# Feet slipping in stirrups



## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

Recently, I've been having a lot of issues keeping my feet in the stirrups. No matter what I do, the outside bar just slides off and my foot pops right out. It happens at the walk, trot (sitting and posting,) and canter (full or half seat.) I've tried two point- it does nothing. I've tried sinking my heels deeper, popping my heels up a bit, putting my weight towards the inside bar and the outside bar, angled my stirrup before riding, etc. Nothing I've tried seems to work, and it's getting very frustrating... I originally was thinking it was my boots (they're like 5 years old and have no tread left) but it happens in my less-worn tall boots too. I tried different stirrups as well, including super grippy ones. It's also not my horse; At my last IEA show as well as in lessons the same thing happens. The second there's any weight in my feet, they start sliding. So basically I've eliminated stirrups and movement of the horse, which means it must be something I'm doing. 

I've always had a super solid leg, so I'm not quite sure how to fix this. It seems to have just started like a month ago, for no real reason that I can think of. If you have any advice on what to do to work on this, I'd really appreciate it. I don't think I'm doing anything differently than I usually do, but the stirrup just slides like crazy and my feet come out after a few laps around the ring...

Thanks in advance!


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

What kind of stirrups are you using when you say that the outside bar falls off and then your foot pops out?


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

Just plain ol' stirrups. It isn't making a difference what type though because the same thing has happened in multiple saddles with different types of stirrups. This is a screenshot from a jumper show with my pony a few weeks ago. The issue wasn't as bad then, but hopefully you get the idea of how it's sliding and where my foot is going. My heels aren't usually that deep either, but it's the best I could find. 

(Please excuse my not so great eq. Not sure what I'm doing with my hands!)


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Perhaps someone with a better eye will chime in. They look too short to me, and I don't think your ankle should be at such an extreme bend. It looks like your stirrups are short enough such that when you sink into your heels, your toes are being raised to the point that they're just coming off the stirrup.


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

I was thinking they're a touch too short, but when I make them longer I can't keep enough weight in my feet to keep my stirrups period. I'm a lot more comfortable with slightly shorter stirrups, but I may try lengthening them again when I ride tomorrow. I also had super long stirrups at my last show (on a massive WB though) and ended up losing my stirrup entirely half way through the course. I feel like if they're too long they'll twist around even more, but I could be crazy.

Thanks!


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Remember that the balls of your feet should be resting on the stirrup - it looks like it's more toe in the picture to me.

Also, if you have a habit (like I do sometimes) of scrunching up, that will cause you to lose your stirrups and feel like they're too long.

I think the angle of your ankle is way too extreme. 

Look at this fella:
(Gem Twist clone)


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

Your heel is actually to far down. Stirrups are a good length. But you have to much weight in your heels and your toe isn't far enough in the stirrup. The stirrup should be on the ball of your toe and heels should be down just a bit. You are hyper extending them. Try doing some exercises where you perch your toes on the edge of a step and sink down and up to build strength in your ankles. Then I would suggest almost over correcting your heels. Which should hopefully bring you up where you should be. Also it almost looks like you are pinching with your knee. Think of wrapping your calf around the barrel of the horse. I suspect your lower leg might be swinging a bit which is making your foot slide out.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Jesus, I can't even bend my ankle normally let alone get that much weight in the stirrups!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

Wow. I must say, I am physically unable to sink my heels to THAT extreme of an angle. Wow. I actually kind of applaud you for having some sort of remarkable talent in doing that!


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

xJumperx said:


> Wow. I must say, I am physically unable to sink my heels to THAT extreme of an angle. Wow. I actually kind of applaud you for having some sort of remarkable talent in doing that!


One of my students does this too. I can't remember exactly what causes it but she has been told that short of surgery its nothing she can fix so we are constantly working on getting her heel to come UP. I have to say I have never had to work with that as a flaw in position until I started teaching her. Usually I am screaming "heels DOWN!" lol


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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

Wow. I wouldn't be able to keep my feet in the stirrups either if my toes were pointing to the stars. Your flexibility is impressive - I could never bend like that.

Do this experiment. While out of the saddle, put your boot into the iron and look at how much of the sole actually touches the pad on the iron. I'm pretty sure only the a thin line at the very edge is making contact. That's not enough friction to keep your foot in. The entire area around the ball of your foot should be making contact with the entire pad. Also, with your heel that low, there's just a lot of force and weight acting to pull down (out) of the iron.


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Wear high heels around the house for a few weeks, will surely shorten your calves and reduce the flex in your ankle!!:lol:

(I say this, because I had a riding buddy, who had a night job (lol stripper, she was a nice enough girl though....just a little misguided) and she had to wear heels all night....it really shortened her calves and she had to stand tippy toe on the edge of a stair to stretch them back out!!!!)


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## Clava (Nov 9, 2010)

Just relax you ankle and heel, it should be nearly level (very slightly down) and the ankle should be "springy", then your stirrups wont ping out.


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## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

Hah, some of your comments crack me up. Yes, I've actually considered the high heels thing. Never done it though cause they hurt like crazy! 

I realize my heels are way far down in that image. Like I said, that's not usual (it was during a long gallop to the next fence, and Roxy was quite strong. The frames around that one shows my heel in a more correct position, but they're a little fuzzy so I picked a clear one that you can see my stirrup in.) I do have extremely hyper-flexible ankles. I've ALWAYS had a really deep heel (well, not quite that deep... but definitely down) and my leg has always been very strong. I've never had issues with the stirrups sliding before, even with consistently deep heels. I actually have been having issues with not keeping my heels deep enough lately as a result of riding slow horses that needed quite a bit of, ahem, encouragement. 

I did some work today that I think may have been somewhat beneficial, but it's still a big issue. I alternated between standing with flat heels, deep heels, and my heels UP (like wearing heels) in two point at the walk and trot. It was generally okay, until I sat back down or posted the trot; then they still slid around. I tried keeping my weight more on the ball of my foot (I put the stirrup a little past where it should be, as in the stirrup pad was like a half inch too close to my heel) which helped but again, as soon as I posted or cantered they slid. I think it's because I'm not keeping my weight in the correct place consistently? They slide the most at the posting trot and canter, where you naturally bounce a little more. I also lengthened my stirrup a hole today which helped a tad, but definitely nothing drastic. 

I attached a picture from a week or two ago that shows my more typical heel position (again, ignore my stiff upper body. My riding has, obviously, been a complete wreck lately.) Just so you all don't think I'm crazy and always ride with heels like that :wink:


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

Well good to see your heels are not usually like that. However your foot is still not far enough in the stirrup. You could almost go another inch further in the stirrup.


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## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Might sound like a silly question, but you haven't changed saddle or stirrup leathers lately have you? Or even maybe swapped the stirrups over to the opposite sides of the saddle?

I ask that because if I ride in certain saddles or swap my leathers over my riding is HORRIBLE. That is because I have scoliosis and one side of my pelvis smaller than the other but hey 

It may be something simple though as you needing a chiropractic adjustment. Have you had a fall or an injury lately? There may be tension in your hips that you don't notice or something small like that. It's worth a shot


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