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Discussion on Stirrup length?
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Member:
luckett
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 2, 2007 - 11:10 am:
My boy friend and I have been having a continuing discussion about why different disciplines use different stirrup length. I have been riding dressage, fox hunting, and trail riding all my life. He has been riding only two years so he looks to me for answers. He is a sixth don in aikido and wants answers that are physically and machanically correct.I can only give him my personal experience from years of experimentation. You can't ride dressage effectively with a fox hunting length stirrup. You arn't as safe trail riding with a dressage length. And forget jumping if you don't shorten your stirrups. Our discussions really get complacated when including jockeys. I understand that they want to be high up over the horses shoulders but wouldn't they be safer if their leg was a little straighter and a little more on the horses sides? And why do Bruce Davidson want everyone to shorten their stirrups for their cross country?
I don't think these questions are as important as many of the horse health one but I sure would like to know the answers. Thanks for any help!
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Member:
sarahb47
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 2, 2007 - 12:54 pm:
the "best" stirrup length depends on several factors, including the rider's build and leg length, the horse's body shape (narrow and flat-sided or round and barrel-shaped), and the type of saddle. But the truly key factors are rider balance and horse balance. The right stirrup length helps the rider's center of balance stay over the horse's center of balance for whatever they're doing, so the rider stays secure and the horse can perform effectively.
The horse's center of balance shifts furthest forward, and his body swings forward and back the most, in a flat-out run. The horse's center of balance also shifts very rapidly from one position to another during jumping. So those activities require the rider to make rapid and sometimes extreme changes in his own position and balance, not only to "keep up" but to anticipate and assist the horse's motion.
With a longer stirrup, the rider may be more secure in the "center balance" position for controlled, moderate changes in balance, but he can't re-position himself for jumping or the extreme forward balance required in racing.
The length of stirrup also affects the rider's ability to absorb the shock of concussion through his hip, knee and ankle joints. Landing from a high jump or touching down from every stride of a big racing gallop can create big concussive forces in the rider's body. Shorter stirrups help the leg joints flex and absorb some of that force, thus (hopefully) helping to protect the spine and torso. This is why riders who prefer a long stirrup should still have some angle in the knee, hip and ankle.
The type of activity and length of stirrup also dictate how much influence the seat aids can have in communicating with the horse. With a long seat, a rider can sit deep and influence the horse's performance through seat/weight aids. Short stirrups make this harder. So a three-phase event rider, for example, riding the same horse in the same all-purpose saddle would use slightly different aids to ask his horse to perform a similar trot-canter transition in a dressage training session than in a jumping session.
In jumping or racing, the rider uses forward and back position shifts to assist the horse. The "seat" isn't of much use as a communication aid, because it's not in contact with the saddle.
I hope this helps!
Sarah Blanchard
P.S. I've got a new book coming out in January that talks about balance and stirrup length, among other things, for riders learning to jump. ("Jump with Joy.")
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 2, 2007 - 1:29 pm:
Sarah, I would have never been able to put that to words.. Guess I can tell you are a writer.. Great explanation..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
luckett
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 2, 2007 - 2:04 pm:
Sarah,
Thanks so much for your excellent answer. It explains clearly. The feelings of balance that I have had in different types of riding but did not connect with the way the horse was moving. I'll be looking forward to your book.
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Member:
luckett
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 2, 2007 - 5:16 pm:
Sarah,
One more question. Why do steeplechase jockeys ride with longer stirrups than flat race jockeys?
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 2, 2007 - 8:43 pm:
So I agree with Sarah with one caveat: if the horse is moving relatively straight.
Note that saddlebronc riders have the longest leg position of all-- this is so they can get their legs and body fully into the safety seat and align their spines with the horse on each twist, turn and jump. A jockey position is secure provided the shifts in balance are primarily longitudinal (nose to spine). You will see that jockeys pop off pretty fast if the horse creates dramatic lateral shifts (side to side).
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Member:
sarahb47
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Posted on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 - 12:43 am:
In steeplechase, you're not simply going forward in a flat trajectory -- you're going up, then down, then forward. The "down" part, the landing over a jump, is the problem -- that's where the horse moves from sharply down to sharply forward. That requires the rider to open the hip angles and sit up, which you can't do if the stirrups are REALLY short.
The position shifts can be quite radical over a jump at high speed, going from an up-and-forward takeoff balance to a defensive "sit-up, brace-and-slip-the-reins-as-you-come-down" position. If you're really far forward on landing, you run the risk of tipping your horse's balance into a somersault. To make these shifts in position -- from "down" to "forward" -- you need the somewhat greater security of a somewhat longer stirrup so you can shift your feet forward on the downward trajectory. Jump-race riders also sometimes need to get behind the motion, especially on a DrOp jump or when the horse takes off from a really long spot. Elizabeth's comments are spot-on -- really short stirrups make it hard to stay near the middle, because the very short very forward position is suitable for just one activity: very fast, very forward running.
Also, remember that the purpose of a flat racing seat is to HELP the horse perform at his utmost in one simple pursuit. The rider puts her balance where the horse can best carry it, even if that's more precarious for the rider in case of unexpected sideways motion. A bronc rider is NOT trying to help the horse perform at his best in a straight-ahead trajectory -- he's trying to stay securely in the middle of violent shifts in upward/downward, forward/back, side-to-side balance, direction and motion.
Ride with long stirrups to stay in the middle of forward-back and side-to-side shifts. ride with shorter stirrups to make forward-and-back and up-and-down balance shifts, as in jumping. And to blast straight forward with no planned shifts in up-and-down or side-to-side, ride with really short stirrups, get over your horse's very forward balance, and stay there as you travel straight ahead at 40 miles an hour. 
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Member:
luckett
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Posted on Monday, Dec 3, 2007 - 9:05 pm:
Thanks Ladys,
What a great explaination!!!
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