How to Turn Your Stirrups: 3 Ways

Brittany Wells

Are your knees and ankles killing you?

Maybe you can’t go an entire ride– or even half a ride –without kicking your feet out of the stirrups to relieve the ache, hoping your stance doesn’t resemble Yosemite Sam’s later.

If that sounds like you, I’m willing to bet that the stirrups on your saddle are not turned.

While many custom saddles have had their fenders and stirrup leathers turned already by the maker, factory built saddles generally have not.

This means that in order to point your toes forward and out in the saddle (or even just straight ahead), your feet, ankles, and knees are fighting the fenders, which would rather rest flat against the side of the horse. If they had their way, your toes would be sticking your horse in the belly!

All that strain leads to joint soreness in the knees, ankles, and even hips. It also makes it harder to get your foot into the stirrup, and makes it harder to keep it in there, leading to a loss of security.

There are several ways to do something about it yourself. It’s also something a saddlemaker can do for you, if you would rather skip the anxiety of manhandling a saddle into submission on your own.

Here are the three main ways to do it:

  • The Pole Method

  • Twist and Wrap

  • Stirrup Rotators

Method One: How to Turn Stirrups With a Pole

This is the time-honored procedure familiar to many, probably in the form of regularly storing the saddle with a broomstick through the stirrups. While that might work well enough, it usually takes weeks or even months to show improvement. The following method takes about a day (mostly drying time).

Notes:

  • If you opt to also Twist and Wrap your fenders, you’ll want to do it before wet-forming as described below.
  • Fenders made of synthetic materials like fabric or faux leather won’t wet-form. It’s still possible to give the Twist a shot.

 

Although several years old, this saddle has very little turn.

What you’ll need:

  • A bucket of warm water
  • A sturdy pole or bar of some kind, 3-5 feet long, preferably wood. If you use metal, don’t let the metal contact the leather. It will discolor.
  • A sturdy saddle stand
  • Two equally heavy objects that may be hung from the pole, such as gallon paint cans

STEP 1: Take the stirrups off. It’s best to do this with the saddle already adjusted to the rider, so remember the holes. The ends may be left hanging.


STEP 2: Dip the fenders and leathers in a bucket of clean, warm water about to point the fender gets wide. You want the leather to be very wet, not just wet on the surface. It’s not necessary to saturate it though. Give it a count to five in the water and see where you’re at. If the leather feels pliable to your hand, it’s wet enough. Note: Water can cause some leather to discolor, especially at the edge of the wet area. You can mitigate this by “fading” the wet area to dry area, or by wetting the whole fender surface.


STEP 3: Put the stirrups back on in the holes you remembered. Leave the stirrup hobbles off for now. Be careful not to gouge the leather with anything, such as your fingernails- it is vulnerable to marking when wet.


STEP 4: Turn one stirrup as if your foot were in it, then turn it more so that it is almost parallel with the stand again. Put your pole through the stirrup. Do the same to the other stirrup. The pole should now be running through both stirrups, keeping them turned just a little past perpendicular to the stand.


STEP 5: Secure your weights to both ends of the pole. This exerts a downward pull on the leather while it dries, which helps fix the twist.


STEP 6: Let sit until dry. It will take several hours. Overnight should do the trick.


STEP 7: Now is a good time to oil or condition the saddle, as the water probably leached some oil out. If the leather feels stiffer and drier than before, this is why.


If everything went as planned, your stirrups now rest in a more natural position for your feet. Some fenders are stubborn, however, even when always stored with a pole through the stirrups. In that case, you might prefer the next method.

Method Two: How to Turn Stirrups With a Twist and Wrap

(Also known as the Hamley Twist, Nevada Twist, Wyoming Twist, Arizona Twist, [your state] Twist, and Texas Roll)

Saddle with twisted and wrapped stirrups. Note how the stirrups are already positioned for the foot.

While a more involved process, putting a twist in ensures that your stirrups will stay in the correct position permanently.

It’s possible you will need to drill out the rivets from your blevins buckle and re-rivet it the other way to make this work. Some buckles can be used either way, like Al Ray quick-changes.

