Stirrups to help my feet

JBM

JBM

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Hey guys!
So I have a tilted pelvis and I find it very hard to get my toes to point in
I’ve tried riding bareback/ no stirrups and I have lessons once a week but it’s not happening
I’m not gripping with my legs I just can’t seem to not look like a penguin
I walk with my toes pointed out a bit too
Is there any stirrups or leathers that can help me cheat a bit?
 
Pelvis tilted forward I presume. My toes have always pointed out too. Stirrups and leathers I havent found made any difference really, sorry.

Different saddles help or hinder but everything else that had improved for me has been off the horse. Barefoot shoes for the pelvic tilt, activate your seat exercises for hip flexibility, being aware of your breathing and diaphragm as you can hold tension in the core and be "gripping" without being gripping with your knees. I'm still a WIP so that's not a complete list lol
 
smolmaus said:
Pelvis tilted forward I presume. My toes have always pointed out too. Stirrups and leathers I havent found made any difference really, sorry.

Different saddles help or hinder but everything else that had improved for me has been off the horse. Barefoot shoes for the pelvic tilt, activate your seat exercises for hip flexibility, being aware of your breathing and diaphragm as you can hold tension in the core and be "gripping" without being gripping with your knees. I'm still a WIP so that's not a complete list lol
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Thank you!
 
kaiserchief said:
I love my Heather Moffett stirrups and they really do help my lower leg position and comfort. Because the eye is offset they automatically point forwards and the wide foot bed is comfortable and supportive.
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I might give them a try! I do find my ankles getting a bit sore on longer rides
 
Have a look at this or Google hip angle squats or similar. It explains how your conformation impinges on your squat position (which imo is similar to your riding position) and these isn’t a huge amount you can do to change that.

I can do a flat foot deep squat but my toes point out loads, which is how I looked on a horse. Oh how I envied people who had a natural good leg on a horse!

 
Spotherisk said:
Have a look at this or Google hip angle squats or similar. It explains how your conformation impinges on your squat position (which imo is similar to your riding position) and these isn’t a huge amount you can do to change that.

I can do a flat foot deep squat but my toes point out loads, which is how I looked on a horse. Oh how I envied people who had a natural good leg on a horse!

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I must ask my pt maybe if he can help but I think I do the exact same thing when I squat
Feels more balanced
 
Wider horses in find it toe out more which doesn't help when your pony is xw. I do find wider toe beds more comfortable but they don't find the problem as it comes from the hip/pelvis / knees.
 
I am the opposite. I have thin fine leather leathers and conventional narrow stirrups though my Sprengers have some flexibility (but not a lot) due to the sprung sides. The springs are to reduce wear on ones hips and knees so not just to assist in balance. The left stirrup and leather bears my full weight both mounting and dismounting but I have not had to relace a pair.
 
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My left leg splays outwards due to a combination of patella and ankle ligament issues, I have Flex-Ons with the incline and they definitely do help compared to normal stirrups treads
 
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You probably have outward facing hip sockets and nothing can change that, some riders will never get their toes truly forwards.

Lots of stuff already been said that will help, definitely off horse work (have a look at Equimech on YouTube and FB, Pilates at Blue House as well, both have enormous skillets).

Offset eye stirrups with the 90 degree slots are a good idea, see if you can try some before splashing out though the HM aren't horribly expensive.

Is the saddle your own? If it is its worth considering, at some point, having something that supports you better - and I mean supporting the pelvis in neutral, in comfort, no tension, and the saddle allowing the knee to drop, and ideally drop INwards a little, not big blocks, deep seat ...

If it's not then a thin seat saver (most are thick) with 5mm yoga mat added under it over the back of the pommel/twist, under your actual pubic arch, until it truly supports you would be something worth trying. I would also suggest 10mm padding under the rear tapered section of the skirts, behind the stirrup bar, to see if that helps. It can help support the adductor tendons/ligaments which turns off the external rotation, and drawing up of the leg, depending on your individual build and the shape of saddle and horse. It's very complex!
 
sbloom said:
You probably have outward facing hip sockets and nothing can change that, some riders will never get their toes truly forwards.

Lots of stuff already been said that will help, definitely off horse work (have a look at Equimech on YouTube and FB, Pilates at Blue House as well, both have enormous skillets).

Offset eye stirrups with the 90 degree slots are a good idea, see if you can try some before splashing out though the HM aren't horribly expensive.

Is the saddle your own? If it is its worth considering, at some point, having something that supports you better - and I mean supporting the pelvis in neutral, in comfort, no tension, and the saddle allowing the knee to drop, and ideally drop INwards a little, not big blocks, deep seat ...

If it's not then a thin seat saver (most are thick) with 5mm yoga mat added under it over the back of the pommel/twist, under your actual pubic arch, until it truly supports you would be something worth trying. I would also suggest 10mm padding under the rear tapered section of the skirts, behind the stirrup bar, to see if that helps. It can help support the adductor tendons/ligaments which turns off the external rotation, and drawing up of the leg, depending on your individual build and the shape of saddle and horse. It's very complex!
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Thank you! Saddle is my own and I can chat with my saddler, I’m currently riding in a jumping saddle which may not be the best?
 
