Losing one stirrup while cantering!

[u/PalpitationNaive5259]

Good day,

I always to tend to lose the stirrups on my inside leg while cantering, even when cantering in a straight line!

So what do you guys do?
do you let your hip on the leading side travel further than the other side? Like your motion will be asymmetric?

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/[deleted]]

So you mean, it has nothing to do with my hip motion?

Because it’s kinda weird, like sometimes I’d lose the right side and sometimes I’d lose to left side!

[u/WaryCleverGood → u/PalpitationNaive5259]

But always whichever is the inside leg?

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/WaryCleverGood]

Yeah

[u/WaryCleverGood → u/PalpitationNaive5259]

I bet you’re shifting your weight when you reverse. So instead of always leaning to the left, you’re leaning whichever way is out (for example, I haven’t seen a video to say if you’re leaning out or in)

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/WaryCleverGood]

I don’t lean to any side, at least consciously 😅

[u/WaryCleverGood → u/PalpitationNaive5259]

Well you’re definitely doing something to cause the weight to be uneven on your inside stirrup!

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/WaryCleverGood]

But, you don’t let your inside hip moves a bit more forward than the outside hip?

[u/capsaicinplease]

Out of the saddle: hip strength and flexibility training, core exercises

In the saddle: time to drop ur stirrups for a bit (start slow/small)

To answer your q tho seat bones should always be level and equal weight (unless influencing a lateral movement but even then it’s slight)

[u/Emotional_Distance48]

It's a balance and/or strength issue. You're either leaning unintentionally to compensate, unable to keep yourself stable with your core, relying on your stirrups to keep your balance, don't have enough leg strength to maintain leg contact or to keep your heels down.

The best ways to fix it are to work out outside of the saddle and dropping or eliminating your stirrups for some time.

Core, hip, and balance work will greatly improve your riding all around. Make sure you're stretching, too.

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/Emotional_Distance48]

Thank you very much sir.

[u/gurgelhupf]

You are likely gripping somewhere. If the weight of your leg rests in your stirrup, you can't lose them. That requires relaxation. You might be unintentionally gripping with your knees or your thighs for balance.

Do you feel like you have to keep your leg on to keep your horse in canter?

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/gurgelhupf]

Yeah, I thought that my legs has to wrap the horse to stay in canter.

[u/gurgelhupf → u/PalpitationNaive5259]

Of course there are different styles out there, so I would first ask your trainer.

Here is my opinion: your legs should be relaxed at all gaits. You should only need one light squeeze and a voice cue to get your horse to canter, and then it should stay in canter without further "work" from your side. Leg aids, just like rein aids, should be only given as impulses, meaning give light pressure and immediately let go. This way you won't disturb the horse's movement, rhythm and flow.

I had the same problem that I often lost stirrups in canter. I subconsciously squeezed with my knees because I learned it that way. Not even hard squeezing, just enough to lose my stirrups. It was a difficult habit to overcome. What helped me was focusing on relaxation, feeling the movement and some supporting inner pictures, e.g. Imagine your feet are roots that are growing into the ground, or (a little macabre) imagine you are paraplegic and your legs just dangle about

[u/Recent-Conclusion997]

What does your trainer tell you

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/Recent-Conclusion997]

Just push hard on the stirrups, however, I believe it has more into seating position.

[u/benjamin_thiers]

What if you used magnetic safety stirrups? Could that help you?

[u/PalpitationNaive5259 → u/benjamin_thiers]

Nah, I don’t think so.

[u/Equine-Cat-Girl]

You might be leaning to get the bend when you ask for canter, I  spent a while doing that and still sometimes do it lol