Safety stirrups

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Cragrat

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Do sprenger and similar style flex stirrup actually release your foot when you fall off?

I have trawled through quite a few past threads, but I'm still unsure:rolleyes:

My son is competing at BE90, maybe going to 100 this year, and has been using these for about 3 years, as I thought they were the safest option:
http://www.happytack.co.uk/german-pfiff-icelandic-style-safety-stirrups-4-34-297-p.asp


My daughter is now getting the confidence to do some XC, so I need another pair of strong, reliable and safe stirrups.

Peacocks are out- I just don't trust them and personally know someone who severely injured themselves on the hook part.

My son has never had a problem with his icelandics, and really likes them.
I would have just got another pair, except that trawling through the threads, some people think they are NOT safe!

I understand the idea of cages, but just don't think they would work for XC. There are times you want your foot properly in the iron, and they seem too bulky.

Opinions please:)
 
I don't trust peacocks not to bend, I don't trust that the hook wouldn't get caught on the boot, but most of all, as I said in my post, I personally know someone who got caught on the hook and did a lot of damage, needing a lot of stitches. (In a very sensitive and intimate area).
 
Cragrat said:
I don't trust peacocks not to bend, I don't trust that the hook wouldn't get caught on the boot, but most of all, as I said in my post, I personally know someone who got caught on the hook and did a lot of damage, needing a lot of stitches. (In a very sensitive and intimate area).
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Wow, I'm trying to picture how someone would manage to become stuck to the hook of a peacock stirrup!! Sounds like a very freak accident!

I've always used peacock stirrups and haven't even known them to bend or get caught on anything as the hook is so small and blunt.
 
Moomin1 said:
Wow, I'm trying to picture how someone would manage to become stuck to the hook of a peacock stirrup!! Sounds like a very freak accident!
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Whilst dismounting,(big horse,short legged rider) slid down the saddle, got caught and it was a long way to the ground:(
 
Ouch ouch ouch - made my eyes water just reading that :( poor soul, hope they're ok now. I just use the standard half curved stirrup, not sure what the posh name is but I bought them as safety stirrups after a friend broke her leg after getting caught up in a conventional one.
 
I use the bent leg ones and have never had a problem although I have heard of people getting stuck in them.

Sprengers are lovely but again having handled them and looked at them Im not sure they are completely fail safe either.

Th FreeJump stirrups look fantastic and would love to try them. However the price (!) rules them out for me for now.
 
my daughter got her spur tangled in a peacock stirrup, Thank god the pony stopped and waited but it took all my strength to lift her far enough to release her as she was hanging upside down from it. Use bent leg ones but cautious they are not too big to allow foot to slip though.
 
Peacock irons were only ever designed for children, the weight of an adult in them can often bend them or cause stress fractured in the irons themselves resulting in the stirrup snapping often at a dangerous time.

I believe the average peacock stirrup is only designed for about 7stone.
 
I thought the peacock ones were only safe for children due to weight limits?

I was also told by a FBHS isntructor couple of years ago to take away my OH's australian bent leg stirrups as there is an issue with them if they are worn the wrong way. Apparently there have been a few fatalies where folks have been dragged with them when the bent bit got jammed into the inside instep/arch of the rider's boot/foot (eg if lost stirrup is regained the wrong way or the stirrups worn the wrong way in the first instance which I have seen also!)

After been told this, I have managed to track down a barnes buckle for my OH but they are hard to get nowadays http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/10/18/barnes-buckle-safety-stirrup-attachment/#axzz32lxM9q6d
 
We use sprengers for BE and they are fine. I've never known anyone catch their foot; plus they really help with any knee or ankle pain and do seem to support a more stable lower leg. Australian bent leg stirrups are no longer recommended I understand because of the weight of them. If they hit you on the face they will do damage. I've also known people get their foot caught in bent legs where the stirrup has either been put on the saddle backward or they have recovered the stirrup wrongly.

And OP - I hate peacocks too. They have their uses in a riding school where you can use one stirrup size and safely accommodate a wide range of boot sizes. But a correctly sized stirrup would be my preference any day!
 
Thank you for the replies:)

IMO, the mountain horse ones are pretty much updated peacocks. Probably stronger, but I'm still wary:(

The bent legs we already have are bent on both legs, and the eye is offset so they hang straight. As long as you put them on correctly, they hang the right way round if you ever lose your stirrup. They are heavier than the new nylon ones, but no heavier than normal SS stirrups.

