Can’t keep my feet in my stirrups!!

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EquineAddicted

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Hi,
For some unknown reason I continually lose my stirrups/ my feet slide around all the time when riding, especially in canter.

I also have a terrible habit of sticking my toes out (my instructor calls it ‘penguin feet’) so I don’t think that helps at all.

I’m so frustrated with myself, I’ve been riding for almost 10 years and still look like a right mess, how do I stop my feet going all over the place???
 
Are you tending to grip with your knees in canter rather than focusing on your deep seat and lower leg? Provided the stirrups are not just simply too long for you you maybe need to refocus on heels down motion. Have you tried stirrupless?
 
You’ll have replies from far more experienced posters, but for what it’s worth I had the same problem intermittently. I realised I was unknowingly tensing my legs so they shortened. So whenever it happened I jettisoned the stirrups and rode without until my legs relaxed and lengthened, then went back to the stirrups. Worked for me. Good luck!
 
equi said:
Are you tending to grip with your knees in canter rather than focusing on your deep seat and lower leg? Provided the stirrups are not just simply too long for you you maybe need to refocus on heels down motion. Have you tried stirrupless?
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I’ve tried pretty much everything, I do think I grip too much with my knees, it’s a bad habit I’ve picked up from being such a nervous rider I think 🙈
 
EquineAddicted said:
I’ve tried pretty much everything, I do think I grip too much with my knees, it’s a bad habit I’ve picked up from being such a nervous rider I think 🙈
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Foetal crouch - we tend to curl up when we feel unsafe, folding from the hip. Are your toes all scrunched up?
 
I think the only real way to fix it (I'm sure most of us have been there - I know I have!) is lunge lessons. Lots of them. I've been through a couple of phases in my adult riding life of having a weekly lunge lesson with a good instructor who had some understanding of biomechanics. They'll be able to identify where you are tightening up and unpick the issues until you can keep your legs vaguely where they're supposed to be.

I still have sticky-out toes though!!!!
 
It happens to me, sometimes, too. It means that being able to find the stirrup and get my foot back into it while at a canter is a good skill to learn.

Our instructor has us do exercises without stirrups.

First, we ride around for the warm up, going from a fast walk to a trot to a gentle canter with our stirrups.

Then after a while, we do some work without the stirrups: seated trot, rising trot, canter.

I get the sensation that my legs are about two inches longer after that, and my feet stay in the stirrups much better.
 
I agree about riding without stirrups but also check the length of your stirrups and the position of the stirrup bar - on some saddles your stirrups and legs are never going to feel correct together because the stirrups hang in the wrong place/at the wrong angle.
 
aside from all the very good tips above....ive never managed to lose my jin stirrups, even when the horse has been doing absolute acrobatics underneath me!!
 
worth also thinking about the soles of your boots. I generally don't have an issue but I have a pair of leather soled boots and when they are very dry it's like having glass on the bottom of your feet! all the no stirrups in the world is no help then :p
 
Interestingly, I’ve never had a problem losing stirrups. I recently swapped to sprengers for comfort and love them. As I got a new saddle, I put my sprengers on my dressage saddle and am riding in my old stirrups in my GP for hacking and general merriment. My feet were slipping out of them constantly! Very odd, as I’d never had that before!

Needless to say I am investing in another pair of sprengers...
 
A friend has the same problem - she changed saddles & the one she has now has altered her whole position so she has a much better seat & feet are no longer sticking out as much 😊
 
Not sure if this would help. My coach has me ride without stirrups but with my legs in the right position, and then she put a $20 between my calf and Sugar's side, the aim being I don't loose it! I found that my lower leg was more engaged and less gripping with knees.
 
Your stirrups are too long or your legs are too short! Or, put slightly more helpfully, the length you have your stirrups is not commensurate with the depth and stability of your seat (and therefore of your legs). You need to work on your seat to ensure it is balanced and stable so you don't feel the need to tense your legs up. In the meantime (in between the no stirrups bits this inevitably entails) shorten your stirrups to a length at which you can consistently keep your legs still and your weight in your heels. It will also help to spend some time balancing yourself over your feet and heels, just stand in the stirrups for a few strides at a time, first in walk and then building up to trot and canter to rebalance and ensure your weight is down and legs not gripping up, then slowly sit again and see how long you can keep the "deeper" feeling, and repeat, and repeat. Riding in a forward seat in canter will also help you balance over the stirrups.
 
OP, I started losing my stirrups for some reason after I started riding again after having my first child. I dont know what sort of stirrups you have, but I used to use traditional bent leg irons which were quite heavy so I changed to the lightweight kind (I use cheapo Shires ones) and immediately stopped losing them! So might be worth changing stirrups?
 
MagicMelon said:
OP, I started losing my stirrups for some reason after I started riding again after having my first child. I dont know what sort of stirrups you have, but I used to use traditional bent leg irons which were quite heavy so I changed to the lightweight kind (I use cheapo Shires ones) and immediately stopped losing them! So might be worth changing stirrups?
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Another vote for Shires Compositi - very comfy & supportive too 🙂
 
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