When we’re in the saddle, we want to be able to feel as secure and grounded as we do when we’re on the ground. Sounds crazy right? But if we focus on the right thing, we can feel just as balanced and secure on horseback as we do on the ground. The secret is in the feet!
I’ve taken the following tips from Sally Swift’s great book Centered Riding (thanks Sally!) and they really work! So here are some tips to help you become as grounded and balanced in the saddle as you are on the ground!
1. Find the bubbling spring.
This is the point of your foot that needs to stay in connection with the stirrup. It’s important that when you’re giving your aids, the pressure stays on this point so you can keep a hold of your stirrups with your foot and maintain your position.
2. Avoid bad stirrup placement.
The common mistakes people make are where the stirrup bar is angled at about 45 degrees instead of coming out from the horse’s side at 90 degrees OR the opposite where they are down at your arches. Both of these positions will make your leg aids ineffective.
3. Stretch those calves!
Ankle flexibility is crucial! If your calves are tight do some stretches to help your heels get down!
Once you start focusing on keeping the weight in the right part of the stirrup, you will notice you feel more secure with a lower center of gravity, your legs will feel longer, and much more effective!
Play around with wiggling your toes so you’re not gripping with your leg.
Keep equal pressure across the whole of the foot, I have a tendency to place more pressure on the outside of the foot but equal weight distribution optimizes the effectiveness of the aids.
Watch this video where I talk in more detail about the bubbling spring while I go through the gaits with Mercurio demonstrating this correct foot placement, and let me know if you find it helpful in the comments.
Thanks for watching and happy riding!
