At the last barn I rode at I was constantly told heels down and toes in. Now that I am at a new barn I am told to have my toes slighty out but heels down. The problem is that when I canter I tend to loose my stirrups even though my heels are down. Also after awhile I get bad pains in my ankles and start to loose feeling in my toes so I dont think that helps either. Does anybody have advice on how to keep the stirrups and also is there anyway to stop the pain and numbness which I think effects the lose of stirrups? Unfortunately I think my last trainer has given me a bad habit which is effecting me but of course I would like to break that habit because who likes to ride in pain and constantly loose their stirrups? Thanks in advance!
I suspect that you’re probably pushing forward with your feet to press your heels down against the base of the stirrup, which causes your leg to go forward and the stirrup to eventually pop forward once the force becomes more sideways than down. Your feet become numb because you’re pressing forward with so much force, wasting much of it going in the forward direction instead of down. Your ankles could be hurting from being stiff, since pushing forward requires constant tension, unlike a supple weighted heel.
It’s difficult to diagnose without photos or video, but if that is the case, thinking about keeping your leg back (possibly from as high up as your hip) and thinking about keeping your feet under you should help. If you try to stand up in your stirrups, your legs shouldn’t swing in front of you, forcing you back down. If your weight is balanced properly over the stirrups, you should be able to stand in them while the horse is moving without relying on anything else for balance.
thinking toes up and heels back instead of heels down helps a lot. Heels down makes people jam their feet down and forward. You want your heels underneath you, not jammed forward.
If your belly muscles are too weak to stabilize your core during the canter many people try to “suck” their legs upward in an instinctive movement to stabilize and they drop the stirrups. The only way to correct this is yes, sorry, exercise off the horse.
I honestly dont think it is my core. I am a full time athlete out of the saddle so exercise out of the saddle is definitely not one of my problems. I will definitely work on trying to keep my feet under me and think toes up heels back!
[QUOTE=wendy;7870621]
thinking toes up and heels back instead of heels down helps a lot. Heels down makes people jam their feet down and forward. You want your heels underneath you, not jammed forward.
If your belly muscles are too weak to stabilize your core during the canter many people try to “suck” their legs upward in an instinctive movement to stabilize and they drop the stirrups. The only way to correct this is yes, sorry, exercise off the horse.[/QUOTE]
I honestly dont think it is my core. I am a full time athlete out of the saddle so exercise out of the saddle is definitely not one of my problems. I will definitely work on trying to keep my feet under me and think toes up heels back!
[QUOTE=gabbykis44;7870637]
I honestly dont think it is my core. I am a full time athlete out of the saddle so exercise out of the saddle is definitely not one of my problems. I will definitely work on trying to keep my feet under me and think toes up heels back![/QUOTE]
What kind of athlete? Other than gymnastics, few other sports require the core strength it takes to become an effective rider.
[QUOTE=Angelico;7870643]
What kind of athlete? Other than gymnastics, few other sports require the core strength it takes to become an effective rider.[/QUOTE]
I am a swimmer, field hockey player, and lacrosse player. I am not one of those people who sit on a couch and say they are an athlete…
If you are still sitting on your horse securely without stirrups perhaps your saddle doesn’t fit YOU? It may be too small for you. We all worry so much about the horse being comfortable, but don’t often acknowledge that the way we ride can affect the horse too.
have a look at the videos on www.schleese.com/Female_ Saddle_Specialist
It’s hard to say without actually watching you, but you may be dropping your upper body, and this is making you grip harder to maintain balance. As you lean forward and grip harder, your knees are drawn up, and you lose your irons, regardless of your heel position.
Maybe practice two point, and work to feel your weight drop into your heel, letting that make your heel lower. Make sure you shoulders are back, and your chest out. When you can feel yourself balance from shoulder into your heel, try to sit, and maintain that balanced feeling. Another hint is to make sure you are not looking down-that will make your shoulders drop, and you will grip to keep your position.
I assume a great deal not seeing you, but if you are strong and fit, you may be squeezing yourself right out of the tack. As you improve in technique, you will rely less on strength and more on balance and position.
