fear.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFear is something that is harder and harder to get over as we get older. Adults have a lot more fear typically on horseback than kids do. We think of all the things that can go wrong. We have all the memories of the bad falls over the years that kids haven’t had the chance to accumulate yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as time goes on, you start preparing for competitions, and your priorities change – and next thing you know, you forget how to ride without stirrups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No Stirrups as an Adult is Scary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n About 5 years ago, I decided to regain my ability to ride bareback and bride-less again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, the first step was re-learning how to ride without stirrups. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI remember the first time I dropped my stirrups again at a trot. My body reacted really badly. My body reacted out of fear. It did all of the things it was conditioned not to do from all my long years of riding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My upper body hunched forwards <\/li> My legs gripped the sides of the horse and my knees started coming up <\/li> I felt my core was getting super tight <\/li> I started to pull back on my reins <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nIf you visualize that, you’ll realize that because I was scared, my body was naturally putting me in the fetal position. It’s like I was preparing for the fall before it even happened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My body was unsteady and my balance was challenged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more I tightened, the worse my balance got and I would feel more and more like I would start slipping to one side. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe nice thing is that I did have an amazing horse, Shady, so whenever I would feel myself slipping, I could slow her down and she’d immediately walk so I could compose myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact that I was tightening up was actually making it way more likely that I would fall. What I should have been doing was the exact opposite<\/strong>. How to ride without stirrups comes down to:<\/p>\n\n\n\nKeeping my shoulders back<\/li> Letting my legs fall and elongate – keep the angle of my hip large<\/li> Letting my upper body feel the movement of the horse<\/span><\/li>Keeping my hands quiet and steady<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhat Makes it Hard to Ride With No Stirrups?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n What I find makes it hard about how to ride without stirrups is the fact that we’re not used to it and we’re afraid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We react out of fear and forget our usual position in the saddle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That sensation of slowly losing your balance and bouncing over one of the sides of the horse is super frustrating and scary if you’ve ever experienced it. The more you try and fight to stay on, the quicker you lose your balance. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s like falling off but in slow motion. It happens when riding with no stirrups without proper balance, or if your horse turns a bit quicker than expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trick is to learn to relax into the horse’s movement. The more we relax deep in the saddle and let our core move with the horse rather than tightening up, the easier it becomes. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe more we tighten, the more our legs grab onto the horse in an effort to keep us on. Of course, this just makes it worse and we instinctively lean forwards and grab onto a bunch of mane which is definitely not as graceful as we’d all like to be in the saddle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve all been there! Well, I certainly have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was re-learning how to do this as an adult, these are the cues I used that made things easier for me and helped me get over the “fear-hump”. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n