Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

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Josette
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Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Josette » Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:35 pm

I've struggled with a collapsed right hip for years. I know how critical correct posture is for the rider and how poor posture affects the horse. :(

However, it seems I can never resolve this problem on my own. I've had numerous chiropractor adjustments in the past. I'm worked long hours as a desk jockey added to long commuter distances over many years. I do use that little stool saddle at my desk at home and feel comfortable using it. Certainly not for everyone as it is quite small and best for petite person. So I have been focusing on improving my posture.

The saddle fitter was out yesterday and again mentioned my right collapsed hip. Right leg weaker leg and I tend to weight left side more. I struggle to keep my butt centered in the saddle as I shift too much to the left. More left cheek on saddle than right cheek. :? Of course, I feel centered and when I look down I think I am centered behind the pommel. However, look at me from behind and not the case. Any suggestions for how I can monitor my position when it gets shifted/crooked yet feels good to me? Riding outside so no mirrors. I am trying to step more into the right stirrup going right which I have not been consistently doing in the past. What more can I do to fix me? Thanks!

Kathy Johnson
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Kathy Johnson » Sat Nov 28, 2015 2:09 pm

Remember that collapsing can come from many places and can impact many places. A bad knee, a tight hip, even a dropping shoulder can cause the the whole side to collapse. Stretching the leg down and stirrup stepping can certainly help, but if there is tightness in the hip, it might not put your seatbone down in the saddle.

Since I think the seat is the most important aid, I correct the seat first. This helps everything fall into place. James Shaw's Ride from Within is a great way to learn this. The focus is on the seatbones. Walk for a long time, preferably with your feet out of the stirrups. Start with one seatbone, identifying it coming forward, every step. Breathe into it. Then change directions and check in to see the other seatbone feels the same. When I'm collapsed one side, one seat bone will feel like a firm grape and the other will feel like a squashed grape. By bringing awareness to it and breathing into the squashed side, I can make them more even. When the seatbones are the same, the rest of my body stacks up on top and below. Monitor the seatbones very often.

Also breathe into your ribs, as when we are collapsing, one side will open and the other will close like a an accordian. Pull your ribs apart as you stretch up.

kande50
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby kande50 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 2:17 pm

A friend of mine had this problem and a clinician gave her an exercise she called "the stork" to start every ride The idea was to lift her arm on the collapsed side and ride around with it stretched up and forward. Can't remember if there was more to it than that, but since it was called the stork it probably involved pushing down in the stirrup on the collapsed side while drawing up the other leg? But all I remember was the arm part. My friend said it cured the problem, and she'd been working on it since she first started riding.

Josette
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Josette » Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:57 pm

Thanks for your replies. I will certainly use these exercises this winter when all we can do is walk on frozen ground. I've been trying the yoga one leg stand on my right leg. Check myself in the bathroom mirror to make sure my shoulders are even. Since it is easy I knew I needed more to center myself sitting on the pony. Kathy - you are right about the hip tightness. I have 2 different sides and they are not mirror images.

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Chisamba
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Chisamba » Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:33 pm

I tell people not to let their ribs touch, to stretch the torso so that the intercoastal spaces are stretched. If you stand with full weight in the stirrups and balance, then open your ribs then sit...

I hope you can find the body awareness to help.

:)

scruffy the cat
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby scruffy the cat » Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:55 pm

It so often comes out that after chiropractic adjustments, tons of tricks or mental imagery, and lots of angst, that the reason the rider was collapsed or uneven was because they were gripping too hard with their legs. Often the problem goes along with difficulty sitting the trot. Also often the rider is wearing soft half-chaps or boots. Once you let go with your legs, the position issues "magically" fix themselves. One test of this: if you take your legs completely off the horse while riding, either walking or trotting posting or rising. Lift your leg from the hip and try to just keep it off their sides completely or if they are touching their sides, do so in the most delicate way possible- as if they are wet strands of spaghetti or strands of silk which might break if any strength is used. Just see what happens to the position. Stiff boots also help with not gripping too much.

Obviously this isn't the cause for everyone, but it is frequently enough that it bears mentioning.

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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Backyarder » Sun Nov 29, 2015 12:33 am

Just curious, are you lopsided when you stand? I was always fighting a collapsed left side, hip and shoulder..then I realized I'm the same way off the horse. I had xrays recently and have two curves in my spine . Has you chiro done x rays?

Josette
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Josette » Sun Nov 29, 2015 12:49 am

No - I never had Xrays done. It's been years since I visited the Chiropractor but I recall he was always pulling on my left leg as if trying to make them even. I think it was because my hips were out of alignment. I came across this link and will try out some of these stretches. The problem is certainly in my hips. I don't notice it when I stand but when I sit it feels like I sit heavier on left side versus right. I'm trying to be very aware of these feelings and my posture.



http://www.balancedrider.com/index.htm

Bats79
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Bats79 » Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:47 am

I find that most "collapsed hip" riders are working in conjunction with their horse. The horse drops a side and the rider drops a hip. The horse tilts the wither and the rider over rides the bend on that side. All contribute to each other.

I always try to help both together.

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Rosie B
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Rosie B » Sun Nov 29, 2015 11:40 am

If your hips are uneven on the ground I'd suggest Physio. I get regular Physio from an athletic movement specialist and a few months ago we worked on my uneven hips. With a set of exercises targeted toward evening them out, and a month's worth of work on my own, they were level again.

Josette
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Josette » Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:10 pm

Bats79 wrote:I find that most "collapsed hip" riders are working in conjunction with their horse. The horse drops a side and the rider drops a hip. The horse tilts the wither and the rider over rides the bend on that side. All contribute to each other.

I always try to help both together.


Yes - very critical observation you described here. Pony is a work in progress to undo some prior training issues. He can hang and sometimes pull on left rein. Going to the right harder for him as he pops shoulder while hanging. Canter in this direction is flatter. He shifts saddle to left for my instructor too. Note: saddle fitter was out the other day and she adjusted flocking on left side and I purchased a thin-line pad. It is raining now so I have not been able to ride with these changes. The saddle felt better and I did feel more centered during the fitting process. I am trying to ride with lots of change in direction to help our ambidexterity and balance issues. We are both rehab projects.

Bats79
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Bats79 » Wed Dec 02, 2015 5:03 am

Thanks for the update. It makes sense. I stopped a rider at a training day last weekend to tell her that she would need to correct her saddle position each time she walked during the test. There was no way that the pony was going to be straight without a lot of time and effort so the saddle would keep being thrown to the side.

Good luck with your onward project. :D

Josette
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Re: Need help to correct rider collapsing right hip

Postby Josette » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:55 pm

Bats79 - Any suggestions for how I can check myself for being crooked when I feel I'm comfortable with my position?

It is really hard with the left side saddle slippage. I was always stepping down into the right stirrup to adjust it. I did get one short trial ride with the thin-line pad which seems to minimize the slippage. Pony is in a custom saddle made just for him. He is a round body type with large broad shoulders and 4-5" spine like a WB. Did I mention minimal withers? :roll: I also have a girth collection trying to minimize this issue. $$$

It is obvious when the saddle slips that I am crooked but hard for me to know when my butt is not centered in the saddle. So I would adjust the saddle to the right but ended up with more left butt in the saddle - right butt over the edge. Now the problem is that felt comfortable to me. :? Looking at the pommel for reference was not enough because back view was crooked. I am crooked / have a twist in my hips and am reading up on exercises to help me. Hoping to get some clear weather and more rides in before ground freezes solid.


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