Exercises to Correct Common Riding Faults

Exercise 2: Low Back Gluteal Stretch

Lie on the floor in Three-Point Touch position. Keeping your hips level, gently bring one and then the other knee to your chest. As you do so, widen your legs as if bringing them toward your underarms. Keep your torso long and your pelvis level and square along the floor. Squeeze your thighs in and hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat ten times.

Exercise 3: Gluteal Squeeze

Sitting in good Three-Point Touch position in a chair or exercise ball, on the ground, or in your car, squeeze your gluteals together as if you’re holding a winning lottery ticket between your cheeks! Hold for two seconds and repeat 20 times. This exercise can be done often. Try it while you’re driving every time you come to a stoplight. Do 10 or 20 squeezes.

Exercise 4: Cobra or Spinal Extension

Lay prone on your stomach with your legs extended, your hands underneath your shoulders and your forearms on the floor. Contract your abdominals in an imperceptible pelvic tilt, and on your inhalation press your hands into the floor so that your upper body begins to lift, but your hips stay rooted to the floor. Be careful not to over-extend. Raise just a small amount to start with to ensure you are keeping your back properly aligned. Hold the stretch for a few seconds and return to the floor. Repeat three or four times.

Now that we’ve worked on setting the legs and aligning the seat longitudinally, let’s go to the upper torso, rib cage, shoulders, neck, and head area. Like our Three-Point Touch, we always want to maintain correct alignment from the ear through the shoulder to the hip. However, if we are contracted in the front chest muscles there is likelihood that we will fold forward rounding our upper back. This position causes a lot of unwanted pressure on the vertebrae of the thoracic and lumbar spine. A forward rolling of the shoulder can cause shoulder impingement syndrome, as well as arm and neck issues. This Rounded Kyphotic position often correlates with a nervous rider. When a rider is tense or nervous the hip flexors will contract and the shoulders will roll forward. The torso will collapse in order to unconsciously protect the vital organs of the body. So, if a rider is nervous the first thing they have to acknowledge is whether or not they are riding a suitable mount.

If the horse makes the rider nervous there’s a likelihood that things could go wrong quickly. When the rider is in this contracted fetal/protective position (above), her breath will be shallow causing the hip flexors to contract, pulling the legs up from around the horse’s body. The horse will feel tension through the rider’s thighs and hips, and likely begin to think something is wrong. This in turn can cause a cyclical or negative feedback loop between horse and rider. This is the point where a rider must focus on breathing deeply… a four-count on the inhalation and a four-count on the exhalation. This focused, calm, rhythmic breathing will enable the diaphragm to descend and allow the rider’s hip flexors to relax and loosen.

Once the rider has achieved a rhythmic breathing pattern, she should focus on locating her seat bones. Sit squarely on the seat bones in good Three-Point Touch position ensuring shoulder blades are rolled back and down as if trying to put them into your back hip pockets. The shoulder blades should lay flat against the ribcage so they’re not poking out. If this posture is unattainable, then it’s quite likely the rider needs to do some stretching and strengthening exercises to correct these imbalances. By stretching the front of the chest and strengthening the back of the body, we can reestablish a balance of muscle to the front and back of the body. If you are unable to maintain square shoulders while seated upon your mount, perhaps you will find some of these stretches and exercises will improve your torso and shoulder position. These exercises are excellent for anyone to do on a regular basis, particularly if you work at a desk or computer for long periods of time. Try these stretches and exercises and see what a difference they make to your riding position and your overall posture. Not only will you look better – you’re going to feel better than ever!