Dear Jessica, this is a continuation of something that we began discussing at one of your clinics. I was the auditor with the blue straw hat! You had been helping one rider who complained that her knees hurt all the time when she rode, and you linked this to her instructor telling her to twist her feet around so that her toes would point forward. You said that this wasn't the right way to change the foot position, and you went to do some work with the rider, but it was 3:00 and I had to go pick up my son from school so I missed the rest of it! Please, would you talk some more about that here? I'm another rider whose feet point out to the sides. I know better than to twist my feet in, but I'd really like to know why my feet don't hang straight the way some other riders' feet do, and also what I can do to make them hang more straight so that my toes will point forward. I've always been told in lessons and in judges' comments: Your toes are pointing out, or Don't point your toes out. But I never heard anyone say exactly why this is bad, except it doesn't look good. And nobody ever explained how it works, or what to do about it. I know not to twist my ankles, and I remember you said that this would eventually damage the rider's knees anyway. But could you maybe just catch me up on what happened after I had to leave??? I promise next time I won't have to leave and I won't miss a single word.
Catryn
Hi Catryn -- you're right about not twisting your ankles! Everyone has unique personal conformation, and some people "toe out" or "toe in" according to how their hips are formed, how tight their muscles and tendons are, how straight (or not) their leg bones are, and -- surprise, surprise -- on how they walk, sit, and move during the 23 hours each day that they are NOT riding a horse. On horseback, it's not really essential that your toes point straight forward. Yes, it creates a pleasing picture, but at what cost?
Apart from the aesthetic consideration, there's really only ONE reason to worry about toes that point out, and that is FUNCTION. If your toes are pointing out because you have rolled your legs away from the saddle, you've lost the inside-leg contact that is so essential to good riding, and instead you'll find yourself riding off the back of your leg.
Glance down at your legs when you're sitting comfortably in the saddle: never mind your toes, just look at thighs and knees, and feel your calves against the horse. If your inner thighs are resting comfortably against the saddle, your knees are pointing forward, and you can feel the inside (not the backs) of your calves against the horse's sides, then your foot position/angle isn't going to be cause for concern whether your toes point straight ahead, out at 5 degrees, out at 10 degrees, or whatever their natural angle may be.
If, when you glance down, you can see your saddle and the inside of your thighs and knees, and you can feel the BACK of your calves against the horse's sides, you need to turn your leg IN against the horse -- but not because your feet will be sticking out at right angles to the horse's sides (although that's where they will be). You need to turn your leg IN so that you can have an effective leg! The way to do it, though, is to turn it from the hip, which means rotating the thighs from the hip. Did you ever take ballet? Riding "turn in" is exactly the opposite of ballet turn-out. ;-) You may find that you are stiff in the hips, have tight hip adductors, and need to do stretching exercises on or off the horse to get your legs ready to "assume the position". Do it -- it's worth it. When your legs are draped on the saddle, and your contact is inner thigh, inner knee, and inner calf, you'll find that (by magic!) your toes are pointing in as forward a direction as they CAN point without stressing your ankles, knees, or hips.
Jessica
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