Daughters Peacock stirrups didn't break.

[Cuffey]

Cuffey, the cages replace the treads so the leathers don't attach to these, they attach to the stirrup as usual.

Right--thank you

 

[Suzie G]

My daughter (now 9) used to have peacocks and now uses bent irons. Luckily she has never gotten her foot caught when falling off but I definitely prefer the bent ones now. I see a lot of the smaller children now using the cages. From experience fat, bust lips heal very quickly
Also, bad experiences quickly fade when happier ones are made. A bad fall when Hannah was 7 is a distant memory now (she was never gonna ride that pony again) and now competes in sj, xc and at pony club with no fear. ( I do all the worrying!!)

 

[cheeryplatypus]

Sorry to hear it was an adult tooth.
Should be ok as the root hasn't finished forming until about nine yrs old.
Hope she is ok.

 

[Rowreach]

ps. Why does nobody have regular stirrups for children? I've never used anything else over the years. Surely if the stirrup fits the foot, and the foot won't slip through or wedge, then they are fine? Genuine question..

Because small children have weak legs and out of proportion bodies and have not developed a secure lower leg position, so they tend to push their feet too far into the stirrups because that helps them balance, and they can't do rising trot for instance with the stirrup on the ball of the foot because their lower legs swing and they tip forward. If the stirrup is correctly fitted so that it is wide enough not to catch the foot at it's widest point, it is therefore going to be big enough for the foot to go too far through.

This means that at the moment the child falls off, their feet are generally further through the stirrup than an adults would normally be, and depending on the type and direction of fall, it is easy to see how they get stuck

In the OP's case, the pony put its head down and her daughter went out of the front door, so her toes probably went down and her foot got caught in the top arch, and therefore the rubber band did not release.

In my son's case, the pony swerved sharply in canter, leaving my son suspended in mid air, which would probably have been fine, but then the pony swerved back again, effectively catching him and throwing him upwards and backwards so that the stirrups flew up into the air with him, and slipped further onto his foot.

In all the years I've been riding and teaching, and even having been dragged myself, I have never been so utterly terrified (or so felt so useless) as I did watching my son get dragged and kicked

I would never ever let them ride without cages now, and recommend them to all the parents whose kids I teach.

FWIW I only rode in "normal" stirrups when I was a child and young adult - that's all we had - and nothing untoward happened. The time I was dragged I was using bent leg irons. The horse fell going downhill, landed on my leg and slid further down the hill, then rolled over the top of me, and by the time he got up, the bent leg iron (which has a far greater open area than a normal iron) had been forced over the heel of my boot He then got up and galloped for home, with me bouncing alongside, but thank God I was wearing full chaps and short paddock boots, and the boot came off. I have never fully recovered from the injuries, but by rights I should be dead.

I know riding is a dangerous sport, but then so is crossing the road, and anything I can use to make it slightly safer for my son (the one who still rides) I will do, and the cages do it for me

 

[Littlelegs]

I'd agree with honey08. I've never taught in a rs so I've always focused on no stirrups & bareback for young children. My own daughter rode with stirrups much less often than without, they only came into regular use after her position & balance were established, & I've never had a problem with her not just using the ball of her foot or insecure lower leg. So whilst I agree with what rowreach says, I don't feel it is necessarily true for all children.

 

[hairycob]

I remember having a conversation with a woman who was quite happy to spend hundreds on an airjacket for her relatively young child to go cross country at 2' in, but was horrified at someone elses very novice child having toe cages. I really couldn't understand the attitude at all. I bought some for myself last summer when my youngster had a spell of bogging off if we encountered something scarey when hacking alone. As we often hack around field margins that are not paths/bridleways (we do have permission!) it just gave me that extra bit of confidence to know that if I came off at least I wouldn't be dragged.

 

[DuckToller]

I have seen numerous children dragged by their stirrups over years of teaching, so maybe it's about time something was done about it, particularly by PC.

One additional problem of peacock stirrups is when children wear chaps. My daughter has been suspended upside down because although the rubber came off, the elastic part of the chap that goes under the boot got caught on the hook and didn't break. There was a letter in H&H about it too so it must have happened to quite a few others.

I cut through 3/4 of the elastic so if she got caught again the chap would break - didn't know about cage stirrups years ago.

 

[Littlelegs]

I don't think pony club or anyone else for that matter should be telling parents that something that at the very least does no harm isn't allowed. And unless you see a parent doing something potentially dangerous it's certainly no-one else's place to be commenting on the fact you've chosen to use them. I don't have them for my daughter but I wouldn't dream of telling someone else they shouldn't.