Release Your Grip
on your horses back
A shorten of the inner thigh muscle is a problem for your horse. The inner leg is active and overworked from riding horses, therefore this smaller muscle becomes stiff and less elastic. As the area shortens, there’s pressure places onto the horses topline and can cause some serious tension issues. Muscle that is more elastic operates better on top of a horse!
Horseback riders work their inner leg more so than other sports and that causes knee, ankle and lower back issues over time. Sitting on a horse will do that and there’s a wonder why most equine body therapist say that the horses all are sore along their Latissimus.
We must develop an inner thigh that can operate in full range of motion; long and lengthen around the horse yet dense for stability.
STRETCH 3-4 DAYS A WEEK
STRENGTH TRAIN THE HIP ADDUCTOR 1-2 DAYS A WEEK
LENGTHEN THE INNER THIGH BY PUSHING THE KNEE DOWNWARD AWAY FROM YOUR HIP
Keep reading to view a couple of my favorite exercises to help gain both length and strength along the inner thigh muscle groups.
THE SIDE LUNGE
Step to the outside with one leg and rotate the knee and toes outward to 45 degrees. Make sure to widen your stance. Step further away! Hold a free weight in each hand or do the exercise without any weight.
Drop the hips downward to the ground low to best engage the seat muscles, almost so that the turned out thigh is near parallel to the ground.
With the opposite hand/weight as the leading leg, reach across the body and down towards the ankle. Slowly raise back upright and continue to lower into lunge with a reach for 12-15 reps before switching to the other side.
THE SIDE KICK
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, holding free weights or nothing at all. The first action is to lean your torso away from the kicking leg. Now lift the foot off the ground as you tuck the foot up under near the back of your thigh. Keep your balance and I like to have my arms bent.
Now kick out to the side!
Strike through the heel of your foot and be careful you do not rotate the toes up to the sky. Extend the leg out to the side, keep your balance and pause . Slowly lower leg down to the ground and straighten your torso as you stand straight up. Repeat on one side or alternate legs for a duration of 30-45 seconds.
- KEEP TOES POINTED FORWARD.
- FACE THE CORE FORWARD
- HANDS AND ARMS BENT BY THE SIDES OF YOUR CORE
- USE THE SAME ACTION IN THE SADDLE TO RELEASE THE INNER THIGH, JUST MINIMAL OUTWARD KICK AND NO LEANING IN THE SADDLE.
