Dressage, Horse care, Para Dressage, Style, Training
Stirrups? No way!! REALLY??
Mar
When we are on the ground most of us don’t walk symmetrically even if we don’t have injuries, none of us are symmetrical (though magically we like to think that once we get in the saddle we are completely balanced – unfortunately not the case) it make total sense when you think about it as not even our internal organs are symmetrical.
A bit of background
I don’t know about you but I have been looking for the RIGHT stirrups all my life. I am totally aware that my injuries cause my horse a problem, to make me a better rider there are some tools that I need to get my symmetry, balance and stability to be the best that they can possibly be, the fundamental for that is the stirrup. So it was out with the old (heavens I didn’t realise just how many stirrups I have tried and this is by no means all) and in with the new.
RYDE have been working on their stirrup for 8 years. It all started in Sweden. Ryde was developed with a clear goal – to provide riders with the best possible foundation for balance and stability through a solid base and full contact with the footplate. In other sports, such as cycling, running, and skiing, the importance of foot positioning and ground contact has been crucial for years, as it directly impacts performance and sustainability.
By drawing inspiration from these sports and combining that knowledge with expertise from engineers and professional riders, Ryde created a stirrup that not only supports the rider’s natural movement patterns but also allows for individual adjustments to optimize balance and symmetry in the saddle.
Being honest about asymmetry
Yes, we can build core strength through Pilates – and we should, yes we can improve on our balance through fitness regimes but asymmetry is part of our DNA. For example I know that my left foot sticks out at 45%, my left knee clenches the saddle and all my weight goes through my right foot and I ride on the outside of my right stirrup – my brain knows this and I can correct it for a split second but then with everything else I am thinking about it returns to the default position.
Now think about what that does to my horse. Firstly he thinks I’m using subterfuge – asking him to go forward with my legs but telling him to stop with my knee, Secondly he is bravely dealing with my imbalance and the detrimental effects it has on his muscles, his own balance and position and thirdly is it any wonder that the tension in my outer leg is transferring to him ( I can’t “get my leg on” because I don’t have equal distribution between my big toe and my little toe)?
I can go on about my own issues but every day I see horses struggling to do what they are asked and I would say that the huge majority of issues comes from us, we are the ones blocking them to do what we are asking them to do but honestly who holds their hands up and forensically analyses that it is actually us being the root cause of the problem?
We ALL need to be better riders. My learning is that one of the fundamentals of this, is the stirrup.
So what do these stirrups actually do?
So let’s take this from the ground up. Well actually the floor. When I am on the ground my elasticity and movement comes from the ball of my foot. When I get in the saddle if my stirrup doesn’t replicate this then I am already compromising myself. I have never had a stirrup that I can honestly say has given me this – until I found RYDE. Yes, RYDE give me the floor back to the ball of my foot, not only that but the footplate is slightly concave so it actually nestles the ball of my foot in the right place. I have the floor back when I am in the saddle. They have also been pretty clever using bicycle research and technology in the underlying fabrication of the stirrup.
So now I have the floor back then I can address the rest of the things that are going on.
The most important one is the lateral adjustment – the slider. Now I know that I am riding on my little toe on my right with my foot shoved into the arm of the stirrup. This I need to correct and I do it with this adjustment. By changing the height and the lateral angle I can now get even pressure between my big and little toe, allowing me to get my leg on – a revelation when you really can. As I am asymmetrical my settings on the slider are very different for my right and left foot.
The stirrup leather attachment – the twizzler – is how I get my knee and foot to find stability over the plate and stops my naughty knee from giving my horse misdirection! With this adjustment I can open my left knee. With my injury it also stops my foot being at a slant over the footplate. Again the settings on both my stirrups are totally different.
The tread or footplate angle is always the last thing to look at. Setting it at 0 or neutral is always preferred as this allows for us as riders to handle force and distribute weight evenly. However our bodies often need additional help, I don’t have full functionality in my left angle and use a backward angle on my left stirrup to get the support I need.
The next benefit of these stirrups are that as my muscle memory and brain get synchronised and my riding position improves, then I can continue to change my stirrups to be in the best place I can be.
I have forever known that I need to be able to feel both my seat bones, to be honest I never really have, just pretended I did nodding solemnly in agreement with my physio but now I really can and what a revelation this has been.
The final piece is safety. That should really be pretty paramount to all of us, we all know that things happen with our horses at a seconds notice, it is the risk we take with our love of our flight animals. The safety of these stirrups is unique. The outer arm opens no matter which way you fall, significantly reducing the risk of your foot being caught or worse being dragged.
The guys at RYDE have used experts from the fields of biomechanics, horse care, engineering, coaching/riding techniques to collaborate on the stirrups to bring the best possible innovation to the field of the not so
Investment
The elephant in the room is always the price – yes we know that they are not cheap, there are 1001 reasons why they aren’t – the cost of the manpower and investment to develop the concept, the use of different materials to build multiple versions of the stirrups and test them to find the strongest, most reliable and safest product possible, the cost of manufacturing, shipping, education of our equestrian community, the list is long.
In the words of one of my Scottish customers, “well it only equates to £1.05 per day for a year, more than worth it to me as I am no longer in any pain – I save in actual fact as I no longer have to have pain killers, I enjoy my riding far more and my horse is going better than ever.”
Carina Alcock wrote on our FB page the comment opposite and I believe she is beyond right in her analysis of the situation.
For me, my justification was that I have been spending thousands of pounds on lessons, for my trainers to be repeating the same things over and over again but I was physically incapable of getting my body what I wanted it to do – despite the Pilates. Now, my lessons mean that I am advancing again and blow me down if the things we were struggling with are now no longer a struggle.
The real pinnacle though is that my beloved Mr Stretch, has a much improved, balanced, stable rider on his back, doing the stuff we love (jumping) and the stuff we don’t love so much (dressage) but are finding that actually wonder of wonders we are both beginning to love it a whole lot more. My physios and body workers have all felt the difference now that I am far more balanced and that makes me feel a whole lot better from a welfare and management perspective of my horse.
At the end of the day, are we not seeking to be the best riders that we can be?
RYDE is a fundamental game changer in that ongoing quest.
