# English Stirrups-which way do they face??!!



## Tulula81 (Oct 11, 2010)

Hi Everyone!
I'm new to the forum. I've been on for about a month and have been silently stalking the threads reading up on everything:lol:

I just started riding english, have only had 4 lessons under my belt. My question is this....is there a correct way to turn your stirrups to put them on your feet? For example, if you are looking at your saddle an the pommel is facing to the left; your stirrup is laying flat against the horse. Do you A) take the front of the stirrup and rotate it 90 degrees to the outside(perpendicular to the saddle seat), or B) take the back of the stirrup and rotate it 90 degrees to the outside (perpendicular to the saddle seat), or C) it doesn't matter hahaha. I was just curious as my leathers are very new and not yet broken in. There didn't seem to be a natural way they turned.

Thanks! (ok, you can all laugh now!)


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Nobody is going to laugh at you for asking an honest question . First, I want to welcome you to the forum and let you know that there are a ton of knowledgeable people here that can answer almost any question.

Now, on to your question. It depends on how the leather is laying on the horse. If the leather itself is flat against the side of the horse and has no twists in it like this one








then you would want to turn the front of the stirrup to the outside. Think of it like this. If you were to stick the toe of your boot into the stirrup the way it is facing you from the ground, how would it turn as you swung your leg over? When the leather is nice and flat like pictured above, you will want to turn the stirrup a quarter turn counterclockwise to go on your foot.

If the leather is twisted, then you will want to turn the stirrup until the leather is flat before you get on. Basically, you will always want the leather to be flat against your leg as it follows the bend of your leg. If the leather is twisted, you will be able to tell right away because you will feel the twist on your leg and it will likely be very uncomfortable for you and could possibly wear a sore on your leg where it is twisted.


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## LuckyDucky (Oct 25, 2010)

When the stirrup is lying flat against the horse, it's the side of the stirrup nearest the horse's head that should be on the outside of your foot.
Edit: But I think the person above has a better explanation


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## Tulula81 (Oct 11, 2010)

ahhh thanks! I thought so, but wanted to make sure. I have korsteel flex stirrups so there's a definite front and back to those and wanted to make sure I had the leathers laying correctly.

Thank you!


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

My trainer described it this way "you want the leathers to be "wrapping" around your leg, you don't want the leather to twisted away from your leg." Smorbs I think described it the best though.


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