Learn to Ride Without Stirrups

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Күн бұрын

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#nostirrups #seat #dressagerider
November is here, and you know what that means! It’s time for no stirrups! Riding without stirrups can help you develop your independent seat. In this video, I’m riding Mercurio and talking all about how to ride without stirrups and why it is helpful.
But, before we get into the video, I have a quick announcement to make! This month, I’m doing a fun #nostirrupsnovember challenge inside Amelia’s Dressage Club, my private Facebook Group ( / ameliasdressageclub . We have a positive and supportive community of riders, and we’d love to have you join us inside the group for the challenge. To enter, simply join us in Amelia’s Dressage Club, post a photo or video of you riding without stirrups with the hashtag “#nostirrupsnovember” and let us know a little bit about what you felt when you were riding without stirrups. The winner will be announced at the end of November and receive a Kastel Denmark sun shirt with my logo!
Okay, now back to the video. Riding without stirrups is a great exercise to help develop your independent seat because when you ride without stirrups, 100% of your weight goes into your seat, and there’s nothing to brace against! This causes all of the correct riding muscles (like your transverse abdominals and glute meds) to fire to keep you stable and moving with your horse.
Before you ride without stirrups, make sure that you have a safe horse, and that you warm your horse up a bit before you drop your stirrups. When you are ready to ride without your stirrups, cross them in front of your saddle so that they are out of the way.
Riding without stirrups is hard and a skill you must develop. Eventually, you want to be able to ride in both directions and at all three gaits. Here are a few tips for riding without stirrups:
- Start out at the walk, and then progress up to the trot and canter as you feel comfortable.
- When you first drop your stirrups, do a few slow and controlled ankle circles in both directions and try scissor legs - alternating your legs forward and back. Make sure that your seat moves with your horse when you do these exercises.
- Go up to trot and focus on keeping your leg quiet and long, with your toes pointing up and forward, just like you would when you ride with stirrups. Make sure that your seat is moving with your horse, and that you can soften your hands without your position changing.
- If you get tired, take a walk break. Focus on quality over quantity when riding without stirrups, and give yourself a break before you feel your position fall apart.
Riding without stirrups just for five to ten minutes a couple of times per week is plenty to work on developing your independent seat. After you finish riding without stirrups, notice any differences you feel when you take your stirrups back. You want to try to keep the same feeling in your seat that you had without stirrups as you continue your ride with stirrups!
Watch the video where I talk more about riding without stirrups on Mercurio! I hope these tips help you with your horse!
Happy Riding
Amelia
00:00 Intro/No Stirrups November
01:17 Safety First
02:03 Exercises at the Walk
04:35 No Stirrups at the Trot
06:20 Take Breaks!
07:06 No Stirrups at the Canter
08:34 Picking up Your Stirrups
09:44 #nostirrupsnovember Challenge
10:50 Outro

Пікірлер: 45

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

Join us in Amelia’s Dressage Club! facebook.com/groups/ameliasdressageclub/

@ademirj241 7 ай бұрын

Good morning Miss Amelia. This video of yours is great! My riding teacher sometimes asks me to ride without stirrups. Now, after seeing with more understanding and clarity the benefits obtained by walking without stirrups, I will do this more often. And... I will take a photo and/or video to send you. Thank you very much for your magnificent class! I wish you much success. God bless you! Always.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 7 ай бұрын

Awesome! Thanks for watching!

@firearies05 7 ай бұрын

I like working on things I hate, so a few years back when my trainer started making us ride without stirrups to warm up, I noticed how little control I had over my body and how unbalanced I felt without the stirrups there. So I started taking them off for a little while to warm up some days. Now I’m able to do a whole lesson without needing my stirrups, and I ride at least once or twice a week without them just because I ended up liking it so much. It also makes me feel badass when people wince when they see me trotting around (posting trot) effortlessly ;)

@lgjc Ай бұрын

I took them off for the first time, but I felt terrified when the horse started walking(!).. not even trotting. Did you have that same fear / feeling, and do you overcome it with time?

@animallover4101 8 ай бұрын

I rode a whole winter without stirrups and people thought I had went to train in Europe. I put my stirrups in the tack room and replaced them a week before my first show . Now I prefer to ride without them

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

Wow! Good for you!!

@NawarajKarki-xd1lz 7 ай бұрын

@emmienewswanger222 8 ай бұрын

Instead of no stirrups November, I'm going to do no stirrups winter! Riding without stirrups the whole winter will help to build my strength for show season

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

That is great! Let me know how it goes!

@amandafrench8047 8 ай бұрын

Smashing video, thanks for this Amelia :)

@michaelallen2057 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! This is very helpful.

@higginsba 8 ай бұрын

Gorgeous boy! Defo need try this at my next lesson. If I dont get in to the canter right away I find my legs/knees end up scrunching up & fwd as I keep trying to give the canter leg aide 😬😔

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

You got this!

@juliecastro6272 8 ай бұрын

My Instructor used to have me do this when I was learning to sit down in the saddle.

@69Aliencry 8 ай бұрын

I ride in a thin line bareback pad as my horse is currently awaiting a new saddle and fitting (we’ve been waiting a few months), and rode in a saddle yesterday and hated it! I feel like so much is lost and I miss the close contact. It has made sitting the trot effortless though. I will probably continue to do half my rides bareback once we have fitted tack again.

