101 Ways to Improve Your Riding:
Seat Posture & Balance

10 Best Tips to Improve the
Rider's Shoulders

16.     VISUAL TRAINING & VISUALISATION:  Quick, easy tips...

Could you ever imagine a ballet dancer not looking in the mirror in training? A mirror or a set of eyes on the ground are your greatest training tools.

The first three things we looked at in our shoulders can be easily fixed by riding in the mirror.

Horse on the Forehand?  Are you Round Shouldered?

Horse cutting corners, falling in, lost line?: Is one shoulder lower to the ground?

Horse Crooked?:  Is one shoulder more forward?

In our 'Quick Test' and the 'Quick Fix' you can also see how a mirror can help you there!

Quick Test: On which shoulder do you carry your handbag?

Quick Fix:  How does your show jacket fit?

 Some things mirrors can't do 

1. Your "vision" makes you round shouldered!
   Do it now...sit up straight at your computer.  Uncross your legs.  Look up, and see how your shoulders fall back nicely into place.
   
   Then, LOOK DOWN (like riders do!) and then see what happens to your shoulders!   Just 'looking up' improves round shoulders, which improves on the forehand - just by a change in your vision!

2. Something we can see from the ground when the rider tips forward (and flops into a round shoulder position) is that the front of the heart rate monitor would be lower than the back.   Or, the front of the bra lower than the back.  When the chest drops, the shoulders slop forward.

3. If you ride straight towards the mirror - you can see if the left or right side of the heart rate monitor is closer to the ground...which means that shoulder is lower.

4. Here's a fun one.   For many years I have had riders hold little sticks in their hands to remind them to follow the rule book when it says "thumb must be the highest point".   Recently I had a very round shouldered & twisted rider put the little sticks under each armpit.  She could immediately see that the sticks in the front pointed towards each other.   And, because she could SEE IT she could FIX IT.  Can't say "it didn't work" until you "give it a go..."

Copyright © 2005
[Colleen Kelly. Improve Your Riding ABN 76799531257].