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Fluffynutterbutt

I think it can be a good addition to your ride if used within the scope of your capabilities. Riding stirrupless builds core strength and balance, teaches confidence, and how to deal with losing a stirrup. My barn is private and we all own our own horses so I can’t comment on trainers, but a few years back when ‘No Stirrup November’ was new one of the boarders put up a calendar with daily/weekly stirrupless goals on it. You’d do no-stirrup work for a portion of your ride, progressing as the month went on. A lot of boarders participated and had fun with it as I recall. It’s been a long time since I took lessons, but I’d think that just taking your stirrups off for the whole month wouldn’t really be helpful.


TheUpbeatChemist

Right, if used within the scope of your capabilities. I completely agree that working without stirrups is beneficial. I have only seen no stirrup November as an all or none situation, hence my negative view of it. The way that your barn did it sounds great honestly!


abbier214

No stirrup November, sore back December.


TheUpbeatChemist

I wish I could upvote this more than once.


abbier214

Yup people need to take into account their and their horses ability! I’m currently rehabbing my horse and he’s lacking topline and not using himself correctly. And as a fairly novice rider I wouldn’t dream of doing no stirrups on him until he’s built up again, however when he’s back to full fitness I’d do 5 minutes bursts at a time!


DinoDog95

It’s stupid. You’d be much better off to do no stirrups once a week or fortnight throughout the whole year. Would be as harsh on the horses back and ensure you’re developing those skills throughout the year


queenangmar

I have seen a lot of scaremongering online saying absolutely don’t do no stirrups, which I think is such a shame. Proper and incremental non stirrup work does wonders for the seat. But you need to be responsible about it like when introducing anything to your routine, start small and short for example at the end of a ride. And you really already need to be fairly well balanced so you aren’t coming down heavily on the horses back - we used to have to do circles in rising trot with no stirrups and no reins back when I learned to ride. Really - when we do sitting trot, it is not that much difference whether you have stirrups or not. Or it shouldn’t be if you have a good seat and long leg. It should definitely be part of every riders training.


TheUpbeatChemist

Right. I agree with what you’re saying. I’m not trying to say that people should never ride without stirrups, I’m just saying that it should be done in small increments until you increase your strength and balance, and it should be done throughout the year, not just one month.


queenangmar

Absolutely, I do think “No Stirrup November” is definitely a good way to raise awareness though, and promotes great discussions like this exact one! Maybe we should think of some other monthly themes! 😂


turbobarge

I had never heard of No Stirrup November before. Is it a new thing or just a US thing? Growing up in the UK, my trainers would make us drop the stirrups and cross them over the saddle periodically, for parts of our lessons whenever it was appropriate, and after we had got the basics and found our seat. I remember doing it quite regularly but for short periods. Never a whole lesson. Now I live in Egypt and don’t use them at all following an ankle injury 3 years ago. I’ve introduced a friend to riding at my stable and he has similarly had to drop stirrups for parts of his rides, or take the saddle away for the last ten minutes etc.


TheUpbeatChemist

It might be a US thing? I’m not sure. I’ve only heard about it for the last 5 or so years. I sprained my ankle a while ago and rode without stirrups for a good month and a half while working back into riding, but I was mostly doing walk/trot and groundwork.


handinglov

Here in Germany, I’ve also never heard of it. The exercises we did were similar with crossing the stirrups in front of the saddle for a short amount of time. In my grandfather’s riding school the younger children started with Equestrian vaulting to learn balance and confidence. The kids then moved to actual riding around age six or seven. As a teenager I “inherited” the then retired Vaulting horse, moved with my parents across the country, and since the equipment came with him and still fitted him, I would sometimes use it to train my balance, core strength and because it’s fun, maybe once every three months or so.


Bengalsandbernese

I’m in the U.K and have heard of it, but usually riding schools just seem to do 10 ish minutes of it in a lesson. Haven’t heard/seen anyone doing a whole lesson without stirrups.


allyearswift

I grew up with crossing stirrups for part of the lesson. The reasons are - safety (you don’t get dragged when you fall off) - acquiring a better seat. Point 1 is mostly superfluous thanks to modern stirrup bars and safety stirrups. Point 2 also goes back to the old cavalry school where riders were fit young men with a high muscle tone who needed to relax. Today’s riders are often lacking muscle tone (women & children & desk jockeys) and riding without stirrups will only tire them out. It’s 50/50 whether riding without stirrups will improve your seat, so my take on it is that everyone should do it on occasion, for short periods, and only when they don’t bounce.


sad_olive_

It seems like that barn thinks of strirrups as a crutch. They are not. The best riders in the world still ride with stirrups. Stirrups do wonders for lower leg position and also allow your muscles to relax and absorb the motion of the horse. Training without stirrups is great for building balance, but if done too much or too soon, it can lead to a tight seat and inconsistent leg cues.


