Having proper rider biomechanics takes work—the same as any other aspect of riding and training. But developing better body awareness is a key initial step for riders to understand their physical strengths and weaknesses. Here, Stephany Fish Crossman, a LEVEL 3 Ride With Your Mind Accredited coach, biomechanics expert and dressage trainer, explains how it is relatively simple to become more aware of how your body works and feels by taking note of everyday tasks.

Q&A

Q: What exercises can riders do off their horses to help them improve their biomechanics in the saddle?

Susannah C., Maryland

A: That’s a wonderful question, Susannah. The first thing is: Just pay more attention to your body. After I broke my leg, I got back in the saddle as quickly as I could, and it never really occurred to me (this was pre-Mary Wanless) that I was not using my body parts the same. I would teach clinics and stand on my good leg with my other leg cocked out in front of me for 8 to 10 hours at a time, and then I would drive home and wonder why I was crippled the next day.

How you stand, how you sit, how you drive your car, all these things can become indicators of how your mechanics are going to end up in the saddle. Make sure that when you’re standing for long periods of time that you’re standing with your feet as equal as possible. Allow your knees and your hips to have a slight bend to them. Notice when you slide into the car, do you sit fully down in your driver’s seat, or are you still kind of partially slid in yet you’re driving the car down the road?

I’m pretty tall, and my husband always laughs at me when he gets into my truck because he has to move the seat back because he says I drive like a grandma. But I’m driving with all of my joints equally bent, except for my right foot which has to be pushing down on the accelerator or brake.

But that’s one of the biggest things we can all do by being more aware of our bodies. If you like to cross your legs, you probably don’t cross your legs equally in both directions. Let’s try this as an example. Everybody, cross your arms in front of you. Now you probably went to the place where you normally cross your arms. Now go the other way and cross with the other arm on top and feel how weird that feels. This is better biomechanics. So, it’s just noticing things like this.

I would love to say that I am a bilateral poop picker who can use both hands equally for the tasks, but it doesn’t happen. But sweeping and brushing your horse are other tasks you can practice doing bilaterally. I brush my horses with two brushes at the same time so that I’m really using both sides of my body. These are just things that everybody can become more aware of throughout their day.

Now, if you wanted to do something else, you could do any kind of activity that helps you use both sides of your body better. I am a huge proponent of yoga. The older you get, the stiffer things get, and yoga just helps keep that equal. It keeps your pulleys working so that your levers don’t seize up, but any kind of activity that helps you work both sides of your body is going to help you have better biomechanics in the saddle.

For More:

This Q&A is an excerpt from our Dressage Today+ Members-Only VIP Webinar: Rider Biomechanics 101.

Dressage Today+ members can watch the full recording of the webinar here. To sign up for Dressage Today+, click here.

For more articles with Fish Crossman, click here.

About Our Expert: Stephany Fish Crossman

Stephany Fish Crossman, who co-hosts the Dressage Today Podcast, began riding as a young girl in Maine and hasn’t gotten off a horse since. Besides a brief stint in the hotel industry, Fish Crossman has worked for and with trainers at all levels, from grassroots Pony Clubs to several different Olympians. She attended the former International Academy of Equestrian Studies in Warendorf, Germany, where she graduated with her National Trainer Certificate. She’s also a USDF bronze and silver medalist as well as one of only two LEVEL 3 coaches worldwide for Mary Wanless’ Ride With Your Mind Biomechanics System. She teaches clinics all around the country and runs a small training business, Serendipity Dressage, in Okeechobee, Florida.