It’s all in the length
THE LENGTH OF your stirrups, as well as your foot position in the iron, affect the way you ride more than you think. Whether they are an inappropriate length for the type of riding you’re doing or uneven, they could be putting you in an uncomfortable or even vulnerable position, as biomechanics coach Hannah Irons explains.
“From the rider’s point of view, it’s important to ensure you have the correct alignment of your stirrups,” says Hannah. “What I often see is riders with stirrups that are too long having to reach for them, and so they hollow their back. And vice versa, when the stirrups are too short, riders tend to round their backs.
“Another factor is the angle of the hip,” Hannah continues. “I see a lot of riders with closed hips. It’s common because most of us sit in chairs at desks all day, and that massively impacts us in the saddle — that hinging forwards of the hips and closing of the joints lessens the effectiveness of our aids. We want our hips nice and open to allow our lower back to relax and everything to work effectively.”
Of course, the type of riding (dressage, jumping or hacking, for example) and saddle you