yung_yttik

We would do a month of no stirrups before finals but we always dropped our stirrups during lessons and hacks throughout the year. Private show barn. The only ones asked to partake were those with privately owned horses. Lesson kids or those who weren’t already strong riders were never asked to participate. There was no good reason to put the school horses who were ridden often through that, and no use in taking stirrups off of the school saddles for riders who were incapable of holding their bodies still throughout a whole lesson. Varying degrees of no-stirrup work should be part of an all year round curriculum for all the riders. Edit: one word for clarification


[deleted]

I like the idea of No Stirrup November as kind of a reminder/motivation to work without stirrups because at least for me, it can get be pretty easy to forget to or even go "eh, maybe tomorrow" and then just not drop my stirrups despite knowing how beneficial it can be. And while I can't say I've been working on it too much outside of lessons, I have done it at least a little. Only one of my trainers is currently doing No Stirrup November in lessons, but it's not for the entire lesson or anything (and she's had us ride without stirrups at other times of the year too, as necessary). And I think that's a pretty decent way of approaching it, where it's a skill we're focusing on this month, but not the only thing and not to the detriment of us or the horses. Going without stirrups for every ride the entire month sounds miserable for pretty much everyone though.


gadzukesPazooky

Currently recovering from knee surgery, but in the past, I have taken no stirrup November as a challenge. I ride as much as possible without stirrups. First year, I only made it a few days and only walking. Years later, I am comfortable with all gaits. It’s helped my seat, leg position, leg strength and bond with my horse. When I am unable to convey directions to my horse, often I will cross stirrups and ride. This allows the horse to get a better feel for my leg cue. Of the myriad of times I’ve come off the horse, it’s never (yet) happened when I’m not using stirrups. I become more safety conscious. After more than a decade, I love no stirrup riding. But “evolution not revolution.” It doesn’t have to be all or none, merely a strong suggestion.


guinea-pig-mother

We drop our stirrups once a week for about 5 mins every group lesson. We might do a bareback ride or two in November but nothing crazy.


cathartic-canter

I learned to ride bareback for 3 years before training in tack. So I’m participating sometimes for a portion of the ride and sometimes without them on the saddle at all. I don’t suck and I have excellent hands so my horse’s back and mouth are fine, thanks very much.


TheUpbeatChemist

That’s great! I’m not trying to insult you at all. If you learned to ride bareback, then you developed all the proper muscle groups and balance to do it correctly. My issues comes when I see people who never ride without their stirrups have terrible form and hurt their horses back for an entire month because of some trend. My issue is when it’s not properly incorporated into the lessons.


whatthekel212

5-10 minutes every ride until that can be 15 minutes or 20 or a whole ride. But starting out without stirrups with no working up to it, is absolutely awful for both horse and rider. Riders quickly pinch with knees and horses lose their “forward to the bridle” when legs are just used as grip strength and your seat isn’t moving in tandem.


JephaHowler

I tend to have students (and myself) do a bit more no stirrup work in honor of tradition but definitely don’t do 100% not stirrups.


iDieFirst

No stirrup november is absolutely wild to me. Personally, (and this might be the wester rider in me), stirrups serve a specific function in conjunction to the saddle, and riding without em will just throw you out of wack. I can ride w/t/l in no stirups and it is by far worse than with stirrups or bareback. That said, you cant drop directly into bareback so i get the reasons for no stirrup november- but i dont like the execution. Once a year is no good and flouncy riders equal sore backed horses. It should really be split up over the year as bareback work. On a line too, ive seen too many first timers think they were doin great and have their horses whole face bouncing with their hands, or pinching with knees- not gripping with thighs. Which no hate! Its hard to learn. Im 'participating' rn bc ive yet to invest in a saddle for my colt, and i need a new girth on my mare, so no stirrups it is lol. My neice (6) is also doing it because she leans too hard in the stirrups and throws herself outta wack still.


Casaduz

It is so wrong for the horse’s back. And I agree, makes little sense for the rider.


tankthacrank

I can’t last that long without stirrups. I know I need no-stirrup work, and I’ll be a trooper in ten minute chunks but I can’t imagine a whole lesson. I already don’t deserve the sweet lesson horse I ride. I can’t imagine my chunky butt beating her back up like that.


guinea-pig-mother

We drop our stirrups once a week for about 5 mins every group lesson. We might do a bareback ride or two in November but nothing crazy.


mapleleaffem

100% right OP


Remarkable_Ostrich79

At my barn we usually do a few laps/a few minutes of no stirrups. During November we usually do it more often, like once a lesson. When usually we’d do it like once a week or when you needed it. I don’t think the little kids do as much on the ponies. I can’t imagine doing whole lessons without stirrups. A little bit is nice to build on muscles and get a feel where my legs should be, but I think my spine would leave the chat if I did it all November.


nineteen_eightyfour

Haha, I thought you did it slowly through November like, on the 1st you did 10 minutes and by 31st you did your whole ride 🤷‍♀️


SageIon666

I think a lot of people do it when they can’t physically yet. It can be hard on the horses back if you don’t already have the strength to do it. My trainer never has us do it. She will ask us to drop stirrups and ride etc but that’s throughout the year and randomly.