Do you have any tips for keeping your knees/thighs on a horse?

Question

I have been riding (english hunter/jumper) for about a year and can't seem to keep my knees on my horse. Do you have any tips or exercises to do on and off of the horse? I already tried placing a $1 bill between my thighs and the saddle and attempting to keep it there but it fell out. Thanks!

Answer 1

You could try riding bareback........Riding with no stirrups.......building up you knee/thigh muscles...........and you can ask a trainer/instructor............Any of these helps!!!!!!     Hope this helps

Megan1

Answer 2

when you are sitting down on a chair you can squezze your legs to gether very tight and keep doing this than when you get on a horse  just do that

Answer 3

well, your going to hate me, but posting trot without stirrups. . . yeah. thats one way to work at it, not fun by any means but does work.

Answer 4

im not sure about this because iv never had any problems with my positioning other than leaning foward. but try riding bear back or without stirrups, you will have to grip with your knees then or fall off.

Answer 5

Improve your seat and balance and relax your legs.  You have to find your center of gravity over your horse.  You should not be gripping and pinching with your thighs and knees.  Make sure your stirrups are the correct length for your exercise.  Practice, practice, practice.  If you have tension in your legs and body (back,pelvis), you will never be able to perfect your seat.  Relax your body and move with your horse.  Move as he moves.  If you do not have harmony with your horse's movement, you will always be in his way and he will never be able to give you his best.   Ride on!!

Answer 6

well what my trainer did when i first started riding horses was she put my horse on a lunge line and made me ride bareback with no reins holding my arm straight out and i had to stay on using my legs. it sounds frightening but it is extremely efficient. im known in 4-h for winning ride-a-buck every year! haha

Answer 7

bareback or without strirrups flatwork and jumping as much as you can. Dont give up and you will feel the difference

Answer 8

u should try working on building your muscles in your thighs/knees..maybe squats and stuff like that. also, u should keep on trying to do the dollar bill thing because it worked for me, and if it keeps on falling out then u can try it with something thicker--maybe a stick? and then when u get good with the stick then u can try thinner things like the dollar bill. hope this helped :]

Answer 9

relaxing your legs helps a lot and so does riding bareback

Answer 10

Don't grip with your knees! That makes your lower leg slide back and you will lose your balance. Ride without stirrups for a while and wrap your LOWER leg round the  horses stomach. Eventually, when you take your stirrups back you will realise they are too short. Above all, relax your hips and tummy and roll them with your horses movement. It took me years to sit to my horses trot without losing my balance as he was sooooo bouncy. You may find it easier to do these exercises on a horse that has a comfortable trot first!!

Answer 11

Ride without stirrups A LOT! Start at the sitting trot then go to posting trot. Cantering without them is easier than posting but you have to be careful to not hang on and drive him forward. After you get better try riding in a halfseat or two point. Do a couple steps at the sitting trot then get into a half seat for a couple steps then back down to the sitting trot.

I wouldnt try to force your leg into the proper position. Use w/o stirrup work to train it. Good Luck

Answer 12

Don't forget you have only been riding for 1year and there is still room for improvement. I myself ride western, but it sounds like you need to hold on tighter with your thighs even though it will hurt terribly. Also try to get down to the barn as much as possible and practice.

Answer 13

i had this problem when i started to ride but what my trainer told me to do is to fold away the stirrups (you may want someone with you if you try this) and ride around without them, doing this helped me to hold on better with my legs, may be your stirrups are too high check them and also think of your legs holding the horse in place not the other way round, after this your leg muscles will hurt like h**l but it is well worth it.

good luck

Answer 14

If your knees are losing contact, it's probably because you're gripping with your lower legs.  When you grip, the muscle contraction often causes your legs to come up.  You need to relax your legs down into the stirrups, in which case your legs will naturally rest against the horse's sides, in contact.  You shouldn't actually be gripping with your knees (or your calves) as they should rest in contact, ready to cue the horse.  If you're gripping (I know..  When I first started riding, my instructor did the dollar bill under the knee thing, too) then you can't move well with the horse.  It has to be your balance that keeps you on, not gripping tightly with your knees or calves.  As I said, your legs should rest in constant contact with the horses side, passively until you want to communicate something.

Bareback riding, being careful not to grip, will help.  You can't stay on bareback and grip, because you'll bounce like crazy.

You can keep the saddle on, if you want, just remove the stirrups and grab the pommel, if you're worried about falling off.  But a saddle is a lot more slippery than a bareback pad.

Answer 15

mainly it just takes time and practice.... but try these since they will help!

- sitting trot, posting trot without stirrups

-bareback riding, a step up from riding without stirrups but you have to feel quite secure, especially when trotting.

also you can do some cantering with both of those, but don't attempt it unless if you feel really comfortable riding at the canter (do it with no stirrups first before bareback...)

good luck!