How to Run up Stirrups

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posted on 15 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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After dismounting from an English saddle, you'll want to run up your stirrup leathers. This prevents the heavy stirrups from swinging around and hitting you or your horse, should the horse spook. It also prevents the stirrups from catching onto other objects.

Steps

Arrange the stirrup leathers so they hang straight down. Allow the leather to lie flat against the saddle without twisting in either direction. The two sides of the leather should be on top of one another. Your stirrup leathers will hang straight down with the stirrups dangling at the ends. Make sure that there are no knots or messes and that the leather straps are smoothly hanging on the stirrup bars.

Pull the stirrup to the top of the inside leather band. The stirrup iron hangs from a loop of leather or webbing which is pulled flat by your weight during the ride. Hold the leather in one hand and the stirrup iron in the other. Slide the stirrup iron up the inside band of leather (the inside being the piece of leather next to the saddle). Keep going until it reaches the top. The top of the stirrup should be touching (or almost touching) the stirrup bars. The inside piece of leather usually has the rough side of the leather facing up.

Put the dangling loop through the stirrup. Hold the stirrup in your left hand while your right hand feeds the leather straps through the middle of the stirrup iron. Now feed the leather straps down under the base of the iron.

Pull the loop snug. Pull the loop of leather so it lays flat underneath the bottom of the stirrup. It should be against the saddle flap. This is usually enough to secure the stirrups. The straps should lie flat against the saddle, pointing towards the ground.

Lock it in place (optional). If your stirrups slide down again, take the steps below to secure them with another loop. Even if they don't slide, this is important to do before lunging. Hold the leather, making sure it isn't twisted. Move it to the front of the stirrup. Fold it over the front side of the stirrup and under the backside. Use the end of the strap to pull it through the bottom of the strap loop and through its holder. This keeps the strap from becoming loose when the horse trots and keeps the stirrup from sliding down.