Is it Dangerous...

For me to ride with no stirrups? I have little short fail legs, so they never touch the stirrup unless my toes ar pointed down... so I ijust take them out. My mom freaks out when I do this, because my horse is kinda a brat sometimes, but I told her that it isnt like I do it on trail rides... is she right to freak out? Is it really all that dangerous? Because if you asked me... I find it mor comfy to sit like that, at least until I figure out what to do about me stirrups. So yeah, that's my question.

Have you tried getting shorter stirrup leathers or wrapping the ones you have now?

If you are riding in your saddle and just not using the stirrups, I would cross them over your pommel, that way if your horse spooks or something he will have less of a chance of being hit in the side with the stray stirrup.

Depends on how well you ride. Some of the pros can even jump without stirrups.

However, stirrups are there for a reason, and you need to have them adjusted to properly fit your leg length.

If you have nice quite horse, have good balance, and know how to ride then I'd say yes. If not - not a good idea IMHO.

Im a good rider (i think... lol) I've been riding since I was 5 so, for 11 years. My horse is kind of a jerk at times, but I am normally pretty quick about calming him down quick enough that I don't fall off. I don't know what to do about the stirrups, they are way to long for my little legs, and we can't find any new straps that will work because of the way it is built.



See, it is already folded under and makes it all un-comfortable, is there a way to buy a whole new one intirely, or am I screwed unless I buy a new saddle.

I will say, when I'm riding, I use my stirrups but if I need to correct her or something happens I end up taking my feet out without thinking. I feel safer I guess doing that. Its automatic I guess.
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Are they in the last holes in the leathers? Is there room to punch a couple more holes above the last ones? In almost all my saddles, I have had to punch more holes in the leathers to get them to fit my legs.

Also, you should be able to adjust how the bottom of the fender hangs around your stirrup. If you look underneath the fender, there is the leather where the Blevins buckle is at. You can pull on the strap with holes and that should cause the entire leather to shift around the tree, shortening the fender and lengthening the leather. Here is a decent video that describes what I'm talking about.

However, if they are still too long, you can buy fenders/leathers by themselves and replace the ones on your saddle with smaller ones. Since your saddle is decorated with the silver nubs, you likely wouldn't find a pair that would match exactly without having them custom made, but I would think a pair of regular black fenders in either youth or barrel size would fit you much better. Here is a site that I found while just doing a google search.

It isn't terribly unsafe to ride without your stirrups unless you have a horse that acts silly often. However, it still isn't ideal. With the stirrups just hanging loose when you ride, they will bump the horse in the sides, sometimes cueing for something you didn't want, and they can also be in the way of your position.

If its dangerous - then bareback must be suicide!

If you can keep your balance, I don't see really any problem with just letting your feet out. I have an ankle that hurts horribly after about a half hour of riding, so I usually will take my feet out to let my ankle muscles relax.

I will agree with everybody though, you should get your stirrups fixed. They are there to help you keep a good postion, not to form it. I would look into purchasing a leather hole punch to make additional holes in the stirrups to get them adjusted to a proper length for you.

Hope this helps!

I had the same thought as smrobs, that you need to work the fender up so that you have more room to bring the blevins buckle higher. That video is great!

By the way, Alexander the Great rode across parts of Europe, into the MIddle east, conquering as he went, all without stirrups. The Romans conquered most of the know western world, all without stirrups. Stirrups were unknown in the western world until somewhere around the year 700 or 800 and not common til after 1000 ad. The invention of and development of the stirrup is what made it possible for knights to wear heavy armor and still keep their seats, thus becoming a tremendous military force, for their time.