Acavallo stirrups / Sprenger bow balance

H

Horsekaren

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 March 2017
Messages
1,300
Visit site
I have only even ridden in standard metal bars (not fancy ones) just bog standard not singing nor dancing with flat tred.
I am going to treat my self to a new (second hand pair of stirrups)

The Acavallo stirrups have caught my eye as have the Sprenger bow balance. Has anyone got review of either?

My legs move a lot :( my toes point out, my heels always come up, i'm forever losing stirrups in canter. i have one weak ankle and very stiff hips, on top of all that i am still a rider in training with a wobbly position lol I know stirrups wont be a magic solution but i thought i would treat myself as at the very least it will make me think about my feet and legs a little bit more :D
 
Just to throw another option in to the mix, I'd look at Jin Stirrups if you haven't already. They have a wide foot bed and I found they really helped to stabilise my lower leg.

I had a pair of fakes from eBay to try them and other than the paint chipping they were great. I then got a real pair as a gift, the grip is sharper and they're lighter and generally better quality, but do pretty much the same job.
 
I have both the Sprenger Bow Balance & the Acavallo - and I much prefer the Sprenger, so much so that I have 2 pairs!!!

I feel very stable in the Sprengers and my knees dont hurt! The Acavellos are lovely & very stable too but I just found them a bit harsh & my ankles and knees hurt more in them.

I kind it easier to keep my weight in the Sprengers and for jumping have something to push down against & feel comfortable.
 
I love my Acavello operas. Not so keen on the Bow Balance ones when I used to ride a friend"s horse, although he is a massive horse so I was a pea on a drum and my legs only seemed to be half way down his sides.
 
I love Acavello Operas, have more than 1 pair. I would say great for grippiness and stability. But if you have stiff hips the Sprengers might be better. Or better still MDC’s - they are great for hip and knee pain.
 
I would love a pair of the Bow Balance stirrups but they just aren't safe enough for my liking. My friend has a pair and they're genuinely the most comfortable stirrups I've ever ridden in.

I have the Tech Venice ones which aren't great to be honest - not grippy and very 'bog standard' feeling. I'm looking into getting some Freejumps instead.
 
I love my Sprengers. I have the opposite problem to you though, OP. I have hypermobility and my ankles are very bendy so I tend to lock them with my heels down. The Sprengers have really helped with preventing that as there’s nothing to lock against. They might be useful for stiff hips too.
 
I had system 4 Sprengers for years, sadly I needed larger ones. However, I did sell the used ones for muchos ££££. The new ones are Bow Balance.

I have found the Sprengers to be very safe. The foot bed moves to the same angle as your foot so your foot can release.

There are cheap Sprenger Bow Balance on Amazon at the minute £115. Bargain!
 
I love my Sprengers Bow Balance and have had them for a good few years now and they have made a huge difference to my problems with hip/knee and even ankle pain. However I have now moved on to a Sensation treeless saddle for various reasons but suddenly find that the Sprengers weigh a ton both to carry the saddle around and in use. Can anyone tell me if the Acavello ones are equally heavy and clunky as i do like the look of them.
 
MrsJingle said:
I love my Sprengers Bow Balance and have had them for a good few years now and they have made a huge difference to my problems with hip/knee and even ankle pain. However I have now moved on to a Sensation treeless saddle for various reasons but suddenly find that the Sprengers weigh a ton both to carry the saddle around and in use. Can anyone tell me if the Acavello ones are equally heavy and clunky as i do like the look of them.
Click to expand...

I don't find them heavy at all - aside from the foot plate they're just made of a light plastic, and the metal foot is more like a cheesegrater, so again, not solid. I like mine a lot, and they're definitely more reasonably priced for those of us with moths in our purses :D

Now has anyone come across any less-than-genuine Sprenger Bow Balance that I can try?!
 
I had less than genuine sprengers. (amidale)
I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them :p

I used them to 'try' I would advise anyone else to buy a proper pair on ebay 2nd hand as they really hold their value if they want them to try.
11083653_10155547341085438_1378178467610055582_n.jpg
 
I had bow balance stirrups but actually felt they were weakening my ankles so swapped to acavallo operas and haven't looked back. They're super lightweight, comfy and worked wonders for my leg position. When baby is big enough to be ridden I'll be buying a second pair.
 
I love my sprenger bow balance for hacking and jumping, I like to ride short when jumping but my ankles can't cope with normal stirrups but I have no pain with the sprengers. I use them for dressage as well but I'm wondering if they're too flexible and unstable and actually hindering me but not sure what to try instead.
 
I have the acavallo arena safety stirrups, I really love them and feel they much improve my balance and lower leg position however they did make my knees ache when i was getting used to them.
 
AFB said:
Just to throw another option in to the mix, I'd look at Jin Stirrups if you haven't already. They have a wide foot bed and I found they really helped to stabilise my lower leg.

I had a pair of fakes from eBay to try them and other than the paint chipping they were great. I then got a real pair as a gift, the grip is sharper and they're lighter and generally better quality, but do pretty much the same job.
Click to expand...


This.

Flexi stirrups don't help with stable lower leg. They create movement.

I'm. Hypermobile and I love my cheap shires composite ones. They have a wider foot bed and give me more balance.
I'm wanting the Jins at some point.
 
I have had the original sprenger stirrups for years & still going strong. The biomechanics trainer frowned on them as doesn’t give stable platform though shouldn’t rise by pressing down into stirrups. I got a pair of compositi flex stirrups, I find them comfortable as they are lightweight, got a grippy footplate & the tread flexes ever so slightly so ankle not set in one position the whole ride. Were under £25. For position I would look on YouTube for some exercises to release hip flexors
 
Flexi stirrups improve the stability of my lower leg, because they encourage me to keep the appropriate angle and not creep my heels up/push off the footbed/grip higher up. I think we are all different for what works for us and why.
 
I love my Acavallos. They have really helped my previous terrible, now only a bit terrible, lower leg xo
 
My share horse has the sprenger bow balance and I don't really like them. I have normal bent safety irons on my saddle and have no issues with then.
Endurance stirrups are my favourite though but not to everyone's taste for sure.
 
Ive picked up a pair of bow balance second hand. very excited for them to arrive! It seems i wasnt barking up the wrong tree entirely wondering if my stirrups were adding to issues :D

I had a pair of shires plastic stirrups i tried but hated last year. I gave them another go but swapped the foot bed to the cheese grater option and holey moley! hello steady strong legs!!!! The stirrup stayed on the ball of my feet the entire time, toes point out but nowhere near as bad and my heels stayed down!
HAHA i actually felt so powerful, if i wanted to engage my legs they were there ready to give the aid clear and quick, not flopping around like dead weights.

My leg was nowhere near as mobile as i wasnt chasing my stirrups the entire time! even in canter!!! they stayed solid and i was able to keep my legs steady! :D

The downside was they have made my ankles ache. I'm very hopeful the bow balance with the cheese grater top will be spot on.

For anyone that struggles with losing their stirrups i couldn't recommend trying the cheese grater bed enough! complete game changer for me!!!

Over the moon!
 
Slightlyconfused said:
This.

Flexi stirrups don't help with stable lower leg. They create movement.

I'm. Hypermobile and I love my cheap shires composite ones. They have a wider foot bed and give me more balance.
I'm wanting the Jins at some point.
Click to expand...

I have EDS and absolutely loved my Jins (until my horse fell on them and bent them beyond recognition :( )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top