Everything Horses and Livestock® Magazine August 2017 Vol 2 Issue 3

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ®

you anchored and down in the saddle. Shorter stirrups allow the rider to drop his/her heels which

them. The lower leg is no longer in proper position when it is out in front of your body and you are no longer effectively balanced in the saddle. By raising your stirrups you will not have to stretch your legs out to reach them, which will permit you to maintain proper leg position for good balance. When your stirrups are too long, you will have prob- lems keeping your heals down, then your leg slides forward causing you to sit back on your bottom. When you sit back on your bottom you aren’t doing much by way of riding, just sitting on top the horse like a bag of potatoes. Shorten your stirrups and you will find it much easier to get up off your bottom and sit on your seat bones instead.

helps to lock their leg in place beneath them. If your lower leg is freely swinging around, you lose your anchor. A rider that has his/her legs underneath their hips will have good balance.

A good way to judge how long your stirrups should be is by placing your fingertips at the very top of the fender (get up under the flap), grab the stirrup with your other hand and pull it up to your armpit. Using your arm, you a can measure the proper length – the stirrup should hit you just under the armpit. If the stirrup can extend past your armpit, then they are too long. There you are, set to race! Your work in the prac- tice pen with these changes will bring a whole new light to when you run in competition – slow is smooth and smooth is fast!

When a rider keeps their stirrups too long, they will have to continuously reach for them, causing the lower leg to slide forward in their attempt to stay in

Til We Meet Again! ~ Shannon Rowl Visit our Website www.kansascmsa.com

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EHALmagazine.com | August 2017 | Everything Horses and Livestock®