Say No to No Stirrup November

Say No to No Stirrup November?!?

It's that time of year again, when the air is frosty and trainers pull stirrups from saddles and riders down bottles of pain killers and horses spontaneously develop back problems and the reluctance to go forward.

Before you ditch your stirrups, take a minute to think about the reason behind the season. We want to develop balance and strength right?

At the walk, riding with no stirrups lets gravity stretch your leg and soften your hips, which is especially great at the start and end of your ride.

At the trot and canter, though, taking your feet out can lead to pinching with your knees, gripping with your thighs, and balancing on the bit. Oh, and, sharp pain up your spine. All of this then leads to tightened hips and resentful horses- the opposite of the intention of no stirrup November.

While a couple of minutes here and there may not be a big deal, if you make your whole ride all month long, No Stirrup November, the season encourages your horse to spend a month hallowed out and working all the wrong muscles. All the sudden you went from a rider who knew how to support themselves using their whole leg and core to sitting heavy and randomly falling one side to another. When you bounce your back hurts, it also encourages your horse to drop their back to protect themselves. Balance and position changes that your horse has to brace for to compensate.

Its not all doom and gloom though! I love the idea of trying to strengthening your legs and improve your balance in the saddle as goals for November! But if there is a way to do so without sacrificing your horse’s back and downing a bottle of pain killers every week, wouldn’t that be better?

SEBB’s Facebook and instagram pages will have exercises to make you stronger this month. Fridays the exercise will be on horse and Mondays the exercise is off horse. Give them a try instead of bouncing around with no stirrups this month.