Sitting crookedly on a side to side plane, back to front plane, or indeed, both at the same time makes true balance impossible. Discomfort and injury to horse and rider, plus slipping saddles, are just some of the resultant problems.

The typical ‘weak right leg’ syndrome is something that I can see in nearly all (right hand dominant) riders to a greater or lesser degree. It has taken some years of studying, riding and teaching, and ongoing training with biomechanic coaches like Mary Wanless, to finally decipher what is really happening in myself and to find a way to overcome it.

I have noticed that riders have a ‘hanging off side’ and a ‘pushing off side’. If they are right handed, and therefore right side dominant, their hanging off side is actually the left side. Looking at the left side of the rider from behind you will see they sit a little more over to the left and therefore the right seatbone is nearer to the midline of the saddle. The right leg, from the front or back, looks shorter and at a different angle, than the left. From the side view the left side looks to have a good shoulder, hip, heel alignment. However, it is fairly immobile but the back stays in neutral spine and the pelvis is held with seatbones pointing straight down. This does put the rider’s weight much more to the left of the saddle with predictable results of slipping further off left. There is also a C curve in the spine as the rider tries to counterbalance and lean right!

The left rein hand is often a little ‘blocky’ and can restrict the horse via the rein on that side but doesn’t always pull backwards. Its the right rein that often gets pulled backwards as the torso, which now has a slight twist, cannot stack up/balance above the pelvis on the right and collapses at the waist. I believe that it is the angle of the pelvis relative to the spine and weak muscles here that causes the problem on the right and the rider will often go from hollow backed to round backed on this side and the pelvis cannot be held stable. As a result the right seatbone points forward or back, not straight down, the right thigh cannot remain in contact with the saddle and rotates outwards. However, the right is often the ‘kicking’ leg.

To compensate, the right leg starts to grip, the knee and the heel come up and push the left side further off the side of the horse. This in turn pushes the right side of the pelvis backwards causing a chair seat on the right with the ‘bum’ back and foot forward so the leg and foot are not a stable base of support for the rider. The rider then gets left behind the movement and cannot stay in balance. The horse will often speed up out from under the rider and the rider will then try to fix balance, speed and bend with the inside hand. Legions of traditional riding teachers shouting ‘Give the inside rein!’ waste their breath as the rider simply cannot comply. The rider's weight tends to be on the front of the left seatbone with the left thigh being held too vertical to the ground. It then has to gripped to keep stable.

It is a complex combination of muscle use that is needed to resolve this problem and it does take some detailed explaining and demonstration to the rider.  If I am explaining this to riders, I need to show anatomical diagrams to educate them on their own body (as I had to myself) and also use a gymball to demonstrate balance and asymmetry.  To straighten up the rider I suggest breathing work using the diaphragm, the use of core strength, isometric use of muscles to stabilise, how to notice (kinaesthetic sense or ‘feel’) and use visualisations and feedback techniques.

When the major alignment and muscle tone problems have been addressed, at the core of the asymmetrical rider is the incorrect or lack of use of the iliopsoas muscle, also the muscles under the seatbones and their connections with the adductor muscles in the inner thigh. Bringing these up isometrically and pulling them forward so the bottom of the pelvis goes slightly forward and the top (iliac crest) falls back is often the final and most dramatic piece in the puzzle of an independent, balanced seat - but not in all cases!

Next time you ride, try to get a kind person to video you and see if you can diagnose this fault in yourself.