How long should your stirrups be

Have someone eyeball this one for you Once you are on your horse, put your leg straight down The bottom of the stirrup should be even with your ankle bone.

Many of our manufacturers offer sets of fenders in different sizes specifically for this purpose. Satisfaction Guaranteed Exceeding expectations each and every order. Trade-Ins Welcomed How to get the correct stirrup length. Now, with your other hand, pull the stirrup leather taut alongside your outstretched arm.

Keep in mind that you may occasionally need to adjust your stirrups a hole or two. For example, new leathers stretch over time, so the original length you settled on may become too long. A broad horse takes up more of your leg than a narrower one.

Finally, many riders use a slightly longer stirrup for flatwork and then shorten them a hole for jumping. English Horse Training. General Training. Other Horse Sports. Rider Fitness. Western Horse Training. Speed Events. Cattle Events. Trail Riding.

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You know that your stirrups are too short if any of the following situations are true:. Sometimes, at the beginning of a lesson, I ask a student to ride without stirrups for five minutes. A tense rider needs to stretch his or her inner leg muscles by lifting the knee away from the saddle for a few seconds and allowing it to fall into a deeper position farther back.

Concentrating on one leg at a time and then on both legs simultaneously works well. After a few minutes of stretching and relaxing, the legs are usually more comfortable in a deeper position. At this point, I check the length of the stirrup. The bottom of the iron should be between the anklebone and the heel. For young, green, spooky or rough-gaited horses, it is helpful to ride with stirrups one or two holes shorter than you would on horses schooling upper-level movements. When a rider's legs are long relative to the horse's barrel, shorter stirrups allow him to make contact with the horse's sides without lifting his heels.

When the rider's leg is short relative to the horse's barrel, longer stirrups may be necessary. Most novice riders err on the side of having their stirrups too short. I do not like to see people riding on their tiptoes. Likewise, I do not like a lot of bend in the knee with the heels jammed down.

A good rider can ride effectively with the stirrups two holes too short or too long. If you are having trouble lowering your stirrups, it may be a problem with your upper leg.

Instruction on a longe line can be an excellent opportunity to work on your legs.