Our feet: We put them in pretty boots, buy lovely stirrups ... then promptly forget about them.

Working with so many wonderful riders from so many lovely barns, the greatest commonality I've run into at each new clinic is that most riders have no connection to their feet.

When I start with a client, the first thing I typically observe is their feet -- how well are they holding you up, how well are they propelling you through your own gait, what they do when your focus stays on anything else for a few moments. Feet are so important because they keep us grounded, create the square base of our box, and allow us to propel ourselves up and forward.

So why do we never think about them while in the saddle?

Maybe we only think about them in relation to how toed-out or toed-in we are. Riders often try to correct the foot from the ankle, so it’s almost impossible to truly know where we stand (or sit) if we can’t connect to our feet.

Most hip and leg issues are come from your feet. For example, if you have fallen arches it’s very hard to get the inner thighs to engage. Correspondingly, it’s difficult to get the outer thigh to lengthen and the hip to truly open in the saddle. Instead of trying to fix it up higher, we must look to the foot.

Simple exercises to awaken the feet can make a world of difference in how well you sit and power-up your horse. The following are a few to help awaken your connection to your feet and strengthen those intrinsic muscles, click the links to follow along with the videos:

After these exercises, try taking the new awareness into the saddle. Create a new, well-balanced relationship with your stirrups. Ask yourself if can you stay equally weighted in the saddle through a corner and/or in a lateral movement. Start creating this internal conversation with yourself during your rides. You’ll see a marked improvement in the balance of your seat as your feet grow stronger and more connected to the rest of your body.