In my years of teaching a common thing I found happening is many times a rider will grip with the upper thigh @ the canter, which causes a shortening of the leg, which causes a loss of stirrups. I would remedy by putting the rider on the lunge (w/o stirrups or reins) & go thru a series of exercise @ the canter/walk/halt. Starting the exercise while the horse was standing/then graduate to walking/and ultimately to canter.
First whilst the horse is standing ~ I would ask the rider lift their legs out & up off the horses sides @ the thigh/hold for a few seconds (3-10)/ then release & relax the leg long. I would ask the rider to note the difference in how the thigh felt when (relaxed & long) versus (lifted & contracted). To then visual stretching the leg long w/an emphasis on letting the thigh stretch towards the ground.
After a few minutes of this @ the halt ~ we would then repeat the exercise for several minutes @ the walk in both directions. Then we would progress into canter work. While cantering several circles I would have the rider repeat the exercise of lifting up (for several seconds) then releasing & relaxing the thigh. Also would have rider change the hand & toe positions (hands behind the back/hands on hip/hands resting on thigh/ toes up & toes down). Then the last exercise was working thru transitions of walk to canter /canter to walk & halt to canter /canter to halt. During transition work we would put emphasis on keeping that long thigh position & quiet tall upper body position. During transitions many riders also tend to curl or push the upper body forward whilst shortening the leg.
*I never critiqued a rider too harshly on toe in or toe out (in this case I let anatomy dictate). Over time I find in some situations its more comfortable to realize your anatomy & work w/it 
In addition, if your ankle is holding tension rather than acting as a shock absorber, this can create pain. Can you wiggle your toes while cantering? If not, your ankle is stiff.
You are pulling your knees up, and probably also gripping with your knees. So much emphasis is put on heels down, that many people focus on that rather than what the entire leg is doing.
Correctly the weight should drop down through your knees, down through your ankles and down through your heels. If anything is locked along the way, the leg becomes less effective, and stirrups get lost.
Two point work, get it done while warming up & cooling down, grab mane to stabize yourself, toes in line with knees.
Is it the same horse and saddle at both barns?
[QUOTE=CHT;7871178]
Is it the same horse and saddle at both barns?[/QUOTE]
No so it has to be something that I am doing.
Why do you say that? Couldn’t it be something to do with the different saddle(s) you are using?
Although I do agree that thinking toes up rather than heels down will help, as will trying to put your weight down into your knees, then down and back into your heels, it could also be something with your saddle that is making it harder for your thighs to lay properly and pinching a nerve. If you ride your old way, do you have less issues with the stirrups/numbness?
[QUOTE=CHT;7871195]
Why do you say that? Couldn’t it be something to do with the different saddle(s) you are using?
Although I do agree that thinking toes up rather than heels down will help, as will trying to put your weight down into your knees, then down and back into your heels, it could also be something with your saddle that is making it harder for your thighs to lay properly and pinching a nerve. If you ride your old way, do you have less issues with the stirrups/numbness?[/QUOTE]
My old way is I believe what started this. I never had that problem until I rode with that trainer for about 6 months… I think I developed some sort of bad habit that is causing this.
I would guess that you are pressing your heels down but gripping in your knee and/or thigh. Do some hip opening exercises (bring you knee up, out like a frog, and rotate it back down) and see if that helps. Really think about keeping you knee from pinching and having weight in your heels but not jamming them forward. Sink INTO the saddle in the canter!
I’m having the same problem! It’s because I pinch with my knees - my heels are usually still down but the pinching/gripping causes my stirrups to either slip back “home”, or off the toe of my foot. It obviously depends on if my heels are actually down at the time…
My old trainer apparently never noticed this (
), but my new trainer (I just switched barns!) caught it in our first lesson. She’s having me really focus on keeping my weight all the way down my leg instead of at my knees, and I can definitely feel the difference between when I’m doing it right and when I’m not…
What works for me is to think “knees down” instead of “heels down”.
