It’s August! Can you believe it? This summer is flying right by. And the first few days of this month have already been a whirlwind – a hot, sticky whirlwind! Let’s face it, any riding we do on 100 degree August afternoon will probably be a bit slower than usual. So why not make a little extra use of those slower rides and challenge yourself to ride stirrupless for 10 minutes? No matter of age, level or discipline absolutely every rider can benefit from riding without stirrups. Whether you have been all horses all the time this season, or have been sidetracked by the myriad of other summer activities, this is a good time to recheck our seat and position.
We have stirrups for a reason, why practice without them?
Stirrups are quite useful to us on a horse, offering something to step on to steady ourselves side to side when things get a little bumpy. However, stirrups all too easily become a crutch relied on for all security in the saddle. Because we are accustomed to feeling pressure on our feet standing and walking every day of our life, we tend to seek that in the stirrup. When we feel pressure on our feet, we commonly mistake that for either security or pressure applied to the horse. We need to purposely be trained to recognize what the horse is receiving, not just what we feel. Simply put, the horse can’t feel what the saddle feels, and we need to know the difference.
Riding stirrupless makes us re-orient to using our seat and legs more completely and actually in communication with our horses. All of riding starts from your seat. Soft, steady hands come from good balance and connection through the seat. The rider with secure seat and soft hands will develop very good feel and timing and earn their horse’s trusting cooperation. In short, all progress and success come from the seat.
How does pushing on the stirrups disrupt my seat?
For starters, pushing on our stirrups causes us to push our legs forward and off the horse’s sides. With no leg contact, we can’t give leg cues. As for our seat, take the two-point or jumping position for example. Or, if you are not familiar with these, just stand up in your stirrups. When you push on your stirrups you lift out of the saddle. Even if you don’t stand all the way up, just pushing against your stirrups can’t help but lighten your seat in the saddle as well as stiffening your legs making it impossible to follow the horses’ movement. All in all, pushing on the stirrups leads to “perching” above the horse and tension in your legs, seat and lower back.
What does tension mean to a horse?
Tension makes a rider much harder to carry because they don’t flow with the movement of the horse. Quiet natured horses will read tension as resistance and may not want to move at all. A tight back makes our arms tighten which leads to tightness and/or snatching on the reins. You may see horses toss their head in protest to such the tension on their backs and mouths. Many more sensitive horses read all that tension as either pressure or fear, causing them to want to escape the situation. In short, tension makes “whoa-oriented” horses want to stop, and “go-oriented” horses want to go faster or otherwise move in more dramatic ways to escape the pressure.
The other huge reason to be comfortable riding stirrupless
So, when unexpected things happen on your horse, what’s the first thing that happens? Guaranteed, it’s that you lose at least one stirrup – and maybe a rein too (more on that another day). Imagine your horse spins and begins to bolt because a deer jumped in the trees next to you on a trailride. Or you are in the middle of your jump course at the show and the yappy little dog outside the arena under the already spooky umbrella starts barking. Your horse of course relocates himself ten feet to the left all in one step.
In either case you have likely lost a stirrup. And your horse isn’t inclined to just stop and stand calmly while you reach down with your hand to perfectly place your foot. If you haven’t practiced stirrupless, you are likely already not on your horse anymore. But if you are competent without stirrups you keep riding your horse into a calmer mindset while you are fishing for your stirrup on the fly, preparing for the potential round two of the explosion.
Conclusion
Even if you are a beginner and only comfortable walking without stirrups, do it. If your horse is green, let them get used to your legs touching him and the stirrups swinging. – Maybe make sure he’s worked down a little first. Be wise about what you do without your stirrups. I’m not suggesting you gallop your horse across the field stirrupless (unless of course that is your true riding level), but try to drop those stirrups where it feels safe a little bit every ride this month. If you’re not sure what might be level-appropriate ways to try adding in some stirrupless work you can click here for a general rider education curriculum. At the stirrupless challenge is a good pop quiz to check that you are able to operate similarly with or without your stirrups, at least for normal activities, and are not accidentally coming to rely on them.
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