Heels Down!

A thing that all horse riders hear their instructors yell at least once is "HEELS DOWN!!" Having your heels down and toes up is seen as quite important in the horse riding world. However, there are some flaws in the saying, which I'll be explaining further down in the post.

First off: why should you keep your heels down?
When you are on a horse, it is important to keep some of your weight in your stirrups. This is because if all your weight is in your seat, if your horse spokes or moves suddenly it is easy to slip right off and hit the ground. However, if your weight is in your feet, it is easier to move with the horse and follow its movements, thus staying on. When you have a good flow of weight down your legs into your feet, it anchors you to the saddle and creates a more secure position. However, because of your stirrups are on the balls of your feet, your toes can't move down with the weight. This is why your heels go down- because your weight is lowering it.

Picture from flickr.com

But there are some things wrong with this.
It is not the concept in itself that is wrong, but the way that people are taught it. "Heels down heels down heels down heels down heels down" is often drilled into people's minds as soon as they start riding, and this causes people to just shove their heels down instead of actually letting their weight lower their heels. This can cause a few problems, namely that by doing this you don't actually have a correct flow of weight. 
Another problem people have is that when they are constantly told to put their heels down, they actually put their heels so far down that it gives them an incorrect leg position. when your heel is too low, your leg tends to come forward, which can result in a chair seat. You should be able to draw a vertical line from your hips to your heels.

What to do if you're having trouble keeping your heels down.
There are several things that could be stopping you from getting your heels down.
1. You just can't get your weight to sink down into your heels.
This was a problem for me, and it took few years for me to finally get my heels down and a steady seat, so if you're also having trouble getting it, don't be discouraged. Unfortunately these problems can't be fixed overnight, and it takes patience and time in the saddle to perfect them. 
Something you can try is when you get on a horse, stand up in your stirrups and let all your weight just go down into your feet. You should feel your heels go down on their own accord. This puts your leg in the correct position. Sit back down and try and keep that position and feeling when you ride.
A common problem that people have that keeps them from putting their heels down is knee gripping. Knee gripping is never a good idea as it creates a pressure point and disrupts the weight flowing to your heels. If you're tensing any part of your leg, that could also disrupt the weight flow. If this is your problem, try and keep your legs and the rest of your body relaxed and supple to allow your weight to flow into your heels.

 2. Your heels physically can't go down because of inflexible ankle muscles
Some people have naturally inflexible heels, making it hard and even painful for their heels to go down. For your weight to flow into your heels, it is essential to have a nice, relaxed and supple ankle. To achieve this, there are a few exercises that you can do.

• The stair exercise: This is a well known exercise where you stand with your toes on the edge of a staircase and let your heels drop. You can also touch your toes while in this position to further advance the stretch. Hold for longer and longer time periods until you can drop your heels without feeling any pain.

  

  Staircase exercise, pic from webmd.com

• Lunge: keeping your two feet parallel, bring your right leg forward and bend your knee. Make sure your left leg is straight and your heel is touching the floor. You should feel a stretch in your left Achilles tendon. If you can't feel the stretch, put your feet further apart. 

An important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if your heels aren't noticeably down, as long as your weight is in them. So if your problem is inflexible ankles, don't stress yourself too much if you still have a steady leg and you're not losing your stirrups.

Picture from wall.alphacoders.com

Well that's all I have to say :) I hope you learned something from this post and are able to better understand one of the most well-known sayings in the horsey world.

Rachel.