After seeing the rear quarters of the saddle, Sarah asked me to bend over and touch my toes. I did, then she placed a shim (same neoprene shims she uses for saddle fitting) under my left foot and asked me to try again. I just barely reached my toes noting that it was much more difficult and my lower back was strained. So she swapped the shim to my right foot and as I bent over again, with her keeping her knowledgeable hands just above my hips, I found it much easier. She noted that my right hip is "out". She further explained that our bodies, when trying to compensate for something uneven, will tighten or loosen certain areas to allow ourselves to stay stabilized as we move. This meant that my right leg was shorter, causing my hips to be uneven, and subsequently, the right side of my torso to "collapse" to compensate for the unevenness.
This made so much sense. I remembered back to when I broke my leg as a five year old, and believe that that substantial injury must have effected the continued growth of my leg. As I grew and began walking again, my body began to compensate for it's shortcomings. Now I have a lifetime of uneven holding patterns that we need to figure out how to unlock undersaddle.
To begin, Sarah adjusted my stirrup length on the right side up one hole. This will allow me to keep my hips even as I ride, and begin to loosen the collapse that I have in the right side of my torso. She advised that the next time I ride I simply ride without thinking about the changed stirrup.
As I mounted for the first time after the lesson, I honestly forgot about the stirrup change until a few minutes into the ride. I was amazed by how balanced and centered I felt. I didnt have to work hard continuously to find weight in my left seat bone. Instead, I was naturally balanced on both hip bones, and it felt great. It was definitely a moment where I, for the first time, realized what it felt to be balanced between both seat bones. I didnt fight the saddle tilting one way or another, and could now focus on my core stability and just ride.
And I had a great ride. I reinforced some of the exercises and concepts I learned at the last lesson, and Milo moved beautifully. He had a little trouble on the counter canter to the left, as we had at the lesson, but this time it only took the second attempt and he counter cantered continuously. Balance, such that I have felt when working on it with Wesley, will come as strength and stamina build for Milo. But the stepping stones are in place. Oh and you know what else? We finally have a planted foot for a spin. Could it be the strength building exercises we have been working on for his hocks? Or could it be the balance in my hips now? Probably both. But I should have taken a picture of the hole Milo's foot dug into the arena dirt. Priceless.
2 comments:
I wish everyone had access to Sarah. Its amazing the kinds of things that she makes us aware of, and helps us with. Her knowledge of human and equine bodies is incredible!
It's fuuny that you brought this up, for years one pant leg would show more wear at the bottoms, fraying and stuff, I just figured it was the manufacturers defect, it never occurred to me that I might be crooked, sure enough, I am. Who new? Also, I had to punch an extra hole in my stirrups on the one side midway to the next or so, of course, another manufacturer defect...I guess I'm not as perfect as I thought ;-) I can totally relate to the riding more on one butt cheek than the other, I would often forget the stirrup thing if I was on some elses' saddle other than my own.
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