HOPE GLYNN: Hi, I'm Hope Hobday Glynn,
Team SmartPak rider.
And on today's episode of Ask A Trainer,
Lauren wrote in and was talking about
that she's having a hard time.
Her horse has a round jump and she's having
difficulty keeping her leg down over the top of the jumps.
So we're gonna give you some exercises today,
Lauren, and the rest of you that are maybe having
a hard time keeping your leg down on how better to strengthen
your lower leg position,
as well as stay with the horse that has a great jump.
As far as exercises that can help strengthen your lower
leg and also keep your lower leg down if you're having
a hard time keeping your leg down over the top of the jumps,
the first place you have to start is on the flat.
And of course,
I'm a big proponent of doing no iron work at home
because a stronger lower leg for sure is going to keep
you more grounded,
more centered in the tack and your lower leg down.
So Avery is my demonstrator today —
my daughter — and we do a lot of work at home,
not only on the flat but on a lunge line
with and without our irons.
So as she's flatting around after the horse is loosened up,
she's going to do some posting trot without her irons
she's going to do some sitting trot
without her irons and she's gonna do some
canter without her irons.
And as you get stronger you can do more posting and more canter.
But even if you start out just with your leg
down at the sitting trot,
getting the strength you need is by far the biggest thing
you can do to keep your leg down across the top of the jump.
Then what you need to do is work your way up to exercises
in your two point.
So for me she's gonna do exercises at home
without her irons but then what I'm going to work
on next for her or my other students is to do
lots of two point.
So Avery is going to show you two point at the trot
and then she's going to do transitions in her two point.
So she needs to go from two point at the trot to two point
at the canter without sitting.
She needs to go from two point at the canter to two
point at the trot without sitting.
And it sounds easy but it's harder than it looks.
Two point at the trot.
And then watch her lower leg.
It stays in the same position and she's going to have
to use something other than her seat to get
the horse to canter.
So she's gonna use her voice as an aid and her lower leg.
And canter. Without sitting back down.
And the leg is at a perfect position.
Her toes are out a little bit for me but her leg needs
to be right next to the girth especially
the inside leg and the outside leg stays
just slightly behind the girth. For this video,
we're doing it on a circle but clearly you can do it out
using the whole ring. As she comes through the turn,
she's going to go from canter to trot without sitting using
your voice stretching her outside shoulder back
and one of the things you should think
of is if you're constantly losing your leg behind
you oftentimes it's because the front of your
body gets out ahead of you.
So think about it if you took your horse out you want to land
nice and balanced on your heels.
So the horse wasn't here across the top of the jump
I should still have a nice line and even weight
balance in the balls of my feet.
So by practicing your two point and not letting your body get
too far forward you're practicing your weight
where it needs to be across the top of the jump.
And honestly,
most of the problems that happen over the jumps —
even a horse with a round jump — can be fixed on the flat.
So we're gonna start by working without our irons.
We're going to start by doing transitions in our
two point on the flat,
and then get your trainer to take you out and put
you on a lunge line over some jumps to start.
First you're going to start by holding the reins
and then you can start by having your hands on your
hips or even your hands up over your head and doing
it without your reins having to jump,
lots of little jumps staying in your heel,
will really establish a good leg position.
So bringing your upper body up without opening your hip angle,
keeping your hip angle closed,
keeping your shoulders up and your leg down
while we do these exercises. So let me get the lunge line.
So we've been working
on the lunge line a bit,
Avery and I. At this point in the lesson.
We've evolved to the fact that now she can jump
a little cavaletti with her hands on her hips
without the use of the reins.
So of course this isn't how we start.
We start with our hands on the reins and then work
up to the point of jumping with our hands on our hips.
It's a great exercise.
Not worrying about being perfect for the jump,
but being perfect with our leg. Great.
And you can also evolve to bring your hands up above your head.
So let's bring your hands up.
It doesn't matter long or short.
What you want to do is keep your leg down.
It's a great exercise.
Go from your hands up to your hands out. Good,
hands on your side one more time.
If you need to on the other side sit down a few strides.
If you're strong enough, keep in your two point.
And then hands out. Good, keep them higher.
Also a great exercise.
Get your arms stronger and your abs.
Pull your belly button towards your core.
And hands back on your hips and grab your reins and walk.
So when you're doing
this exercise make sure
you've taken the time
to work up to this step.
First get used to doing lunge line lessons
which is great for any lower leg position.
Then work up to jumping with your hands on the reins.
Then work up to jumping without your hands on the reins
and make sure at all times,
safety is your number one priority.
And then have fun.
You will get a better position and your legs
will learn to stay down.