# What length should the stirrups be?



## Rainaisabelle (Jan 2, 2015)

I was taught to put your finger tips where the stirrups go and then pull it until it touched the inside of your underarm if you know what I mean ?


----------



## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

Your balance is number one. I would play around, testing out different lengths and then stick to that regardless of what your trainers say. I tend to like my stirrups a little on the long side. While mounted, I take my feet out of the stirrups and relax my legs and feet. And while I'm relaxed I adjust the stirrup to where the bottom of the stirrup touches the top of my foot. That allows me to easily slide my foot in and out, and helps me keep my heels down. I also don't have to fight the stirrup if I need to slide my foot out really fast. I've also heard of doing it the way Rainasabelle said, but every time I try that way they end up being a touch too short for my taste.


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You start with some help on the ground. Sit in the saddle, legs hanging. Position the stirrup so that the bottom hits right below your ankle bone. This is more exact with an English Stirrup than a Western one, still it's a place to start. Sounds like you have not developed a balanced seat yet. THAT is your issue. You learn best by riding at the WALK, and dropping and picking up your stirrups.
You should have your heels down, ball of the foot on the stirrup. Heels down will not happen until you ride long enough for your legs to get tired. *Forcing* the heel down will also create a chair seat. It's more like riding a bycicle that sitting a driving a car. You cue and the school horse should operate on "cruise control." Excessive kicking and cue-ing desensitizes the horse to your commands.
Riding without your stirrups teaches you to sit balanced and to relax and sit deeply. Riding in 2 point teaches you to keep your feet underneath you. When you look down over your knee you should just see your toes peeking out, a little bit more than that with a pointed toe Western boot.
You should line up: shoulder, hips (middle), and heel.
I taught English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, Hunt Seat, Beginning Jumping, and Military (1859 "Dressage" from Cook's) for 10 years.


----------



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

If you need to reach with your leg to maintain contact at a trot or canter, they are too long. If you feel squished and can't get your leg around your horse, they are too short. It depends in part on how flexible your hips and legs are, and how strong. As one rides more, they can handle longer or shorter stirrups depending on their goal.

Longer than I like:










Shorter than I like (picture of me...I've set them lower now):










Depends on your tastes.


----------



## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

When I was helping with beginner lessons, we would adjust the stirrups to hit just below your ankle bone when you hang your legs straight down. When we started jumping, we'd raise them 3 holes or so and get used to using the shorter stirrups. 

As others have said, the most important part is that you are comfortable. I personally like my stirrups a little shorter during flatwork than a lot of people. I'm steadier with my feet really under me and a decent bend to my knee.


----------



## Haley3k1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice so far. I am definitely still working on my balance but it's kinda hard when the stirrups are not in the right position. I feel like the second trainer either didn't know what she was talking about, or she was just too lazy to lower the stirrups. My legs were MUCH more bent than those pictures and the stirrups hit me way above the ankle when I let my legs dangle. I felt like a jockey riding a racehorse lol. I'm use to pushing my legs forward when I want my horse to stop but my legs were so bent I couldn't even do that.


----------



## BreezylBeezyl (Mar 25, 2014)

I always have my western stirrups the same length as dressage stirrups. Long. For me, it's about 1-2 holes up from my feet not being able to fit in the stirrups anymore.

That being said I always start out at about the same length I ride English in, then lower them each day as I gain balance. I don't have any particular rule, I just put them at whatever is the most lengthy, but most comfortable. A length I can still ride in.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

*It depends. *

There, that's helpful, right? :wink:

The western stirrup length that I would like to ride in is actually too long for my primary discipline (barrel racing). If I run barrels with my stirrups too long, I will lose a stirrup or two while running. If I have them adjusted correctly for barrels, then I don't lose them. 











I'm too lazy to adjust my stirrups back and forth, so I just leave them wear I need them for barrel racing. Which really isn't horrible, but I wouldn't mind having them one hole longer. 


For English, I mostly do low Hunter jumps so I have my stirrups set accordingly. When you move higher up in jumps, your stirrups also shorten. When you do flat work, then your stirrups lengthen. 

So while there is a "rule of thumb" for where your stirrups should be, there also are a lot of variations based on what you are doing. 

Do what Corporal said in order to give yourself a starting point. Sit in the saddle and let your legs hang. Have a helper on the ground adjust the stirrups so that the bottom of the stirrup sits level with your ankle bone. Tried to find you a picture, but I guess I would honestly say this stirrup might still be a bit long:











But try that first for a few rides. Then put them up one hole for a few rides. Then back in the "middle" for a few. Then one down. Go ahead and play around with it. While I agree you still have balance to learn, this can give you a "feel" for what seems to feel comfortable for you at this point in time.


----------



## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Any method of adjusting stirrups using arm length is very rough since arm length compared to leg length can vary significantly from one individual to the next.

For general riding, a better estimate is to adjust the stirrups so they hang near the ankle when the rider's feet are not in the stirrups. Better yet, I've found, is to have the rider stand in the stirrups with ankles down and have approximately an inch of clearance between the saddle and crotch.

Occasionally a rider's feet will come out of the stirrups when riding with this adjustment, and the rider will think he needs shorter stirrups. The usual cause of the feet coming out of the stirrups in such cases, however, is the rider squeezing his legs against the horse's sides and taking the natural pressure resulting from relaxed legs off the stirrups.


----------

