Twists in stirrups?x

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elzie18xx

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Can someone please help me, at my riding school my instructor is always telling me to get the twists out of my stirrups and she doesn't mean the kind where you run out of holes on your stirrup leather. She says take your stirrup iron lie flat and turn away but I always get it wrong and if im honest when she changes it I cannot see or feel the difference. But this week she said if it happens again im getting off. But I dont understand which way I turn away and its confusing me and she's making me feel like a complete idiot over something I've not even been explained the reason for or how to do it properly.x
 
When the stirrup is hanging down it will be hanging with the tread parallel with the horse's side. Take the front of the stirrup and turn it outward until it is at a right angle with the horse's side. When your foot is in the stirrup like that you will find that the leather wraps neatly round your leg.

Another way of thinking about it is that if you put the toe of your boot into the stirrup as it hangs parallel to the horse's side as you get on the horse from a mounting block it will automatically be turned the right way
 
I'm not sure what she means, can't you ask her before the lesson starts to show you?

An instructor worth their salt shouldn't 'makle you feel like and idiot' no matter what you do or ask!
 
It's hard to tell but it sounds like you might be putting your foot in the stirrup iron the wrong way round, which would cause a twist in the stirrup leather.

If you take your feet out of the stirrups and they are lying flat against the horse's sides, the front side goes to the outside of your foot. Just like when you mount and put your foot in the stirrup you put it straight in and the side nearest the horse's head ends up on the outside of your foot. It is quite hard to explain in words (without a tacked-up horse to point to!) but your instructor should be able to explain it quite simply and without making you feel stupid which is unnecessary and unfair - it's her fault you don't understand! She's the instructor!

I would ask her to show you and explain again. If I'm wrong about the problem then I'm as confused as you are!

ETA: cross-posted with Jemima!
 
When you have your feet out of the stirrups, they lie flat against the horse with no twists in the leather.

For the left stirrup you turn it anti-clockwise by a right angle, and the right stirrup you turn it clockwise by a right angle :)
You get a gentle twist in the stirrup leather, but not so you can feel the twist against your leg.

I would change instructors if I was you if they make you feel bad.
 
B_2_B said:
When you have your feet out of the stirrups, they lie flat against the horse with no twists in the leather.

For the left stirrup you turn it anti-clockwise by a right angle, and the right stirrup you turn it clockwise by a right angle :)
You get a gentle twist in the stirrup leather, but not so you can feel the twist against your leg.

I would change instructors if I was you if they make you feel bad.
Click to expand...

This sums it up :D
 
Yep, the back of the stirrup leather that lies against the saddle flap should face towards the frontso the leather lies flat against your leg - however if you don't understand what the instructor means they should explain to you, not make you feel bad! It's the instructors fault if anyone's for not showing you properly.
 
Thank you all I think I understand now xx she's a good instructor I really like her it was only because I was put on a young horse for the first time in a group lesson with someone that's not a adult staff on him and no one warned me he was petrified of flapping stirrups and he stopped dead at a jump and then gsllopped off I lost one stirrup which scared him and then he banged me into a fence and I lost the other poor baby felt awful for him and the insturctor blamed it on the stirrups but I didnt understand so thank you all for the help:)xxx
 
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