Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I'll have to add a little something to Marlene's great post.

Check out whether your saddle is not level, due to your horse's 
conformation, its placement on the horse's back and/or the saddle just 
doesn't fit.  If it's tilted backwards, it is a killer to get out of 
the saddle in the up part of the posting trot, just as bad IMHO as 
stirrups placed too far forwards.

Try the "chapstick test" - use either lipstick or a full tube of 
chapstick (for maximum roll) and put it in the seat's flat spot.  See 
if it rolls--it's a good visual to check for levelness, it should stay 
in the flattest spot.  If it rolls backwards, your saddle is tilted 
backwards.  Depends on your saddle what the "fix" is for that, if it 
can be fixed at all.

JMO, best thing ever for ankle flexibility is riding a unicycle.  Next 
best is what Maryanne described, the ability to crouch for long periods 
of time.  Delicate readers, stop now.  My mom brought back a photo from 
a trip to China of a little kid peeing in such a manner over a hole, 
must've been 20 years ago.  I thought, what a great idea, and started 
to practice that sort of crouch, as it's handy for a lot of things.  
Upon starting endurance riding, it became exceptionally useful for 
elimination trailside while holding a fractious mount.  Also for taking 
showers in the back of the horse trailer, crouched to avoid unscheduled 
viewings, with a handheld shower nozzle.  And best of all, it's turned 
out to be a rock solid platform for my photography work with a 5 1/2 lb 
camera/lens setup.  It's even nice when there's no seating at a place 
when you don't want to just plunk down in your jeans.  It works best 
without ankle support-boots, so your ankles can fully flex.

And by doing this I can still ride that unicycle, even if it's many 
months in between rides; all braking on one is done by dropping an 
ankle, even at "speed".  I think having ankles that flexible help 
prevent back pain while riding; I still get upper back tension problems 
(rhomboids, traps) from old neck injuries that still need work though.  
And Erin, I had knee injuries as a teen from being hit by a car, the 
consequences of which disappeared in my early 20s with hardly a twinge 
since.

Lynne (49 like Ed)



On Mar 4, 2005, at 7:55 AM, Marlene Moss wrote:

> The thing that cured my knee pain was getting a saddle that put my 
> legs truly underneath me.? And I really couldn’t figure that out 
> without having a saddle with an adjustable stirrup bar and playing 
> around with it. ?So here’s a somewhat shameless plug for Free’n’Easy 
> (I don’t sell them anymore since I sold my business, but I do still 
> highly recommend them).? Distance became a whole different world for 
> me and my horse when I didn’t have to deal with knee pain anymore.?


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