Today’s blog entry was written by Anne Palmer
First off, stirrup length on your western saddle is a matter of your own preference. What feels comfortable to you might not feel good to someone else. Do you like to ride more relaxed with longer stirrups out trail riding all day, or deeper in the saddle feeling with shorter stirrups when riding a colt or speed events? What kind of riding you are doing does play a big factor. Or like me, I have had soo many surgery’s on my right knee, I ride with my stirrup a bit longer on that side, so it doesn’t ache. That’s all it takes is a bit of adjustment and I can ride comfortably,without the aches and pains.
There are a few guidelines to follow and you will be in the ballpark so to speak.You can adjust your stirrup length two ways.From the saddle setting on your horse or from the ground.
From the saddle, get on and set relaxed, let your legs hang down naturally out of the stirrups. Adjust your stirrup so that the bottom of the stirrup is level, slightly below your anklebone. Your leg should also follow pretty closely the line of the stirrup fender. So don’t have your legs tucked up close to the swells,just set relaxed and let your legs drop.
Then put your feet in the stirrups and stand up. Yes, stand, just stand, you should have about a fist size space between your seat and the saddle. If you have barely any space you need to shorten them so that you clear the seat of the saddle. Way to much space and you feel like a jockey on a race horse and you will want to lower them a bit.
From the ground, stand next to your horse and we are going to measure the length of your arm to start. With your hand touching where the stirrup leather attaches to the saddle (underneath the seat), adjust the length so that the bottom of the stirrup reaches your armpit. With this method you can get on knowing that you have your stirrups adjusted somewhere in the right area.
If you are a beginner rider, it is going to be better to err on the side of shorter length stirrups.This will give you more control of your body positioning while you are learning your balance and riding skills.It just takes a few minutes of adjustment and you can make your ride more comfortable and enjoyable.
The article source was EzineArticles.com.