@lavonasmith6256 8 ай бұрын

I think this might help my bracing! Thank you!

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

Agreed! Give it a try!

@Ameliathehorsegirl 8 ай бұрын

Nice work Amelia helps me out

@deirdrepratte9231 8 ай бұрын

I love November!! I feel that I ride better and sit deeper without.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

Awesome!

@Chey651 8 ай бұрын

In the winter when I’m just doing light rides like not jumping or reining I just ride bareback because I can’t be bothered to put a saddle on in -30 and snow and sometimes when I’m practicing English EQ I just take my stirrups off and it kinda looks so funny when I record it because it’s just like what if they built saddles with no place for a stirrup, could you imagine how much better riders would be if they didn’t use stirrups and we actually went by the rule that the saddle is only for ones butt comfort?? Sometimes I also only ride with a saddle pad on my horses back to test how good my balance actually is to be able to keep a saddle pad on my horses back with no girth

@pariahmouse7794 8 ай бұрын

I need to try the saddle pad thing- I rode a whole lesson a couple years ago with the girth so loose the instructor could put her fist between the girth and the horse, she said I must have some crazy good balance because we never even wobbled or slipped, I was so proud of that, haha! I LOVE riding bareback, I think stirrups are cheating until you have an independent seat...

@Chey651 8 ай бұрын

@@pariahmouse7794 lol same thing pretty much happened to me, I was on a trail ride with my instructor and when we got back my mom was at the gate and she said: Ray that cinch isn’t even touching the horses belly!!! And he just said don’t worry momma she’s got good balance 😂😂 I loved having him as a trainer

@maureendollente 2 ай бұрын

My horse has a very bouncy trot. I can only trot without stirrups for 2 or 3 steps. My lower back hurts so bad if i try to do more than that. My son who is an advanced rider (competed in show jumping) is very good at riding bareback and won't trot bareback on our horse either. He prefers to canter bareback on our horse as the movement is much smoother. I did do a lesson on a lesson program horse and trotting with no stirrups was much easier. However i think with some horses it feels near impossible to trot no stirrups.

@tagadaki 8 ай бұрын

I feel like riding without stirrups helps you a lot with balance tbh. My level is trash, my hands are all over the place and my legs are not in a good position when im riding, but because I rode a lot bareback or without stirrups, I never feel like Im gonna fall, I just know im chaotic and sad for the horse who tries to understand my bullshit, but always, always feel comfortable on the saddle and never feel like im losing balance. I also remove them pretty often while galloping as I think it's easier for me to place my legs withouth having to pay attention to stirrups. My teacher also make us remove the stirrups and go pedal on top of the head of the horse while hanging to the back of the saddle. That's craaaazyy for abs and ensure you to trust your horse and work your balance. Horrible and painful but great exercise 😆

@meinthewild312 8 ай бұрын

I did this drop your irons thing many years ago. My problem then, and I suspect would be the case now, is I got so used to riding without them, I stopped using them altogether. I would literally drop them during my shows. I never put the right one on my saddles and ripped the left one off right after mounting. This went on for about 2 years until I was eliminated because I rode without my irons. I feel like this rule should be changed to make riding without your irons an option. It was really difficult to learn to use them again.

@tagadaki 8 ай бұрын

Yeah I feel ya ! I prefer to ride without too cause I struggle to place my legs a bit more behind with the stirrups, idk why. Without is the best feeling for me. So I cheat a bit during lessons and I remove them while galloping, but my teacher knows I love it so she doesn't tell me anything lol. Everytime I lose a stirrup Im like "yeahhh, fu** that, just gonna remove the other one" 😆

@miamancini5774 8 ай бұрын

Your saddle looks very comfortable. What brand is it? Thank you❤

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

It's by Custom Saddlery.

@abarlow5648 8 ай бұрын

Hello! My trainer has me ride without stirrups at the trot only, and I'm having quite a hard time keeping my balance, leg position, and even confidence. I completely trust the horse I ride, but I'm a bit stuck. 😕

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

Take some time and practice at the walk!

@poor4horses 8 ай бұрын

I started dropping my stirrups for about 5-10 minutes after each ride. I'm finding that my guy really slows down and gets behind my leg. Getting him to trot without stirrups is difficult. Could I be sitting too deep and blocking his movement or somehow shutting him down? What can I do to help free him while riding with no stirrups? I'm really enjoying it.

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

Great observation! Yes, really make sure that you are following his motion and that your hips aren't locking when you drop your stirrups. Try the ankle circles and kicks at the walk to help you find your independent seat!

@applewood_breyers9883 8 ай бұрын

My trainer is having us go up to 30 minutes without stirrups (gradually over the month) but the entire time we have to post the trot. Is this a good beneficial way of doing it?

@AmeliaNewcombDressage 8 ай бұрын

That is fine, but make sure that you take breaks before you feel that your position is compromised.

@applewood_breyers9883 8 ай бұрын

@@AmeliaNewcombDressageok! Thank you!

@amandafrench8047 8 ай бұрын

Yer such a nice rider lady :)