Is My Right Leg Shorter Than My Left Leg?    

Last Sunday, for my ride on Cider using my new Pegasus Butterfly saddle, I added both the ¼” and 3/16” bridging shims to my Contender II BOT/ThinLine pad.  This made the pad thicker, which meant Shannon had trouble getting Cider’s string girth to the bottom hole of the billet straps.  If we had used any girth but a mohair string girth we would have been in real trouble, but since the string girth has some stretch to it Shannon finally got the girth buckled to the billet straps. 

When I started riding, the first thing I noticed is that my stirrups still felt like there was a hole difference between right and left, so the shims gave me the same feeling on both Bingo and Cider.  The saddle still shifted some to the left, but with it shifting only half an inch it was a lot easier for me to keep the saddle centered.  I noticed that the saddle shifted more when I asked Cider to turn on her hindquarters, which she did better than before.  She strode forth freely at the walk, and when we trotted she also moved more freely.  I think that Cider, like Bingo, preferred the Contender II pad with the bridging shims to the Pegasus pad with shims in the center pockets. 

When I got off I asked Shannon’s opinion about my plan of adding one of the Pegasus pad shims (which is 1/8” thick) on top of the ThinLine shims and Shannon said that we would probably need a longer girth.  So I ordered another 48” string girth from Dover, and I hope it gets here today for my ride on Cider tomorrow, if it does not get here Shannon and I will figure something out, we do have the adjustable girth that we can use temporarily until the better and more comfortable girth comes in.

I went ahead and added a Pegasus “rubbery” shim on top of the ThinLine shims in the Contender II pad for my lesson on Bingo on Wednesday.  I brought out Bingo’s 48” girth as well as him 46” girth, but we managed to get him girthed with the 46” girth though it was a bit tight at first.  Bingo seemed quite pleased to have the Back on Track poll cap, saddle pad, exercise sheet and hind exercise boots on for my ride.  It was in the 30’s F with a wind blowing so I also used another exercise sheet over the BOT exercise sheet to cut the wind.  When I mounted Bingo the first thing I noticed is that the saddle felt a little “perched” on his back, but that did not seem to bother Bingo at all.  He gave me, with minimal leg aids, an impulsive, striding out walk.  His trot also showed true impulse, and I was rating him a little bit when he got a little too enthusiastic with going faster.  Debbie was not yelling at me about Bingo being inverted and he kept good contact with the bit.  Unfortunately my right stirrup STILL felt a hole longer than my left stirrup, but the saddle only shifted a half inch to the left and it was easy for me to get the saddle back to center.  Except for feeling somewhat perched and my stirrups still feeling uneven I was quite pleased, I got more movement from Bingo with fewer, lighter leg aids than usual.

When I got home I pondered over WHY my stirrups still felt uneven.  Then I got an odd idea, and I checked it out by noticing how I stood.  When I stood I noticed that my left leg was carrying most of my weight and my right leg had minimal weight.  Could my left leg be longer than my right leg?  I asked my husband to measure my legs, he had me lie down, and guess what, my right leg measured a half-inch shorter than my left leg, the equivalent of a stirrup leather hole!

For my “homework’ ride on Friday I experimented with putting the Pegasus shim UNDER the ThinLine shims in the saddle pad.  I also made my left stirrup a hole longer than my right stirrup.  When I mounted I did not feel “perched” which was good, but Bingo moved less freely and I was back to using leg, leg, leg.  My legs could not decide what the proper length of the stirrup leathers should be, but they felt more even too me even though they looked uneven to someone on the ground.  Bingo did not seem to like having the extra shim under the ThinLine shims, he did not move as freely and I had to use more leg.  He essentially went back to moving like he did before, so I just do not think that he liked the new shim under the other ones.

Later on, when I thought back to see if I could remember this unevenness, and I realized since I mounted from the ground back then, and that my left stirrup leather would stretch enough so my legs felt more or less equal in length.  I had some trouble when the stirrup leathers were new, in fact I ended up punching many extra “half holes” in my stirrup leathers so I would end up feeling like both of my legs were even. 

So I will have to go to the doctor to see for sure if my legs are uneven and by how much.  This could be part of the reason why my balance is so bad when I just stand up; I start “swaying in the breeze” as my upper body sort of circles around over my feet.  When I stand with both legs locked I start listing to the right, and when I bend my left leg slightly I stop swaying from side to side and I start swaying forward and back.  Maybe I can get orthopedic shoes that will make my leg lengths even and I can see if that helps me keep my balance from side to side.  Then, when I get accurate measurements maybe I can save up and get myself some custom made paddock boots with a thicker sole on the right boot.  When I bought my first horse from Deerfield Horse Center, one of my teachers who had suffered from polio when young, ended up with one leg longer than the other, and she had one boot with a much thicker sole so she could be even in the saddle.  This worked for her quite well; she was a Morven Park graduate with a BHSI certificate (full instructor).

Tomorrow I will get to try the extra shim on Cider, on top of the other shims, so I can compare the results with Bingo.  It is wonderful for my seat that, by changing the pad to one with just one center pocket, that I got rid of the feeling that my right stirrup was three holes longer than my left stirrup.  It is a lot easier to keep my balance with just one hole difference!  I was SO ENCOURAGED by Bingo’s freer movement, I knew he could do it and his gaits were so pleasant when he strode forth!  And I love, love, love the fact that I can get my seat forward enough in the Pegasus Butterfly saddle so my weight is not bearing down on the weakest part of Bingo’s back.  His back felt free enough so he was crossing his hind legs properly when we did a turn on the forehand. 

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran