For years when I rode my low back would end up just killing me. I thought it was the price you pay to ride, but Leslie realized I was hyper-extending and arching my back. So, I tried to fix that, but I was going at it all wrong. I was trying to slouch/hunch and that ended up freezing my hip so I couldn’t swing through with the horse’s motion.
And when the hip is frozen I ended up gripping with my thighs and my knees, and all that tension made my tempi changes (flying lead change) late or square, and when I was tense Vento’s piaffe and passage were also very flat and throttled down.
So, last week my coach said to me — Don’t try to shove your hip forward using your back muscles. Think of lifting your pubic bone and keeping your core on. OMG, it’s like a miracle. Suddenly I can swing, my thigh and knee have relaxed and my back doesn’t hurt.
Leslie also said that our bodies mirror the horse’s body and vice versa. If we are stiff they set their back against us, and if we don’t use our core, they won’t lift their bellies and use their cores as well. The horse’s back can’t swing if my back and hip aren’t swinging.
I still don’t have it fully set in muscle memory yet, but it is coming.
