You can't deny the importance of stirrups to a rider. Stirrups are an essential item on the horse tack list. Riders use stirrups for mounting, dismounting, balance, pony control and now and then for protecting themselves from a potential fall.
So why in the name of all that is horse heaven do instructors insist that their students learn how to ride without stirrups? If you've ever been baffled by this question, I've got some clarifications for you.
Before I answer the problem of why instructors ask students to ride sans stirrups, I have got a bit of guidance for you. When riding without your stirrups, lay them across the horse's neck or the shoulders, but don't lay them across your saddle. It'll take you one experience with severely bruised things to learn this lesson yourself the tough way, but I am saving you from that experience. Laying the stirrups across the horse's neck and shoulders will cause him no pain. The stirrups will bounce in complete harmony with the horse's movements. Try and get the buckle away from the stirrup bar, and place this across the horse's neck. You can avoid pinching and bruising your legs by doing this and shoving the stirrup leather flat underneath the saddle's skirt.
Riding without stirrups is designed to help you analyse and enhance your sense of balance and stableness. When you're riding without the safety of the stirrups, you are presenting your instructor with an exposed view of your abilities, or shortage of them. When you're without stirrups, you have got to kind of feel out the position astride your pony that works best for you , and that may involve a large amount of wriggling and shifting. While the natural bias is to rock forward so that you can absorb the impact of the horse's movements better through the upper part of your body (and also because the horse's neck can be grabbed if required) this could make the horse tense. You must relax and sit back. You must learn how to absorb the impact of movement thru your lower body areas: the lumbar region, hips and pelvis. The higher part of your body should be upright and still, moving just enough to flow with the horse's movements. You must try to sit as loosely as feasible in such a way that your weight presses down on the horse's centre of gravity.
Riding without stirrups helps nervous riders gain some confidence. Although it can be a rather frightening experience at the outset, riding a gentle horse without stirrups will improve your sense of balance and give you better control of application of aids. If you're especially uncomfortable at the start, you should not feel humiliated to ask that you begin at a walk. Once you feel comfortable with that, you can slowly progress to a trot and then to a canter. No-stirrup work truly develops your sense of security, but you shouldn't be averse to admitting your primary apprehension. It's far better to start slowly and build up. Excess fear can communicate itself to the horse.
The rider with more experience benefits from no-stirrup work in that she or he is able to develop a sense of feel and reduce riding stress. Strain can build up without the rider even being aware of it: it can begin at the ankles, at the neck or at the back and shoulders. You become a better rider when you're really aware of your body and the signals it is broadcasting.
The inception of stirrups is army, they were designed as an element of pony tack to enable cavalry riders to remain stable during battle. Clearly, in the days before stirrups were invented each rider rode without them, many riders rode with no horse tack of any sort at all. Since horseback fighting is kind of a part of history now, it can be debated that we do not need stirrups any more. But like all devices that ease life, once we've got it, we don't wish to give it up. If you really intend to become a top class rider, though, you should perfect the art of riding without stirrups.
So why in the name of all that is horse heaven do instructors insist that their students learn how to ride without stirrups? If you've ever been baffled by this question, I've got some clarifications for you.
Before I answer the problem of why instructors ask students to ride sans stirrups, I have got a bit of guidance for you. When riding without your stirrups, lay them across the horse's neck or the shoulders, but don't lay them across your saddle. It'll take you one experience with severely bruised things to learn this lesson yourself the tough way, but I am saving you from that experience. Laying the stirrups across the horse's neck and shoulders will cause him no pain. The stirrups will bounce in complete harmony with the horse's movements. Try and get the buckle away from the stirrup bar, and place this across the horse's neck. You can avoid pinching and bruising your legs by doing this and shoving the stirrup leather flat underneath the saddle's skirt.
Riding without stirrups is designed to help you analyse and enhance your sense of balance and stableness. When you're riding without the safety of the stirrups, you are presenting your instructor with an exposed view of your abilities, or shortage of them. When you're without stirrups, you have got to kind of feel out the position astride your pony that works best for you , and that may involve a large amount of wriggling and shifting. While the natural bias is to rock forward so that you can absorb the impact of the horse's movements better through the upper part of your body (and also because the horse's neck can be grabbed if required) this could make the horse tense. You must relax and sit back. You must learn how to absorb the impact of movement thru your lower body areas: the lumbar region, hips and pelvis. The higher part of your body should be upright and still, moving just enough to flow with the horse's movements. You must try to sit as loosely as feasible in such a way that your weight presses down on the horse's centre of gravity.
Riding without stirrups helps nervous riders gain some confidence. Although it can be a rather frightening experience at the outset, riding a gentle horse without stirrups will improve your sense of balance and give you better control of application of aids. If you're especially uncomfortable at the start, you should not feel humiliated to ask that you begin at a walk. Once you feel comfortable with that, you can slowly progress to a trot and then to a canter. No-stirrup work truly develops your sense of security, but you shouldn't be averse to admitting your primary apprehension. It's far better to start slowly and build up. Excess fear can communicate itself to the horse.
The rider with more experience benefits from no-stirrup work in that she or he is able to develop a sense of feel and reduce riding stress. Strain can build up without the rider even being aware of it: it can begin at the ankles, at the neck or at the back and shoulders. You become a better rider when you're really aware of your body and the signals it is broadcasting.
The inception of stirrups is army, they were designed as an element of pony tack to enable cavalry riders to remain stable during battle. Clearly, in the days before stirrups were invented each rider rode without them, many riders rode with no horse tack of any sort at all. Since horseback fighting is kind of a part of history now, it can be debated that we do not need stirrups any more. But like all devices that ease life, once we've got it, we don't wish to give it up. If you really intend to become a top class rider, though, you should perfect the art of riding without stirrups.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers go here
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers go here
No comments:
Post a Comment