Anyone remember when it was a thing to have only the tip of your toe in the stirrup? And the barely there post?
I was never taught this toe thing. I was taught the classic stirrup slightly angled across the ball of your foot. And that was in the early-mid 80’s.
Barely posting? Yes, was taught this. I was taught that the rider should let the thrust from the horses trot ‘throw’ you slightly up & forward in the saddle. To accomplish this, I was asked to post without stirrups. That really helps to get the ‘barely posting’ thing across.
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I remember the barely posting, just brush forward and back on the saddle thing.
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When I returned to riding in the ‘90s my coach said in the middle of my first ride, “I know exactly when you stopped riding. We want to SEE the post now.”
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I always rode unpredictable horses, so I needed the stirrups on the ball of my feet for security, but I learned as a kid to post forward and back, getting just high enough out of the saddle so you didn’t bounce,
I also held my hands at a 45 degree angle instead of straight up. And still won local EQ classes.
As an adult, my trainer said I needed to post AND hold my hands straight up and down, but I wouldn’t do it. Why was it important? I’d been showing in local hunters and jumpers for decades with good success. That was a picky change that I didn’t need!
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I remember being told by one trainer to follow the angle of the shoulders with my hands, so 45, more or less, I guess? Hunh, I never thought much about this!
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Can someone show pictures of how you think it has changed? I have never consciously thought about this but tend to ride with the stirrup pretty forward. But doing a quick scan of photos of modern Eq riders, I don’t think the standard is much different than it used to be? I recognize I may be missing something (and I definitely rode in the 80’s!) so I am hoping someone has pictures to share
What I HAVE noticed is in the 80’s, the pros and the really top juniors had the saddle flap curl under their calf because they were so tight in the tack, especially over fences. You rarely see that anymore, and it’s always made me wonder if (1) saddles have changed structurally in a way that doesn’t allow this, or (2) are riders generally not as tight in the tack as they used to be, because they are in a big comfy saddle on a big comfy Warmblood, instead of trying to stay with a TB in a true flat saddle?
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I think that 45 degree angle allows your arm to be a bit softer.
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The flaps are often thicker (if calf, they may be reinforced against wear) and the blocks also stop them from shifting.
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I was getting yelled at for riding with just my big toe in the stirrup as far back as the 80s if that helps you.
Today, I can post several different ways, including the ugly Straight-Up-And-Down Euro-Thrust. But thinking about that fugly picture, I’m having nostalgia for the subtle, nothing post. And getting on my stump about how the Americans won the 1984 show jumping, riding forward and soft in the Nothing-esque Prix des Nations or Hermes saddles.
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I think the saddles are designed differently now, with a lot more padding on the flap, plus leg blocks under the flap that would make it much harder for it to curl.
It’s hard to get out of the LaZBoy clunky super-padded saddles of current time. I find myself really needing to make a concerted effort. That being said…I miss the pancake saddles that basically were leather bareback pads with stirrups. I kept one for a very long time to ride the ponies and ended up riding most horses in it because it just felt better and I had more connection.
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I say again, no stirrups sucks in the LaZBoy!!! The one I’m riding now has a custom saddle so I’m trying my best but… I picked up a near pancake on ebay, just has a tiny kneeblock (one more bell and whistle than my old saddle had) and have it waiting for the day, just waiting… Thinking of trying the trashcan challenge in it in the meantime 
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The what, now?
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I have a remembrance of people using their rattiest tack to warm up in including one of those little front door polyester woven rugs over your saddle pad.
Maybe it was just my area!
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I think the barely there post had more to do with the type of horses we rode. The OTTBs wouldn’t put up with a lot. They were sensitive, and were daisy cutter movers. In the 90’s the WBs came into fashion, and they had much bigger movement. You had to post bigger to stay with them.
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Ahhh. This makes sense.
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… right after I spy an email headline in my in-box about TikTok challenges and death.
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