An average head weighs about 11 pounds without the helmet. By laterally flexing her neck to the right, the rider places more weight to the right. This moves the rider’s center of gravity to the right. Horses need our center of gravity in line with theirs, so the horse may shift their own weight distribution to keep balance. This places stress on their tendons and ligaments as muscles and bone are shifted from their ideal position.

The distance and body shape between her shoulders and hips are different left to right. On the right, she is more contracted than the left, showing lateral bend in her spine to the right. This increases the effort needed to twist her torso to the left (for, say, a left bend) since her torso is already twisted the opposite direction. She will likely recruit lower back muscles that should be stabilizing the back rather than turning it (long term this may cause back pain).

Along the same line, the lateral bend right has caused a slight twist right such that her right elbow and hand are behind the left. You can see this by looking at where the point of the elbow touches her back. This creates a constant pull on the right rein.

So far we have a twist, lean, and pull to the right. Which is great for right circles, right canter, leg yield left, right shoulder in, etc. But what about the other side? The rider will need to consciously work on reducing the torque in her body to allow even weight aids (in the saddle and bridle) to be transferred to the horse.

While the rider’s legs appear to be slightly different lengths, this may be the result of the horse’s less than square stance in the hindlimb. What the rider’s legs do show, though, is different amounts of external rotation (resulting in toe out) and different pressures against the horse’s side. The right leg is more externally rotated and not as snug to the horse’s side as the left. This results in an opening for the horse to lean on the right shoulder.

Correct rider biomechanics is important for all styles of riding. If you are interested in having a biomechanics lesson, send me an email at:

SereneEquineBB@gmail.com

Biomechanics lessons are not a substitute for your regular discipline specific lessons with your trainer.

This rider is looking to the side so the rotation of the head is not considered here.

In the previous rider uneven shoulders was a result from a lateral bend to the right. But in the case of this rider, instead,  her uneven shoulders are due to the left shoulder being lifted. Take a look at the wrinkles in her shirt. The wrinkles on the right shoulder are significantly  more than the left, indicating that the left side is being stretched up by the shoulder.

Before we address the lower body, take a look at the saddle placement. The sale is very off centered, even if the horse is standing not 100% square. Now take a look at the riders’s strips. Maybe a little longer in the right but not nearly enough to account for the slippage of the saddle. There is research being done in the UK that indicates saddle slip is less about the rider than previously thought and more about the compensation patterns of the horse.

The left leg is against the horse, with the knee turned out and the foot turned about the same amount. The right leg, though, has more rotation out at the foot than the knee. This may be the result of the saddle position but riding like this consistently will habituate the muscles to work in this position.

There is significantly more space between the horse’s flank and the inside of the ankle (where aids should be given) on the right than left. This results in the horse constantly being asked to tuck in the left shoulder and use the left hind end more than the right. It also does not leave room for bending left as the horse would be “bent left” even on a straight line.

Nerves are electrical signals from the skin to the brain. When a nerve is constantly turned on (like a left leg hugging the side of the horse), the electrical signal at that area over loads. When it over loads, the nerve can no longer effectively send signals to the brain. So rather than in the previous paragraph, this horse may not be in consistent left bend but instead may ignore the left leg because those nerves have been over loaded and cannot communicate with the brain anymore.