We’ve all heard of No-Stirrup November, but that shouldn’t be the only time you’re kicking your feet out of the stirrups. Dropping your stirrups is a great way to build core and leg strength, but it’s also a great way to improve your balance. 

The best part? It doesn’t matter if you’re stuck in a small indoor arena or have to ride outside in snowy conditions. You can easily incorporate some of these drills into your riding routine so that by the time spring comes around you’re feeling more confident in the saddle.

Adding Speed With No Stirrups

You can easily walk or jog around the arena when you’re without stirrups, but asking for more speed is a great way to test if you’re getting in your horse’s way or staying soft and quiet. When you ask for an extended trot, how well are you staying in the middle of the saddle? Are you bouncing around or sliding from side to side? Or are you staying soft in your seat? 

Once you can sit the extended trot, pick up the extended lope and see how well you do. Check to see if your core is staying elongated while driving your horse forward with your seat. 

Testing Transitions 

Once you can safely increase speed while riding without stirrups, see how you do with different speed transitions. Go from a large, fast circle into a small, slow circle and see how you stay balanced in the saddle. Do you find yourself leaning into the circle as you slow down? Or are you getting ahead of the motion and losing your balance when your horse shuts down? 

Then test your gait transitions. Go from a lope to a walk or a jog to an extended lope. See how well you can keep your balance as you go from one gait to the next. 

Mastering Maneuvers

Stops and spins are a great way to see if you’re getting in your horse’s way. When you stop your horse, you need to sit deep in your seat and release your legs. If you’re not balanced in the saddle, you might find yourself falling over the top of your saddle horn. And if you’re riding a horse that has a fast spin, it’s easy to find yourself sliding to one side of the saddle.

Flying lead changes are another great way to test your balance and to see if you’re getting in your horse’s way. If you aren’t using your core strength to stay centered in the saddle and can’t use properly your legs without your stirrups, it’s going to be a lot harder to get your horse’s body in the correct position to even ask for a flying lead change. 

No-Stirrup Drills For New Riders

If riding without stirrups is new for you, it’s important that you take it slow so you can safely build your muscle strength. You want to make sure that as you’re building core and leg strength, but you’re also building on your confidence. Attempting a maneuver before you’re physically ready can result in injury. 

If you find yourself getting bored at the walk or jog, you can still attempt different maneuvers, but try them out at lower speeds. At the walk, remove your stirrups and ask your horse to stop and back. Check in with yourself to see what your body is doing. Are you cueing your horse properly when you ask to stop and back, or are you relying on your hand to get that backward motion? You can also practice turning your horse at slower speeds without stirrups, and work on slower gait transitions, like going for the walk to the jog and then back down to the walk.