JBM said:
I’m currently riding in a jumping saddle which may not be the best?
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It absolutely isnt. If you want your legs to relax and hang straight you cant have them forced into a bent knee position by the padding on a jump saddle. As an RS rider and sharer, I have to ride in whatever saddle I am given - currently a modern gp which would prefer my knees to be bent but doesnt prevent my riding with (my own) longer leathers and my legs straighter..

At a previous yard, a kind RI searched through their tack room and found a very ancient GP which was less shaped than a modern one and which suited me fine.
 
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JBM said:
I might give them a try! I do find my ankles getting a bit sore on longer rides
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See if you can borrow some to try. I rode a friends horse in the HM stirrups and suffered with horrendous cramp in my foot everytime. I have a weird pelvic (due to car accident etc), but the only stirrups I've found comfortable are cheap plastic composite ones.
 
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JBM said:
Thank you! Saddle is my own and I can chat with my saddler, I’m currently riding in a jumping saddle which may not be the best?
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Absolutely not. The biggest issue is stirrup bar placement, they are designed for your foot to be slightly in front of you, or very in front of you depending on its design, the former is better. The latter will make flatwork almost impossible for many riders, especially those without massive experience, strength and balance, and those who DO have those things are still having to use more muscle tension etc to cope which affects the horse.

Skib said:
It absolutely isnt. If you want your legs to relax and hang straight you cant have them forced into a bent knee position by the padding on a jump saddle. As an RS rider and sharer, I have to ride in whatever saddle I am given - currently a modern gp which would prefer my knees to be bent but doesnt prevent my riding with (my own) longer leathers and my legs straighter..

At a previous yard, a kind RI searched through their tack room and found a very ancient GP which was less shaped than a modern one and which suited me fine.
Click to expand...

The padding doesn't force a bent leg position, sorry to be pedantic but it's good to get these things right. As I say above, it's stirrup bar placement that works for a short stirrup and a forward foot, rather than working for a longer stirrup and foot under the hip for which the geometry doesn't work with gravity or anatomy, and the blocks would be miles away, some riders really needing that support.

Dressage blocks/padding can force a long leg, but if the saddle's right for the rider they absolutely shouldn't. A forward block placement can't force a more bent leg.

Back to the question again and overall a jump saddle, ultimately, is designed to balance the rider in a two point seat, and bear in mind that a correct jump seat should take the backside a little BACK even if only in feel and not in actuality, but most riders just pop up and forwards. We should compress our joints, it's how we balance behind that more forward stirrup bar - if you throw yourself in front of it there is no balance. It has an open seat which may be less likely to offer actual support to the pelvis for when you're sitting in the saddle. It may have a super narrow twist (more likely to, especially if French or similar) which actually only suits a minority of riders, it is more likely to be monoflap which if you're "wide" hipped (functional, skeletally, can't tell from the outside!) on a narrower horse can be a disaster, but if the twist is too wide and the balance point too far back (many British saddles) then you'll be pushed back behind your feet when you do sit.

As I probably said above fitting the rider well is multifactorial and complex!
 
sbloom said:
The padding doesn't force a bent leg position, sorry to be pedantic but it's good to get these things right.
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That depends on the padding and saddle design surely?
Or maybe I should have said some saddles prevent a bent leg.
I am not a pro and dont have the expertise or jargon But like any RS rider, Over the last 25 years I have ridden in more saddles than many horse owners. May be 5 or 6 in my first year of riding lessons on different horses at different schools. Then 3 or 4 more as I started to hack. In my 3rd year, 2 dressage saddles plus the GP for hacking. And Western saddles in the USA. The Podhajski is my absolute favourite but not permitted on my current share.
 
Skib said:
Or maybe I should have said some saddles prevent a bent leg.
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Yep, ie a dressage prevents a bent leg, usually/often (depending on the fit for the rider), but a jump saddle just doesn't usually allow a good flatwork alignment, it doesn't dictate a stirrup length. Saddles are complex so my corrections are never personal, it's all about education, and we must be careful with terminology and blanket statements, as with everything.
 
sbloom said:
Yep, ie a dressage prevents a bent leg, usually/often (depending on the fit for the rider), but a jump saddle just doesn't usually allow a good flatwork alignment, it doesn't dictate a stirrup length. Saddles are complex so my corrections are never personal, it's all about education, and we must be careful with terminology and blanket statements, as with everything.
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It’s a stubben? If that helps 😅
Sorry I’m not great with saddles
Currently this saddle fits Ivy well because she’s more muscles one side than the other (working progress after rehab)
May be changing saddle anyway after she muscles so I can ask about a gp? Or would a dressage be better? I do jump but only once a week
 
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