# Leg on Girth or Behind Girth? Who is right?



## frlsgirl

I have two english riding instructors. One says that "home position" of your leg is always at the girth, because that's where saddle manufacturers put the stirrups. My second riding instructor, a seasoned dressage pro says that "home position" is always behind he girth. Who is right? 

It's more difficult to keep my leg behind the girth because I have to push the stirrup backwards; however when I look at many dressage riders, their lower leg is always way behind the girth. 

Who is right? Any thoughts? :shock:


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## smrobs

Now keep in mind that I am not an english rider but:

I always kind of thought that the "home" position was when your leg was directly under your hip, keeping the shoulder/hip/heel alignment.


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## MyBoyFortune

I ride English and I was taught the same as what smrobs posted above. My legs do go back for certain cues but the "ideal" I think is being properly aligned.


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## plomme

My leg goes behind the girth. See these images:



















If my leg were at the girth I would have a very thick layer of leather between the horse and me and that's not very effective at all.


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## tinyliny

if my leg were at the girth, I would be in a chair seat. my heel and ankle are behind it, at least I try to have them there.


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## Tryst

Ball of the foot near the girth, but heel and ankle behind so that you have access to the horse's side for effective cues.


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## bsms

I think the US Cavalry was right. Stirrup strap should hang straight down. With my saddles (including English), ball of foot in the stirrup, that puts the heel in a vertical line with my belt buckle - like the dressage rider shown above, or this one:










I will sometimes ride with my heels further forward, for my own reasons:










However, in my experience, it makes cueing your horse a challenge. My calf is either on or barely behind the girth, and it just means more pressure is needed for her to feel me. I normally will bring my heels back a few inches to cue when I'm riding that way.

I'm not an instructor, but a saddle is designed to have your rump in the deepest part and the stirrup straps or fender handing straight down. That results in gravity being your friend instead of your foe. In most saddles, that should put your calf & heel just behind the girth. With my Aussie-style saddle, it normally puts my leg here:










I ride with both, but if I could only choose one, it would be calf/heel a little behind the girth, with the stirrup strap hanging vertical.


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## frlsgirl

Thanks y'all. I guess the old "shoulder, hip, heel" alignment principle still holds true but depending on a person's body type, the horse's built, the type of saddle, and stirrup length, the rider's leg position may not always be in the ideal position.


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## frlsgirl

bsms said:


> I think the US Cavalry was right. Stirrup strap should hang straight down. With my saddles (including English), ball of foot in the stirrup, that puts the heel in a vertical line with my belt buckle - like the dressage rider shown above, or this one:
> 
> I will sometimes ride with my heels further forward, for my own reasons:
> 
> However, in my experience, it makes cueing your horse a challenge. My calf is either on or barely behind the girth, and it just means more pressure is needed for her to feel me. I normally will bring my heels back a few inches to cue when I'm riding that way.
> 
> I'm not an instructor, but a saddle is designed to have your rump in the deepest part and the stirrup straps or fender handing straight down. That results in gravity being your friend instead of your foe. In most saddles, that should put your calf & heel just behind the girth. With my Aussie-style saddle, it normally puts my leg here:
> 
> 
> I ride with both, but if I could only choose one, it would be calf/heel a little behind the girth, with the stirrup strap hanging vertical.


Thanks BSMS...so that's where the differing opinions come from...it's the classical European dressage seat versus the US Cavalry dressage seat.


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## Corporal

It's not that simple bc different saddles girth in different places. Typically, English saddles girth up about 4 fingers width behind the elbow.
You find your home position when you drop your stirrups and hang your leg. At this point it is lined up shoulder, hip, heel. You are supposed to have your leg lined up like this WITH your stirrups, but I can't tell that unless I see a picture of you mounted.
Where you lined up leg touches is where you cue for:
-forward,
-backing,
-walk to trot
-push forward into bit for the halt and the half halt
When you cue for the canter you use your outside leg beHIND the girth.
When you cue for a sidepass you hold the haunches with your leg behind the girth. 
When you hold the shoulders from popping out your use the leg in FRONT of the girth.
If you horse has a long back you need to use your leg further back than just behind the girth.
NOTE: These cues are meaningless on a green horse. They only function on a finished horse.


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## ~*~anebel~*~

I view "at the girth" as meaning the stirrup bar and toe at the girth, with the stirrup leather hanging perpendicular to the ground. And behind the girth is that the stirrup is brought back such that the stirrup leather is no longer hanging perpendicular to the ground.

The first is correct, it has nothing to do with the US cavalry and a lot to do with the area right behind the girth being the most sensitive, and easiest place to get your leg around the horse.
Having the leg too far back means raised heels and ineffective aids.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## As You Wish

MyBoyFortune said:


> I ride English and I was taught the same as what smrobs posted above. My legs do go back for certain cues but the "ideal" I think is being properly aligned.


 
I ride hunt seat so I keep my leg underneath me with heals down. Ear, shoulder, hip, heal all in alignment. Much better balance this way. But as said by others, it depends on your disclipline and the saddle you use.


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## Muppetgirl

For me, at the girth is my 'neutral' position. Behind the girth is to manage the hind quarters and just in front of the girth is to manage the shoulders. I bump/squeeze in the neutral spot to increase speed but that's about it. Although it also depends on how a horse has been trained. If I shift my outside leg back and close my inside leg on neutral my horse will lope, if I leave my inside leg off the girth my horse will move sideways.


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## bsms

There is no right answer. It is all technique. If I had a highly trained horse, and was an athletic, skilled rider, I might well ride with my heels under my hip to make it easier to give lots of leg & heel & spur cues. The Cavalry had to deal with quickly training thousands of riders, many of whom had no natural ability, to ride OK trained horses across rough ground. Cueing was less important than keeping learning riders to stay on horses who might stop without warning or change directions without being asked. Sounds like me...

The old style western seat, with feet far forward, worked well for average riders riding green horses in rough terrain far from any help. It also worked based off the style of saddle used.










Riding doesn't come with absolutes. If I were you, I'd ask my instructors WHY something is good or bad. Jumping uses a different position than dressage which is different from cutting which is different from polo, and all of them are different from what I do riding my marginally trained mare with my low goals & expectations. Any good instructor can tell you, not just WHAT to do, but WHY it is a good thing to do. It is only by understanding the WHY that you can understand what you are doing.


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## Corporal

Agreed on asking "Why." The object of leg position has more to do with keeping your body quiet bc that is what keeps you on the horse. The more quiet your body, the deeper and heavier your seat and that keeps you sticking to the saddle/horse.
Disagree re: putting your feet in front. A chair seat makes you more vulnerable to falling behind the motion of the horse. You cannot maintain a chair seat for hours and hours. If you ride with a chair seat I recommend very long trail rides to retrain your legs.
Agreed re: US Cavalry. They trained, during WARTIME, many green riders, often on green horses, hence the S-shaped, long shanked, high ported curb bit with a chain. The manual gives advice on how to spend your long days drilling, then grooming the horse and cleaning and maintaining your tack.
During PEACETIME, they also drilled, groomed and cleaned/maintained, plus they had a lot of horse shows. We spent a few years hanging with the US Cavalry Assocation in Ft. Riley, KS. They have a lot of photos and data regarding the post WWI Cavalry. They would show English, jump horses and mules, single, Roman-Style, and maybe 3x/time, and their horses pulled caissons over hilly terrain. They were, at that time, trying to create a super-horse that could do it. In 1942 they discovered it wasn't possible. The peacetime Cavalry were really horse show people.


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