Why Heels Should be Down When Horse Riding
Explaining a Common Problem for Beginner Riders
Sep 13, 2009
Heels creeping up represent a fault in the classic riding position and are a common problem for new riders. Your instructor wants you to get your heels down for a number of different reasons- and they may not seem immediately obvious, but each is important to riding correctly.
Helps You to Use Your Legs Effectively
Sitting at your computer right now, try putting your toe on the ground and bringing your heel right up. Now squeeze your calf muscle, at the back of your lower leg. Compare this to your calf muscle when you flex your heel and lower it- putting that on the floor instead of your toes. Feel how much harder it is this time? Having your heels down helps make your legs more solid and therefore stronger, that is something firm, not soft and floppy, to push against your pony or horse with, making your signals far clearer and more effective.
Shows That Your Legs are Relaxed
Your instructor wants to see a long, relaxed leg hanging right down on each side of your pony. If you are tensing and gripping up with your knees or even your thighs, your heels tend to give this away by coming up, with your toes pointing to the floor. If you are having problems with your heels and you think muscle tension and gripping might be a cause, take a deep breath during your lesson and try to let your legs relax right down, limp and soft, without worrying too much about where exactly your toe or your heel is. Resolving the gripping issue is more important than worrying about your foot and your foot position will automatically start to improve if you can become more relaxed. Riding without stirrups, even just in walk, is another technique that will help you to be more secure and comfortable in the saddle and get you used to letting your legs hang right down. It can be uncomfortable work, and you will probably need to build up the amount of no-stirrup work you do gradually, but it’s great for helping your position as a whole.
Means Your Weight is Correctly Placed
Your heels being down help to indicate that your weight is correctly distributed, since it should not all be in the saddle- it should also be carried by the balls of your feet in the stirrups. When you take your weight off the horses’ back, even for a moment, in rising trot for example, your leg should stay stable. You should not be fully switching the weight from the horse’s back, into your legs, and then back again, which will make your leg swing about, and your heels tilt upwards.
Do not just force your heel down, which will be ineffective and cause tension. Instead always try and feel that you are sharing the weight of your body equally between the three points of contact, the seat of the saddle and the two stirrups. Press the balls of your feet into the stirrups- your heel will automatically hang lower than your toes. Try standing a little in your stirrups as often as you can- you should be able to keep your leg underneath you as you lift yourself out of the saddle. Your leg is your security- your heels being down are simply a sign of a firm and secure leg position.
As your progress and your balance and stability improve you will often find yourself carrying more of your weight in your stirrups than in the saddle, for example, in jumping (‘two point’) position when your weight is off the horse’s back altogether and entirely in the stirrups.
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