# how do you stay on when you lose your stirrup?



## puphorse (Aug 17, 2013)

Whenever I lose one or both stirrups, I fall. My moms friend who has been riding for a long time says I need to do exercises to practice balance, saddle seat, and other stuff. Does anyone have any ideas for things I can do at home?


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

How do you feel when you lose a stirrup? Panicked? Nervous? Calm? Excited? Like you're going to die?

If it's anything negative, your body may be "self preserving" itself by curling up, clamping, shrinking.. the opposite of what it should be doing which is stay loose, stretch down, chin up, and stay calm.


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## puphorse (Aug 17, 2013)

I'm not usually nervous, but I think I do fall forward. Normally I fall off at the trot and I end up bouncing out.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

You need some exercises to develop a deeper, more stable seat and not rely on stirrups to hold you on the horse. Try youtube for some videos on exercises to do this.


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## JulieG (Jun 25, 2013)

And try riding without your stirrups when it's up to you. I do that at the walk/trot sometimes when I need to get a better feel for a horse, but it helps get you used to the feeling so you don't tense up or fall forward if you do lose them on accident.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Start working on riding stirrupless at the walk. If you seat is not stable enough for you to stay on without stirrups at the trot then you really need to go back to the basics and work on your balance. This will help you develop your seat so that you can move on to working stirrupless at the trot on your own accord. Like others have said, look up exercises that you can do that will greatly help you build a deep and balanced seat. However, I think that stirrupless work will (ironically) be what helps you the most. If nothing else it will get you used to the idea so you don't become panicky if you lose your stirrups.


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## Laventosahorses (Jul 23, 2013)

I am a barrel racer and have had this problem alof!! One idea is to try the saddle at differen stirrups lengths and make sure your legs are in the proper position to hold u on.... For some people this takes too long i just changed stirrup lengths from show to show to see what works. Another good thig to do is just practice at home. Walk the horse around with a saddle on without stirrups. Get to where you at comfortable at a jog and work your way up to a lope. I am still not comfortable with a lope yet but i have been (actually riunning the
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## Laventosahorses (Jul 23, 2013)

Laventosahorses said:


> I am a barrel racer and have had this problem alof!! One idea is to try the saddle at differen stirrups lengths and make sure your legs are in the proper position to hold u on.... For some people this takes too long i just changed stirrup lengths from show to show to see what works. Another good thig to do is just practice at home. Walk the horse around with a saddle on without stirrups. Get to where you at comfortable at a jog and work your way up to a lope. I am still not comfortable with a lope yet but i have been (actually running the pattern.) and i still lose my stirrups. But i rode my mare bareback aswell. This made me very goo at balmace. Hope it helps!!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Start back at a walk. Ideally bareback/bareback pad, but at least without stirrups. If you fall when you lose them, it means you're relying too much on your stirrups/feet for balance anyway, which, unfortunately pushes you out of the good seat you would like to have and makes it MORE likely that you will lose your balance, lose your stirrup, and then fall anyway.

So go without. Get comfortable walking, stopping, backing, doing circles, playing around the world, waving your arms about, etc bareback. Once you feel good with that, start introducing trotting again. At first, maybe only one trot stride and then back to walk. If you can get some bareback lunge line lessons (like the guys at the Spanish Riding School do for years) they can be a GREAT chance for you to focus on your riding and the feel of the horse without having to worry about where/how fast or him listening to you or not. Your instructor does all that an all you have to do is focus on doing what YOU need to be doing to learn how to balance well.

Good Luck, and relax and have fun!


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## MsLady (Apr 18, 2013)

I agree with Sharpie, try bareback. When you can ride bareback comfortably, you will not worry about loosing your strips. With bareback you learn great balance and confidence. Start with walk on a lunge line with a trainer if you need to but honestly it's a great way to ride.
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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

puphorse said:


> I'm not usually nervous, but I think I do fall forward. Normally I fall off at the trot and I end up bouncing out.


