The pelvis with the femur rolled in (right) allows the best anatomical position for riding.
Riding with your knees rotated outward (left) leads to a disruption of the pelvic balance
and precludes the development of really good riding technique.
How the Hip Works
Now let’s look at the pelvis from below. The twist of the
saddle is designed to push up into your pelvis so that
you can balance on your seat bones but let your thighs
hang down the sides of the horse. The idea is that the
thigh can stay relatively still while the pelvis moves with
the horse. The front-to-back motion of the horse is
absorbed by a subtle glide and roll of the ball-in-socket
hip joint. The up-down movement is absorbed by the
entire spine with the pelvis staying as close as possible to
the saddle as discussed above.
The top of the thigh (the head of the femur) connects to
the sides of the pelvis in a ball-and-socket joint.
Ligaments and muscles surrounding the joint direct and
control the way in which the ball can glide and roll in
the socket like a trailer hitch. There are a deep set of
muscles called the external rotators of the hip that
attach to the pelvis and to the top and back of the
femur. When these muscles contract, they turn the
whole femur and the knees outward. In the rotated out
position, small ligaments (see diagram C) in the front of
the hip joint are placed under passive tension, which in
turn restricts the glide and roll of the hip (trailer hitch).
Additionally, the bulk created by the contracted
external rotators of the hip in the knees-out position
raises the pelvis up off the saddle and interferes with
the desired deep following motion of the body. Even
worse, in the knees-out position, it is harder to let go
with your inner thigh, which is also necessary for a
deep, following seat. You can see how the small sin
of riding with your knees rotated outward leads to a
disruption of the pelvic balance and precludes the
development of really good riding technique.
Daily Practice
Developing a good seat is a long process. But if you
understand how your body works, you WILL LOOK
AT your riding with a more discerning eye. The combination of muscles used and the angles required of
the body is peculiar for the brain to master. It is
always wanting to direct you back to known patterns
of muscle employment. Beginner riders typically look
as if they are sitting on a barstool with legs and
knees ahead of them, toes turned out and heels in.
This is an instinctive posture but one which must
gradually be retrained into one of truly vertical and
stable balance.
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