Correct (safe) footwear not dangers of grippy stirrups...

[Fastasflames]

Had to start a separate thread about this lol.

A plea! I don't know why so many don't pay attention to wearing the correct footwear for safety. So many people ride in yard boots, yard trainers, chunky soles/winter boots. Your stirrup MUST be the correct width for your footwear with an adequate gap at each side. So if your stirrups are the correct size with your long/jodh boots on, they won't be when you decide to ride in chunkier boots because its really cold/you're going for a hack/it's just in the school at home etc. It gives me the chills. Just because a manufacturer says a boot is suitable to ride in doesn't mean it will be safe with your stirrups.

No safety stirrups are fail-safe. Ive seen my own child stuck upside down and hanging in the correct width peacock stirrups AND wearing jodh boots at pony club. The problem was she was simply too light and the stirrups too new to ping off the new elastic!!! Thankfully pony stood stock still and ate grass.

People are quick to be supercilious and claim they have always ridden in bog standard stirrups , dissing the fancy new and pricey ones on the market. Nothing wrong with bog standard stirrups I might add but technology advances.. (yes yes so does fashion) but I had a hip problem that lead me to having a weak leg, which also led me to having the inside of my calf rubbed raw, even with long socks and boots on. All to do with a crappy lower leg position but believe me i was trying with physio etc as best I could to rectify it. Enter a pair of Acavallo operas... I was hesitant, reluctant even to splash out but bingo, they worked. A year later I sold them and opted for the Arena ones as they have the quick release safety arm. Small child has flexons. Made my eyes water! However the side arm pings out very easily and small child is still very light and on a bouncy big moving pony. The difference they have made to leg position and core stability is well worth it. Im not shouting 'heels down' every 2 minutes! Yes its a quick fix but I don't hear people choosing to stick to traditional when it comes to technological advances in other areas. (power steering anyone? lol) I would not for 2 minutes however allow said child to ride in anything other than slim soled jodh boots.

 

[Cowpony]

Quite agree about size of stirrups. My husband has lessons at a riding school and I was so worried about the width of the stirrups he was using I made him buy his own irons and leathers. He's forever forgetting them and leaving them on the saddle, and I have to rush back and retrieve them, but it's worth it. Luckily he hasn't tested them yet....

 

[asmp]

In a children’s jumping lesson some years ago I saw a young girl fall with her foot stuck in the stirrup. The horse kicked her and we all heard her leg break. She was wearing the thick winter/mucker style long boots.

 

[Wishfilly]

Very good point- a lot of yard boots are quite chunky and so potentially more likely to get stuck than other boots. I remember growing up we were always told a stirrup should be an inch wider than our foot, so 1/2 an inch clearance on either side, but I don't think people always consider this when riding in yard boots.

 

[Kat]

Quite agree, I searched high and low for some 5" irons to accommodate perfectly safe and suitable mountain horse high rider boots. Loads of stirrup irons are 4.75" as standard which is fine for slender boots but not for many boots designed to be warm and suitable for yard work as well as riding.

 

[Widgeon]

Quite agree, I searched high and low for some 5" irons to accommodate perfectly safe and suitable mountain horse high rider boots. Loads of stirrup irons are 4.75" as standard which is fine for slender boots but not for many boots designed to be warm and suitable for yard work as well as riding.

Me too! I had large feet from my teenage years (EU 42) and wore Mountain Horse work boots. I had to have my own special stirrups because I couldn't get my feet into most of the irons on the riding school saddles.

 

[gingergreg]

Does anyone ride in the Ariat trainer/walking boot style shoes that are stated as suitable for riding? I'm looking for something where I don't have to bother changing after doing yard work

 

[Kaylum]

We had many different sizes of stirrups and changed them when necessary. I wear joddy boots and chaps still as the soles are smoother but see people riding in wellies, again we use to have joddy boots for children to wear when they came to ride for a £1 hire along with hats.

 

[Muddywellies]

I started the other post on grippy stirrups, and it really does seem to be 'horses for courses'. Indeed, what works for one, may not work for another. I am an absolute stickler for wearing the correct gear, and have achieved some success at BD, having progressed a few rungs up the ladder. However, strangely, I struggle with my Acavello Alupro Arena stirrups, which you have found suit you perfectly. There is some concern with feet not releasing from some styles of stirrup with the ultra grippy treads, even with the safety feature of the hinged side. As I say, horses for courses ?‍. But yes, correct footwear and stirrup size is a vital first consideration.

 

[MissMay]

we were always taught foot in stirrup and a finger between each side and the iron- at the same time not one finger than the other cause you move your foot to make it fit.

also stirrup on ball.of your toes gives me the heebeejeebies seeing feet shoved the whole way in to the heel rise

 

[scruffyponies]

Peacocks aren't safe. Plenty of stories of kids getting their foot caught (they grip like a buckle as the foot turns). The only time we ever had a drag it was my (then) 7 year old child in peacocks at canter. If the pony hadn't pulled up immediately and somehow avoided treading on her in the process, she might have died.