Hmm yeah it sounds like the "up" motion of the trot puts you off balance because as others have alluded to.. you haven't gotten the balance yet.

Easiest way to do that? Warm up at the walk without stirrups. Cross them over your horse's neck and do circles, figures, transition from walk to halt. 

Riding bareback is fine too, but it's a different position than being in a saddle.

But both are helpful ways to improve your overall balance. As is working on your core.


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## EponaLynn (Jul 16, 2013)

It almost sounds as if you're standing on your stirrups or relying on them more than you should be if losing one makes you fall forward. Your seat shouldn't change when you have lost a stirrup. I'd work on getting it that solid if I was you.

Like others have said it's a combo of balance, position, confidence etc. Practicing riding without stirrups when you want to will be priceless...there's no real way to learn or practice this at home (unless you have horses there), as it's kinda like telling someone how to dance...you've got to be doing it to understand and get the feel.

In english riding much time is spent schooling without stipprups at all gates. When I was a teen I taught myself how to jump bareback before I even learned how to jump with a saddle (not something I would recommend but I thought I was invincible and it seemed natural.) You'll notice show jumpers, even olympic caliber riders lose a stirrup now and again and often have to continue jumping without one if they can't get it back easily. 

The idea is to be able to ride at any gait and through whatever you do one horseback without them if need be.


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## EponaLynn (Jul 16, 2013)

PS I want to share one more thing, you can only learn this kind of balance and get a strong seat when you're relaxed. It's amazing how many new Western riders think that holding the horn it a safety net when in reality, you can't hold yourslef on with your hands, you have to relax and balance yourself and make sure your center of gravity is over the horse's center of gravity if that makes sense.


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## Arab Mama (Jun 10, 2012)

Balance. Keep your weight in your heels and you'll stay on with or without stirrups. It takes time and confidence.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

No stirrup work and riding bareback will do wonders for you.

Relax. Stretch your leg down. If you grip, you'll fall. Move with the horse. If you choose to ride bareback, tie a lead rope around the horse's neck as a "just in case" and ride with one hand until you develop a seat. That's what I did.

Honestly, I learned fast. I barrel race and season my mare at gymkhanas. She's hard to ride. First time I let her really run full out I lost a stirrup and it was all I could do not to die, lol.

But then I get into situations like this, a trainwreck from the beginning:

Wrong lead, down pole, both stirrups gone.

Selena Poles 9 14 13 - YouTube

and it's either hold on and try to steer or fall off...and falling off isn't an option for me...lol!


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## Ima Free Spirit (Oct 2, 2013)

If a horse is broncing and you lose a styrup you can much more easily fall of, its normal to feel scared when you do if your horse is being psycho. Make sure you have a good calm horse to practice stirrup less work.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Ima Free Spirit said:


> If a horse is broncing and you lose a styrup you can much more easily fall of, its normal to feel scared when you do if your horse is being psycho. Make sure you have a good calm horse to practice stirrup less work.


From these posts I haven't gathered that the horse is being "psycho" at all- just that the rider needs to work on her seat so she can learn to sit deep and move with the horse. Someone new to the feel of riding does need a quiet mount during the learning process before they move on to the more challenging horses, but I don't think it's the case here.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

You are "riding the saddle and not the horse" if you come off when you lose stirrup.

You should be riding more with your crotch than legs in other words. I would guess you don't really feel the rhythm of the horse under you either.

Heels need to be down, and only the tip of boot should be visible if you look down past your kneecap. Shoulders and back of ear should line up so that if I hit you with a 2x4? I would connect ears/shoulder/hip/heel with the board.

Keeping correct posture/seat enables you to feel the balance you need.

If however, you don't get this figured out? You will never progress any further than a beginner level.


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## Ima Free Spirit (Oct 2, 2013)

DuckDodgers said:


> From these posts I haven't gathered that the horse is being "psycho" at all- just that the rider needs to work on her seat so she can learn to sit deep and move with the horse. Someone new to the feel of riding does need a quiet mount during the learning process before they move on to the more challenging horses, but I don't think it's the case here.


