LEGS,LEGS,LEGS -Hoofbeats

LEGS LEGS

LEGS how leg strength can affect your riding balance and effectiveness

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ore leg, use your outside leg, support with the inside leg, sit light - these are all terms as riders we hear regularly. Riding strength has a major part to play in the efficient use of these aids, and can boost riding success and contribute to a stable seat and fluid, forward moving horse.

The goal of rider leg strength is the ability to maintain straight alignment in the saddle, be able to use your leg aids independently of your rein aids and maintain stability through your upper body, all whilst being able to flow with the horse’s movement.

The hip adductors, abductors and extensors are all muscle groups that are pivotal to riding strength and success. These muscle groups can easily be weak and lack effectiveness, or too tight, which can limit movement and the ability of the rider’s hips to flow with the horse.

Lower back pain in riders can be a sign that strength work is needed, when a rider cant‘flow’with a horse’s movement the lower back absorbs this motion.

Some of the most important muscles needed for leg strength while riding are part of the core muscle group. Focusing on the core overall will still improve leg aid strength, there are however a few specific exercises riders can incorporate into their riding schedule.

by Jemma Moon

Over use of your inner thigh muscles due to lack of core strength causes ‘gripping’ , which is indicated by the position of your lower leg and the turned-out toe .

Hip Adductors are the inner thigh muscles (adductor magnus, longus, brevis, pectineus and gracilis). Riders often rely too much on these muscles by excessively gripping, often due to lacking core strength and balance in the saddle. This is extremely common, and a sign you are using this muscle group too much is that you are toe-out in the stirrups. Gripping and over activating the adductors will block your ability to drive your horse forward. The horse will also feel blocked and will limit their ability to lift through their core and engage their hindquarters.

Hip Abductors are the outer thigh/hip muscles (gluteus maxiumus, medius, minimus, and the tensor fascia latae). The hip abductors are the muscles that support a rider to use their leg aids without excessively shifting their seat bones in the saddle. These muscles have an important function in helping with the stability of the rider’s hip and pelvis by rotating the hip inwards and outwards, crucial for supporting a rider to stay straight and balanced in the centre of the saddle.

An example of the hip abductors in action is the half halt or stop. It is the braking affect that happens when you squeeze your gluteus maxiumus muscle to slow the rising against the horse’s movement.

If you find you lean or collapse to one side or notice you sit in the saddle with more pressure on one side, you likely have an imbalance in the hip abductors. Focus on out-of-saddle exercises ensuring you keep attention to using both sides of your body evenly, this can help balance your strength back in the saddle.

One exercise to check if you are using both sides of your body evenly is to stand on two sets of scales and see if your weight is even and then do a squat… the weight should be the same on both scales.

Hip Extensors are the posterior hip and thigh muscles and are the gluteus maximus again and the hamstrings. These are the power muscles for riding and are responsible for driving and forward momentum. Often, riders can be weak and will use their whole body to rise in trot and drive their horse forward. The result of this for the horse is often lower back pain as this style of rising trot results

The inner thigh mscles are the adductors as above; not to be confused with the outer thigh abductors that support a rider in their stability in a heavier seat. Another sign that a rider might have weak extensors is if they fall forward over the front of the saddle, this will again shift more weight onto the horse’s forehand and again result in a heavier rider seat.

Continued.

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Legs, legs, legs...

Bridge lift with a weighted ball

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground with your arms and palms flat on the floor. Hold a ball or weighted ball between your knees.

You can use a 2-5kg bag of rice from your cupboard.

When riders do not have the strength in their legs they will often use their whole body to rise in the trot, resulting in a heavier seat, which can cause lower back pain for the horse.

Muscle strength has a huge role to play in stamina and a rider’s overall ability to sustain a strong, balanced riding position.

Loss of breath and muscle fatigue is experienced by many riders who are not ‘riding-fit’, which doesn’t necessarily relate to your walking or running fittness.

Some of the major muscles in our legs that we use for riding are also the largest in the body, which means they require a larger volume of oxygen to function. The weaker a muscle the more oxygen it requires, so often a weak rider has to breathe faster to supply enough oxygen. When these muscles fatigue and a rider pushes past the body’s ability to provide oxygen to these muscles, the body produces lactic acid. This is what results in rider soreness and muscle discomfort. The more you strengthen these larger muscle groups the less oxygen they require, becoming more efficient, reducing both the shortness of breath, and more importantly - less rider discomfort.

There are many contributing factors to our horses becoming tense and sore, however weak rider strength does significantly impact on the horse. Rider position in the saddle is magnified by gravity, so weaknesses can compound over time and the result in many cases is a stiff and sore horse that is also compensating. There are a range of simple, low-impact exercises that can be incorporated into a rider’s daily schedule and muscle strength can improve in as little as eight weeks for both the rider and horse, meaning you April/May 2020 - Page 18

Squeeze the ball between your knees as you lift into a bridge position lifting your hips and buttocks slowly off the floor, keeping your shoulders on the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds and then slowly lower back to the start position and repeat 10-15 times.

can get your leg aids on point for the new riding season.

All three of these simple, low-impact exercises strengthen hip adductors, abductors and extensors. You will do each exercise 10-15 times as a set, then each exercise set can repeated up to 3 times, this will take you no longer than 15 minutes.

Fire hydrants

Start on your hands and knees, ensure your shoulders are above your hands and your hips above your knees. Keep your neck straight, looking at the ground.

Open and lift your leg away from your body to a 45 degree angle, keeping your knee bent at a 90 degree angle, ensuring the knee stays underneath your hip.

Keep your upper body still and your core engaged through the whole movement.

Lower back to the start position and repeat 10-15 times per leg.

This exercise works on stabilising the core while activating the gluteal muscles which are needed for balance and driving the forward movement in riding.

The walk and canter require fluidity in the way you use your seat. This exercise helps to strengthen through movement rather than staying static.

Bridge leg lift

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground, with your arms and palms flat on the floor. Hold one leg up and straight with a soft knee.

Inhale to prepare, and as you exhale lift into bridge position by using your single supporting leg to lift the hips and buttocks slowly off the floor, keeping your shoulders on the floor.

As you exhale slowly lower your spine back to the ground, one vertebrae at a time from top to bottom whilst keeping the leg straight through the movement.

Repeat each leg with 10 lifts and swap sides.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jemma Moon Jemma has been a public health and community engagement specialist for over twelve years, working for various health organisations and most recently local government. Jemma runs a small business on the side to support other riders with a passion for fitness and health. e: admin@musclesense.com.au w: www.musclesense.com.au