This week I wanted to go into a bit of detail on our stirrups as it’s something I get asked about a lot!
Stirrups help us to stay grounded, in balance, and secure in the saddle.
Firstly, the best way to determine stirrup length is by letting your leg hang long in the saddle and out of the stirrups. The bottom of the stirrup should be level with the ankle bone. This is a good position for dressage.
When your foot is in the stirrup, the bar of the stirrup needs to be perpendicular across your foot and resting at the ball of your foot.
It’s important not to have it at an angle as you’re much more likely to lose your stirrups.
When we’re in the saddle, we carry 80% of the weight in the seat. So the weight of the upper body is carried by the seat bones, and the weight of the legs is carried by the feet. We don’t want to carry any more than this 20% in our feet.
Some common mistakes people make with their stirrups are:
-Carrying too much weight in stirrups. This means the lower leg ends up jamming forward.
-Often at canter, I see people drawing their legs up, and this results in them losing their stirrups.
-When you lose a stirrup, lift your toe up and feel around until you find it and slide it back in.
-Don’t lean over and look down as you’ll throw your horse off balance.
Stirrup Length guidelines
- When we’re riding dressage, we ride longer than when we’re jumping (obviously) but also
- If you’re riding a smaller horse and have longer legs, we tend to ride a little shorter.
- Also, when riding a younger horse people like to ride a little shorter to have extra security.
If your stirrups are too long, you’ll…
- Find yourself having to reach for your stirrups.
- Have a hard time getting your leg on.
- Have to draw your leg up.
- Feel unstable in your legs and upper body at the posting trot
If your stirrups are too short, you’ll…
- Feel your knee against the thigh block
- Find your lower leg goes too far back
- Feel your upper body pitch forward.
- Post too far out of the saddle.
Have a look at the video where I demonstrate all this in more detail and let me know in the comments if you find it helpful!
Thanks for watching and happy riding!