I was just in general speaking, if a horse was to go psycho and you lost a stirrup it would be natural to feel scared thats all im saying.


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## Clydesdales (Sep 12, 2013)

You should ride bareback.
You'll have great balance if you do it whenever ride.


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## BlooBabe (Jul 7, 2012)

I lost my stirrups a lot but I've got good grip. I ride in a lot of different saddles and unless I use my own stirrups that I've punched holes in to fit my legs I end up relying on my balance. You need to work on balance but riding in riding pants or chaps/half chaps will help you grip better while you're getting your balance. I wouldn't recommend bareback unless you're more than a beginner rider because people sit too far forward and hold themselves differently than in a saddle but stirrup less work would be a good start.


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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

If you have access to an English saddle, use that, and remove the stirrups. Then have someone lunge you at a walk. Once you're comfy, put your arms out to the side. When comfy, trot, then lope. Don't rush it. It may take many sessions.

When you learn to rely on your seat, and your body's ability to follow the horse's movement, rather than relying on your saddle, then it won't matter whether the stirrups are there or not. Your stirrups are a tool, you don't want them to be the only thing between you and the dirt.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

JulieG said:


> And try riding without your stirrups when it's up to you. I do that at the walk/trot sometimes when I need to get a better feel for a horse, but it helps get you used to the feeling so you don't tense up or fall forward if you do lose them on accident.


Riding in your saddle with your feet out of the stirrups is the best thing for it if it makes you nervous or insecure. Don't do it bareback. It's not the same. You need to feel the saddle under you and learn to grip with your thighs. The principle is basically the same as bareback, but the feel and experience is different (you won't be bareback when you lose the stirrup :lol. If you lose just one stirrup it's much the same. Just grip with your legs. If you're walking it's pretty easy to just get the stirrup back. You can even practice it at a walk. Make sure you're horse is ok with it first. I've seen green horses panic over a loose, free swinging stirrup.
(and if it keeps you from coming out of the saddle while you learn to deal with it there's no crime in grabbing the saddle to stay on :lol
I actually make my grandchildren do this when they first get on. Of course they always start out grabbing the saddle the first time, but that's pretty normal for 5 or 6 year olds (not to mention many adults :lol and they quickly learn to grip with their legs.


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## EquineGirl1965 (Dec 22, 2012)

Staying on is all about balance and a deep seat as others have said. Have you seen the Centred Riding series? Centered Riding Store Sally Swift Books Videos Posters Centered Riding Symposium DVDs Signs Lapel Pins

Worth a good read of the books - haven't seen the videos but it's a great resource. 

I used to ride without stirrups regularly to gain that balance and deep seat - my instructor used to insist on it. This was riding in an arena, on a lunge line, and in an English saddle. As my balance improved, the lunge line came off and I even learnt to jump a small fence without stirrups. 

I haven't done much riding without them since...but when I lose a stirrup I no longer panic about it and I've not lost my seat for a while.


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## mahalopele (Jun 30, 2013)

Ride bareback, and youll learn to develop a good seat and legs, without depending on a saddle.. If you get nervous, go on a longe line, and walk until you get more confident.
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## EquineGirl1965 (Dec 22, 2012)

The thought "toes up" works for me too!


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## puphorse (Aug 17, 2013)

Thanks everyone for your advice!


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## Deanie (Oct 7, 2013)

Probably a good idea to try bareback. You may also want to try longer stirrups just so you can use your whole leg and not let your legs ride up if you get nervous. You shouldn't lose your balance as long as you don't rely too much on your just using your knees. If you're only using your knees, it would tend to make you pop up in the air and lose your balance. Hope this helps. I'd love to know if you solve the problem.


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## UpNorthEq (Oct 7, 2013)

Start riding and dropping one stirrup , try and find it without looking , walking... Then when you feel ready try it trotting then cantering.. soon you will be able to ride with no stirrups and not freak out when you lose one because you know you'll be able to find it!


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