Stirrup length?

[Wally]

Now I know a lot of you guys will be used to riding BIG horses or BIG ponies, but we specialise in Icelandics and Shetlands.

If you ride a small horse with a short stirrup, all it does is shift up your centre of gravity and make you more difficult for the horse to carry.

Now the following photos are of a competition ICelandic rider, on his Icelandic mare, he's 6 foot 4 and the mare about 13.2hh. If he was 11 stone I'd be surprised.
And the others are of Frances' elder daughter riding our little stallion and Froggie for the first time ever ('scuse the nervous look!!)

Are, as has been suggested, her stirrups too long?? This is her usual length stirrup for flat work.

The last is her after winning best rider on her Icelandic. The steward wanted to pull her in and get her to take her stirrups up!!!! The judge was Danish ( Or norwegian, or Swedish ) and said no!

[cvb]

Wally

I'd only want to change anything if she as struggling with rising... it could just about be that she wouldn't get a true rise... but w/o seeing it, I wouldn't swear on it.

certainly on the shetties it looks like she'd be crunched up if she went shorter. and it may be that the last photo is an optial illusion as she has short boots on.

[Wally]

None of the horses she rides has enough elevation to throw her higher than a gentle rock. I find most folk over do the rise anyway.

[Mehitabel]

if the leg is stable enough to stay underneath the rider with half of it off the pony's sides, then why not. i don't jack mine up when i am on a tiddler - it doesn't do very much to make the picture better and can make it worse, as you say.

[03kieranej]

I think the stirrups are fine. In my opinion it dosen't matter what you look like when you are riding, as long as your meathod is effective and the pony is comfortable.

[Skib]

These pictures are lovely. I really like it that you included the left hand one. The position of the girl's legs and body looks very like the position my teacher rides. And her stirrup irons would be level with her ankle, wouldnt they? People in the UK tend to put beginners in too short stirrups. I was rescued by a retired show judge who ordered my school to let down the stirrups.
I like to be able to put 4 fingers between my crotch and the saddle when I stand up in the stirrups, as it lets me do rising trot. But this is something I learned riding Western in the States. Frances's daughter looks as if she could do this.
I'd ignore the critics. An argument about it led to my leaving that same riding school. A new teacher arrived who took up my stirrups. When I objected, he threw his whip on the ground and refused to teach me. The priority is to sit comfortably, and safe and well balanced as that girl is sitting. Not what other people think. You could always defuse arguments by saying that icelandic irons are intended to hang that length.

[Wally]

That's what the Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (whatever he was )judge said who put her 1st in the best rider and best ridden horse.

The steward told her to come in and take up her leathers, the judge said,
"no, that is the way we ride Icelandics"

the steward was a bit put out!

[elise]

Personally I prefer a longer stirrup, but I would say she could stand one hole up just to get the heels down. Anything shorter would proabably mess up her position.


That first picture is funny, as it seems if you are that close to the ground already, why use stirrups in the first place

[floppy]

i rode my cousins green horse the other, started off with my normal stirrup length that i have when riding my icey, was ok to begin with but then i ended up shortening my stirrups by 2 holes because everytime the youngen decided he was a bit out of balance it didnt half give me a uncomfortable ..not sure sure what to use here...jolt? in the saddle. since then whenever i ride ''normal'' horses i always shorten me stirrups by 2 holes.

i remember when i went from dressage to the wild life of the icelandics, the first thing i had to do was lengthen my stirrups by two holes!

[Luv 2 Trot]

Wally, i have a question for you. How on earth do you ride such a little pony?

[Bay Mare]

They look fine to me, she's got a great position

[Whatanejit]

No idea about stirrup length Wally but boy those horses and pics are sooo sweet.

Loads more miniature woolly mammoths please!!

[entreat]

I think she looks fine. As long as she can ride. I always thought shorter (for flat work)=inexperience (I am guilty). I think she looks great, actually! Very comfortable & stable. (the guy on the Icelandic to me looks like he might struggle to give aids to his mare - but until you watch them move, you never really know)

When I ride a new horse, I ride short, then as I get comfortable with the horse I let them longer. But this is because I need the stirrups as my emergency eject system if it all goes wrong.

[Wally]

The aids you give to an icelandic are subtle, the only part of my leg in contact with the horse is about the first 2 inches of the top of my boot, spurs for me would be obsolete! INcreases in speed come because you allow it, you never ask an Icelandic to go faster, you allow it!
It is mostly weight and seat and the top of my boot what I give signals with.

[Skib]

Wally - I like your post. Last winter Mark Rashid warned anyone riding in Iceland to ask for "a granny horse" otherwise they would go 20 miles without stopping.
This is not useful advice. I asked for a granny horse, in Scotland and it made off with me so fast. Shows the horse doesn't know it has a Granny on its back. Yours sounds just as I like them

[Jessey]

I think that sturrup length looks good, I think it is all to common to see kids and novices with their knees up round their ear holes it doesn't allow effective seat aids and I think slows the development of a deep seat, OK in some case it does help to give them confidence but I feel it is over used

J x

[entreat]

In that case, Wally, I eat my words (gee my words are tasteless sometimes...)