[QUOTE=crosscreeksh;8854436]
I AGREE!! That little strip of leather keeper probably won’t support the weight of a “dragged” rider!![/QUOTE]
I think the theory is that, while it won’t support the weight of a dragged rider, it might just inhibit the movement of an already stiff stirrup leather out of the stirrup bar just enough to prevent it from coming loose, whereas a keeperless leather wouldn’t have that interference, and would just slide loose
The excess needs to be tucked in to the keeper while riding. It just looks sloppy otherwise. I do not believe tucking it in would result in the stirrup not coming off the bar.
I run up my stirrups and pull the excess out of the keeper to tuck it neatly with the rest of the leather. And I loosen the girth.
But good grief I have better things to worry about than whether other people are doing this.
I have bottom adjust leathers so there is no running up my stirrups. I cross them over the top of the saddle while dismounted and they hang straight down on the saddle rack. Before taking my saddle off the rack, I cross the stirrups so they’re not banging me in the shins while walking to the crossties. I figure I’m the only one riding in my saddle so I can do it the way I want.
[QUOTE=crosscreeksh;8854436]
I AGREE!! That little strip of leather keeper probably won’t support the weight of a “dragged” rider!![/QUOTE]
A lot of saddles don’t have a stitched on keeper anymore. My current two saddles have a slit in the flap. An excessively long leather could get hung up or even just a slightly long one being pulled at the correc t angle could hang up. Physics can be cruel and if you aren’t taking into account all forces/variables you may be in for a surprise. Like anything involving horses, I would never say never.
I also was taught to run up the stirrups and loosen the girth. Don’t even have to think about doing it. Just comes natural.
As a matter of protocol I have always run my stirrups up, never really thinking about the “why”. Thanks to COTH the “whys” are now very vivid in my mind and likely to give me yet another thing to worry about. :lol:
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