Do My Stirrups Look Even?
What causes uneven stirrups?
Apart from the obvious that they may not be the same length, we can either point blame at the cause being rider asymmetry, the saddle, horse asymmetry or a combination of these.
Rider asymmetry - Hips are they in, out or out out?
I’m not sure how many times someone has told me that they’ve been told their hips are out or they were born with one leg longer than the other but it's a lot! And they’ve usually been told this from someone who is going to benefit every 6 weeks to readjust them back into place. Joints are either ‘in’ or dislocated, however they way the joint moves can become dysfunctional and its ability to move normally decreases. It is rare that a leg length difference is caused by the structure of the bones... the usual cause is a muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalances can cause the pelvis to tilt and restrict movement in the hip and back. We need to correct them as over time restricted movement will cause pain and further dysfunction.
Seat bones - The feet of our bottom!
The gluteus medius muscle is in charge of pelvic stability and along with the gluteus maximus it controls limb alignment, when we ride we want equal weight through our seat bones. A weak gluteus medius will cause the pelvis to drop. Seat bones should act like feet, you shouldn’t be tilted forwards on your tiptoes and you shouldn’t tilt backwards on your heels and both feet should have even weight through them with the ability to lift and move then independently when asking for certain aids.
If one side is stronger than the other, we will sit wonky to help rebalance ourselves. Most people are right handed meaning their right side is usually stronger, the rider would then sit to left as they need more body weight on that side to make up for the weakness in that side, which then draws the right leg upwards, giving you the feeling that your right foot is reaching for the stirrup. The horse will change the way it moves to counterbalance the rider. In this case the horse is most likely going to find bending to the right harder as the rider's weight is shifted to the left.
How dysfunction can spread...
Gluteus medius dysfunction can cause implications in other muscles as they compensate for the weakness….
The iliopsoas (core muscles) have to work harder to cope with the lack of pelvic stability causing tightness.
The quadratus lumborum (lower back muscle) can become tight causing altered breathing mechanics due to its relationship with the diaphragm.
The tensor fascia latae, piriformis and IT band can become tight.
The tracking of the patella (kneecap) can become misaligned causing knee pain.
The biomechanics of the shoulders and neck can change.
The horse can almost mirror this... he won't be able to lift and carry your weight evenly so his back will hollow, his core muscles will weaken, his hind end will disengage and his weight will go towards his forehand causing shoulder and poll issues.
A crooked man walks a crooked mile and so does his horse...
When we put more weight to one side we restrict movement. When a horse is crooked, it puts more weight through one shoulder compared to the other. This means on the side it puts its weight through the legs can only take a restricted step but on the other side it can take a bigger step. If you imagine walking with a walking stick and putting your weight through it, you can only take a tiny step on the stick side but a large step with your other foot. Horses are naturally one sided too, over time if this is not corrected, they will develop asymmetries. This can cause tension through the back, hindquarters, shoulders and poll.
The most expensive thing you’ll buy for your horse that never fits!
Saddle fit is really important for both horse and rider. If the saddle is unbalanced it will unbalance the rider and the horse and both will end up compensating in order to restore balance. The saddle is a static piece of equipment between two moving things, over time the saddle will mold to the shape of the horse and rider and make itself unbalanced. So it is important to constantly check the fit and condition of the saddle.
A few ways to check for imbalances?
Get your saddle fit checked to make sure it is well balanced with even flocking. If the horse is wonky, shim pads can help balance the fit while you work on the horse's asymmetry.
Evaluate your horse from above and see if he looks straight through his spine. Are his shoulders level? Are his muscles even on both sides? Does he have a strong preference for a certain rein? Does he fall in on one side on the lunge and fall out on the other rein?
Do they only pull off a front shoe on one side?
Get footage of yourself riding and look to see if your shoulders and hips are level with an equal distance between the two.
Check your stirrup leathers to see if they are even.
Look in the mirror and raise one leg, do you drop towards one side? This can indicate a weak gluteus medius.
Sit on your hands and feel your seat bones, do they feel level and with even weight through them?
Ride without stirrups or bareback (if safe) and see where your weight goes and how balanced you are.
You can see how the rider can cause asymmetry in the horse and vice versa. Horse and rider asymmetries can easily mirror each over time and if you only ride a certain horse it becomes harder to evaluate each others imbalances. Straightness and balance needs to be continually worked on as so many factors can affect it. Physiotherapy and exercises can help identify and release tight muscles and strengthen weak ones in both horse and rider. Horses can really benefit from groundwork and ridden exercises as well as physiotherapy. Please get in touch for more information.