Also, I have seen some leathers that are turned around but not wrapped; feel free to do that, but check that the leather edge doesn’t interfere or scrape your horse’s side.

Twist with no wrap. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

What you’ll need:

  • A bucket of hot water (not hot enough to burn you, naturally)
  • 2 leather strips ¼”-½” wide x 3’-4’ long (such as saddle strings)
  • strips of cloth tape 3’-4’ long
  • Needle nose pliers
  • (Possibly) #9 Copper rivets, burrs, setter, and anvil
  • (Possibly) A power drill

Forming the Leather

STEP 1: Before taking anything apart, look at your fenders. Unbuckle one. What does it look like when you straighten it out?

On the left, the prongs face inward. On the right, the prongs face out.

If it looks like the first picture, proceed to step 3. If it looks like the second, the buckle must be reversed (step 2).

STEP 2: Use the drill to take the rivets out of the blevins buckle. Take the prong piece out and slide it back in the other way, so the prongs are facing away from the top side of the leather. Rivet it back in.

STEP 3: Thoroughly wet the buckle end of the fender with hot water, about to the fold. Fade the wet to dry area a bit (a spray bottle would be handy) so there’s not a hard line between dry and soaking wet. Note: If your saddle is pretty supple or very well-oiled, you can skip the water. If it resists bending, wet it.

STEP 4: While it’s still warm, use your hand to curl the wet leather to the inside until it’s a nice rounded shape. Wrap with the cloth tape to hold it there while it dries. Alternatively, you can go ahead and wrap it with your leather lace, but latigo may transfer dye, and you may have to re-tie it after it’s dry to make it snug again. Let dry.

Outside after drying.
Inside after drying.

Wrapping the Lace

STEP 5: When dry, take the cloth tape off. Cut a slit longways in one end of a piece of lace, about as long as the width of the lace.

STEP 6: Insert the end through to make a noose and tighten it around one end of the folded area.

STEP 7: Wrap the lace snugly and evenly around the fold 3-5 times (or as your preference dictates).

STEP 8: On the backside, feed the end under the wrapped lace, until it comes out the other side.

STEP 9: Use your pliers to pull the end down between the first and second wraps.

STEP 10: Use your pliers to pull the end down between the last and next-to-last wraps.

STEP 11: Snug it tight.

STEP 12: If you like the result, proceed, if not you may try again before the next step.

STEP 13: Trim the excess off so that the end is hidden underneath, but long enough that it won’t come loose. Note: you might want to leave the tail on temporarily in case the fold breaks in a bit and loosens the wrap; it will be easier to re-tie.

Rebuckle

Now twist the buckle end of the fender so that it attaches as shown, and replace your stirrups.

Finished.

Optionally, now you can follow the instructions above for “The Pole Method” to really commit the twist to the leather. Or, if it feels good enough to you, you’re done. Just don’t forget to add oil or conditioner to restore any lost lubricants.

Method Three: Stirrup Rotators

Stirrup rotators are the easiest way to turn your stirrups. No saddle modification required, and they can be removed at any time.

Several designs of stirrup rotators ranging from simple to fancy are available from any major tack supplier, or even Amazon, ranging in price from $10 – $50.

The 3 main types:

  • U-shaped brackets that your existing stirrup mounts in and slides onto the fender
  • Swiveling rotators that mount your existing stirrup
  • Swiveling rotators that have a permanently attached stirrup

The main disadvantages are the cost and extra weight, especially for the swiveling varieties. Even though many models use aluminum, the extra hardware can add an extra pound or two to each stirrup. 

Rotators add some overall length, so keep that in mind if your stirrups are adjusted to be as short as possible.

No Need to Tough it Out

Most of us ride horses for enjoyment, so it makes sense to do it comfortably. Staggering around after a ride with sore knees and ankles doesn’t give you extra horseman points, so why not fix it? Turning your stirrups is a cheap and easy modification (not to mention safer for many riders). Follow the DIYs above or let your local saddlemaker take care of it.

If you have any questions or comments on the solutions above, be sure to let me know!

 

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