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Post by horseguy on Oct 15, 2015 16:35:20 GMT
The great Harry D. Chamberlin wrote the following in his book Riding & Schooling.
"After putting the feet in the stirrups, the ankle joints should remain relaxed, and the heels forced down as far as possible. The importance of keeping the heels down cannot be too greatly emphasized. It produces the strength and stability of the whole seat... With properly adjusted stirrups, and the heels forced down as far as they will go, the calves of the legs just before the knees are forced against the horse automatically. The ankle joints must be habitually relaxed."
What contemporary riders do not realize is that when Chamberlin wrote these words, the foot was placed "home" in the stirrup iron, meaning all the way in to where the front of the rider's heel of the boots rested against the irons.
What you see here above are military riders with their feet "home" and their heels down, which I think gives a special meaning to Chamberlin's phrase "The ankle joints must be habitually relaxed" In each photo the front of the rider's foot is level with the ground and the heel is lower than the toe in a different way than we see today. We can imagine how relaxed the entire rider's foot must be to achieve this application of heels down with the foot "home".
What has evolved is a different foot placement seen below, which results in a different meaning of the heels down idea with the heel being below the toe. And, I think, a different idea of a relaxed ankle, which is more inclusive of the whole foot.
Here below is a picture of the great horseman George Patton, graduate of the Fort Riley Cavalry School. He has moved his foot position back from the traditional "home' position, but not so far back as to be on the ball of the foot as we see in the civilian contemporary rider above.
The question for me is which of the four riders has the least relaxed ankle as Chamberlin prescribes? And which of the four riders can have the most habitually relaxed ankle?
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Post by jimmy on Oct 16, 2015 3:15:20 GMT
I don't know the answer. But with just the ball of the foot in, and the heel way below, does not look that relaxed as a foot in a more natural standing position. I do know that when riding out a horse bucking, I am more secure with my feet home in the strirrups. Saddle bronc riders use oxbow strirrups with the foot in all the way to the heel. This is why old cowboy boots have tall heels, I think. If you drive your foot home, you are committed to ride whatever ride goes on underneath you. I know when I'm chicken, I sneak my foot out to the toes. For a quick getaway.
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Post by horseguy on Oct 16, 2015 14:17:13 GMT
In polo, basically a military sport the British cavalry adopted for conditioning and fun when they conquered India, stirrups are always home. This is because a player using a mallet must move dramatically around and in the saddle. For example in this picture you see and off (right) side back shot.
The player must lean to the right off his horse in order to make the shot. In doing so he bends his left side leg and forces his left knee into the horse to maintain his seat. If you do not have your stirrup irons home while attempting this shot, you invariably lose your left stirrup.
Similarly, when a cavalryman used his saber or pistol he had to move his body in similar ways to take aim and thrust or fire, often employing the knee opposite of the required lean to secure his seat.
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Post by rideanotherday on Nov 17, 2015 13:56:31 GMT
I had this conversation with my sister a few days about - about what heels down really needs to be. I broke one of my ankle years ago and have never fully regained complete range of motion. I maintain balance and ride both sides of the horse well, but my heels are only slightly below my toes. I have the advantage of long legs, so I have plenty to use to manipulate the horse's body. It might be more of an issue if I rode competitively, but as yet I don't.
Using your ankle as a shock absorber and being able to effectively use it to influence the horse's movement, as well as maintain position (on the horse) seems to be influenced by more than just the lower leg - such as stirrups, boots, where the stirrup hangs etc.
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