Balance and losing stirrups

[JadeAlysha]

I’ve been having a bad problem lately with losing my stirrups and keeping my balance during sitting trot. I lose my stirrups the most when I transition from a rising trot to a sitting to so I can transition into canter. I believe it’s because I just pinch with my knees when going into sitting trot. And this then causes the horse to slow down so it’s harder for me to get into canter. I’ve been told to open my hips more but I find this quite difficult and I have trouble putting full weight into my stirrups.

I’ve ordered a Swiss yoga ball so I can practice on my balance but is there any tips and exercises I can do to help my balance both on and off the horse?

 

[paddi22]

lunge lesson with no stirrups would be brilliant, they would get you out of the habit of knee gripping.

there are specific yoga poses at well that help top open the knees

 

[SpringArising]

Are your stirrups short enough? You need to learn to keep your heels down in rising trot first.

 

[JadeAlysha]

Yeah I ride pretty short stirruped, mainly because I’m vertically impaired :haha: I take on an armchair position in rising trot sometimes though and this sometimes causes the stirrups to slip. I feel like I’m regressing more than progression it’s kind of embarrassing

 

[Annagain]

I'd do some work without stirrups and practice relaxing your legs down.

 

[tashcat]

Take the stirrups away completely - working on your balance and letting your legs stretch down. It will also stop you from being able to pinch at your knees. Are you keeping the stirrup on the ball of your foot and your heels down? Try to keep your transitions as fluid as possible.

An instructor is always helpful, no matter what stage of riding you're at

 

[poiuytrewq]

As an alternative but I found helpful idea, try standing in your stirrups a lot, just out hacking or whatever. At first I found it hard but after a while was able to do it for ages and it absolutely helped with my lower leg stability.-need to get back too it actually!
A jump instructor recommended it in place of no stirrups as my horse can be spooky hacking and I wouldn't feel too safe!

 

[Mike007]

Some horses do have a very upright action that can bounce you straight out of the irons. Irish draughts in particular. Also the irons can vary greatly in weight which affects how they move during a transition,so experiment. Another factor is :does the saddle fit the rider .We spend a fortune on saddles and ensure they fit the horse but does it fit the rider.(a straight quote from Yogi Breisner). They say a bad workman blames his tools but the opposite is also true. Bad tools lead to bad workmanship (but a good workman realises and does something about it)

 

[tristar]

agree with mike, some horses have an up and down movement, staccato is the word i think and it can apply to iberian horses and id, i notice it more when warming up and less when they swinging along later.

 

[shirl62]

Some horses do have a very upright action that can bounce you straight out of the irons. Irish draughts in particular. Also the irons can vary greatly in weight which affects how they move during a transition,so experiment. Another factor is :does the saddle fit the rider .We spend a fortune on saddles and ensure they fit the horse but does it fit the rider.(a straight quote from Yogi Breisner). They say a bad workman blames his tools but the opposite is also true. Bad tools lead to bad workmanship (but a good workman realises and does something about it)

Those are very good points and in the case of riding schools its a 'one size fits all ' Last week I was on a cob which I could swear had springs on his feet ( Zebedee from the Magic Roundabout came to mind for those of you old enough to remember him )

 

[shirl62]

Some horses do have a very upright action that can bounce you straight out of the irons. Irish draughts in particular. Also the irons can vary greatly in weight which affects how they move during a transition,so experiment. Another factor is :does the saddle fit the rider .We spend a fortune on saddles and ensure they fit the horse but does it fit the rider.(a straight quote from Yogi Breisner). They say a bad workman blames his tools but the opposite is also true. Bad tools lead to bad workmanship (but a good workman realises and does something about it)

Those are very good points and in the case of riding schools its a 'one size fits all ' Last week I was on a cob which I could swear had springs on his feet ( Zebedee from the Magic Roundabout came to mind for those of you old enough to remember him )

 

[JadeAlysha]

Thank you everyone who commented. I had a riding lesson today and my instructor told me about standing in my stirrups for balance and I didn’t lose them once! They went back a bit a few times but considering how much I used to lose them today was brilliant 😁 just keep trying and I’m sure I’ll be well balanced in no time!