In last week’s blog post, I discussed why individual physical ability and rider biomechanics must be taken into account  when we assess rider position. Riders do not all arrive in the saddle with the same joint range, strength, coordination, or capacity for movement – and equipment cannot override those differences. One of the responses to that post was a familiar one: that the rider simply needed better knee blocks  to hold her leg in the “correct” position, and that from th

How Stirrup Length Can Hinder – or Help – Your Riding Rider biomechanics from a rider physio perspective This week’s social media post about a rider with severely arthritic hips and restricted movement sparked far more debate than I expected. During that rider physio  session, we shortened her stirrups to support her biomechanics in the saddle. Not to make her “ride short”, not because of discipline rules, and not for the sake of appearance – but to support her body in the sa

Understanding what your body needs to do – and being able to do it A lot of riding is talked about in terms of outcomes. We talk about what it should look like, or what we want riders to do – a still upper body, quiet hands, a deep seat, a stable lower leg, a rider who looks “balanced”. We talk about what the horse should do – more forward, more through, straighter, more consistent in the contact. And none of that is wrong. Outcomes matter. But outcomes are the result  of som