting, cantering, sitting the trot, etc.

But yeah, very steep learning curve if you aren't used to RIDING every step of the way, haha!


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

BornToRun said:


> Root of problem: knees.


Root of problem: pinching/gripping "up" with your legs, instead of stretching down and around to grip/balance. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

I wasn't suggesting that was the root of the problem, just that it needs attention based on the photos.

I agree with everything that has been said: JustDressageIt has worded it particularly nicely. Sink down around your horse, and into your heels.
Some other things that I notice (and have already been mentioned), the way you sort of 'slouch' (fetal position is a better description xD). Pull your shoulders up and back. 
Also, watch your elbows. They kind of poke out in some of the photos. It's kind of hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like a result of not enough release (it looks as though you're sort of on his face a lot. Not a HUGE deal over small fences, but it will become more of an issue if it isn't fixed as your progress).

These could all just be tricks of the photos: a video could be beneficial.


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

I jumped *her *again today, and really focused on releasing, and stretching my leg down, I could feel the improvement because Nell jumped much better compared to before. Unfortunately no photos to show for it, no one came with me today. I'm really glad she's as forgiving as she is ... 
Our tack shop was having a clearance sale too, and I scored on a pair of pink OFJ boots, they're adorable :lol:


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## Teekin (Apr 9, 2012)

I think the root of the problem is that no one ever put you on a longe line and took the time to properly position you. Your body is like a tower of building blocks stacked one on top of another. If even one of those blocks is our of line then the tower is weak and likely to collapse. If all the blocks are lined up then you have a strong structure. The blocks for work on the flat should be ear, shoulder, elbow, hip, heel. Your head is up , your shoulders are back so your chest is open, your arm hangs Straight down, the elbow is bent at close to a 90 degree angle and is a fluid Hinge! joint, the elbow sits just above your hip which is open such that your legs Hangs down and around the horse. The irons are just a place to take the weight of your leg, the weight drops in a natural fashion right down through the heel. If I came and took the iron away your leg should feel like a over cooked chicken leg, like I could rip it right off at the hip joint. It is that relaxed and giving when not being used to give a command. That way it can drape around the barrel of the horse. Pull your foot out of the iron and ride for a few rounds at a walk with a `cooked chicken leg`. Then take up the iron again. You should be able to feel the weight fall into your heel a bit more. To open your front do a Military shrug, that will set your shoulders where they need to be, remember to breath deep right from the diaphram ( in through the nose) and to shake your head NO and nod your nose YES to keep from stiffening your neck.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Sorry for messing up the gender. Hope I didn't offend


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

In addition to what everyone else has said, I would love to see you open up your chest some more. Roll your shoulders back, stick you boobs out, and _breathe_ deep. I find it helpful to relax my back muscles first (allowing them to be free and wiggly), and move forward afterwards, relaxing my "arm pit muscles," and then eventually untensing my sternum. It's a very mental thing, to relax one's upper body. You can practice just sitting around at home systematically releasing tense upper body muscles and breathing not just with your chest, but sucking air deep into your lower stomach.


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## erikaharmony (May 25, 2009)

I could be wrong but your saddle also looks a little bit to small for you?

Lovely standardbred btw! I own a 17hh standardbred i adopted from osas. Hes currently jumping 3ft at home! They can do so much more then they are given credit for!


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

Whether it fits me properly, I wouldn't know, I just know that it's comfortable, I don't feel out of place in it, and it fits Nelly. And in addition, the fact that it's the nicest saddle I could possibly afford with student wages probably says that I have no room to buy another.


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