Loose hips for riding

I've got an impinged hip joint which started to really aggravate towards the end of my teens and gets particularly bad if I'm not keeping fit and bendy! Basically there is too much bone around the joint which pinches my hip flexor muscle and can be quite painful. As I danced through my childhood and into my early teens I was really strong and the muscles around this area protected the problem. However since then or at least in comparison I've become a slob, stopped growing and my hips have stiffened.

Not an ideal back story for an equestrian then. Everything you do in the saddle relies on loose and open hips which aren't tight or constricting. Sitting trot is almost impossible with tight hips and it also causes me to stop lengthening my leg.

I'm sure lots of riders have hip and lower back problems it's a really common complaint (or so the physio/oesteopath/chiroprator tell me!) so here are some ideas you could explore to help open up your hips. I've tried all of them and they've worked with varying results as long as I'm committed.

1. Yoga (but avoid forward bends if you do have an impingement)

Esther Ekhart is a life saver for me and got me into yoga a year or so ago. I'm no where near a novice but still very much a fledgling beginner and have found this beginners yoga series invaluable. Just take it easy and do what you can. Never cause pain. Try her 5 part series on youtube and just start of with part 1 for beginners and add on the other parts as you progress.

If you are benefitting from Esthers beginners programme try out this link for a more specialist approach to specific equestrian poses. Yoga for equestrians has got me out of a few sticky (hip) situations when I've ceased up after an intense 1 hour private lunge lesson and needed to be able to function as a human being at work the next day.

2. Breathing

Obviously you have to breathe when you're on a horse. Well if you'd been present at my recent lesson where I turned red with concentration you would have thought I was training for some weird world record. I do hold my breathe when I'm riding either because I'm tense or stupid or perhaps i just like a challenge. Either way it's not a good idea and I find it tightens my hips even more.

If I take a moment to do some really deep breathing and imagine the breathe going down into my pelvis and hips it helps. It just does. Try it. Tell me if you notice a difference. I guess technically it is still yoga.

3. Stirrup length

This if you get it right helps immensely. It might be and I can't speak for everyone that your stirrups are too short. Mine were and lengthening them helped with the impinged joint. However you do need to be aware of the alignment with your heel hip shoulder. Have a play around with different lengths in front of the school mirror or ask your instructor to take photos but the main point is feeling the difference.


I am aware that there are going to be lots of muscle strengthening exercises out there and so on but these are the things I have tried and they have helped.

I'll keep you up to date on the loosening of my hips in future posts. Naughty! ;-)