Tattoo - I really like the caged stirrups, but the bulk is really off putting:(

Shay - do you think the sprengers do help release your foot?

ETA -are Barnes buckles BE legal? Do they cope with leg angle changes on steep drops/ hairy jumps/ almost -but-not-quite moments?
 
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I also was of the belief there was a weight limit on Peacock Irons.
I have a pair of Australian Simplex (bent leg) irons but tbh I never use them anymore as I'm convinced they aren't safe and my foot is pretty likely to go through the iron. So I can't relax when using them.
I've got some bendy irons (not Sprenger, can't remember what they are though) and I've never had a problem with them, but if I was going xc I'd possibly try to find some Barnes Buckles from somewhere. I've always heard good reports regarding those,
 
Cragrat said:
Thank you for the replies:)

IMO, the mountain horse ones are pretty much updated peacocks. Probably stronger, but I'm still wary:(


MH stirrups are really solid stainless steel & manufactured all in one piece, so a lot safer than peacocks which are really only for children.
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Think I've found my answer about Barnes buckles :( not what I hoped :eek:

A post by MillBrookSong in 2008-
"Re: Barnes Buckle on stirrups - does anyone use them?

no no no no never again will i ride in them!!!

They decided to pop off when i was going over a drop in my 1st ever intro must have been due to the way i angled my foot but still i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them so used the funny bent leg stirrups until last season when i bought a lovely pair of light weight ones!!"
 
I have flexible stirrups and yup they definately release. I've only come off once with them but as I came off I felt my foot was still in the stirrup then the stirrup bent up and released my foot - was a very slow-mo fall cause it was the first since I'd had a very bad fall
 
Cragrat said:
Think I've found my answer about Barnes buckles :( not what I hoped :eek:

A post by MillBrookSong in 2008-
"Re: Barnes Buckle on stirrups - does anyone use them?

no no no no never again will i ride in them!!!

They decided to pop off when i was going over a drop in my 1st ever intro must have been due to the way i angled my foot but still i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them so used the funny bent leg stirrups until last season when i bought a lovely pair of light weight ones!!"
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OH has had no issues with his so far popping off and his lower leg position leaves a lot to be desired! This is what Matt Ryan said about them
http://equineink.com/2008/04/12/equine-safety-barnes-buckle-prevents-dragging-accidents/
 
Jnhuk said:
I was also told by a FBHS isntructor couple of years ago to take away my OH's australian bent leg stirrups as there is an issue with them if they are worn the wrong way. Apparently there have been a few fatalies where folks have been dragged with them when the bent bit got jammed into the inside instep/arch of the rider's boot/foot (eg if lost stirrup is regained the wrong way or the stirrups worn the wrong way in the first instance which I have seen also!)
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This is exactly what happened to me with the bent leg irons. Foot got caught on my instep, horse refused at a fence and I came off, over his head and over the jump. I couldn't get freed and horse spooked, pulled back dragging me back over the fence and then took off across the field for quite a distance. It was only luck that I got freed as the stirrup didn't come off the stirrup bar.
Had damage to my leg, knee, ankle and shoulders due to being trod on, and lots of pulled muscles and still suffering now from it, even though it happened more than 10 years ago.
I went back to the peacock irons, I'm small and light but at least I know the rubber band will pop off, although I hadn't heard of the accident that was referred to earlier.
Now I
 
Asset why did you have them on the wrong way in the first place?
Any equipment if used wrong has the potential to be dangerous!
 
I've never ridden in safety stirrups per se. I have lightweight composti, royal riders and fake jins. All of my stirrups are lightweight and the right width, my stirrup bars are down and my stirrup leathers are clean enough to slip off?
 
Yes - sprengers do bend sufficiently to release the foot regardless of the angle at which you fell. Have a play with them - they will bend through about 120 degrees. I don't like to say never - but I cannot see how you could possibly get your foot trapped. One reason why we use them!
 
Something I've been wondering for a few years now...when did lightweight stirrups become 'a thing'. And a safety 'thing' at that? I do find it quite odd tbh, when I was younger all the teaching was that you needed an iron of a sufficiently heavy weight that it would drop off your foot if needed, as a safety measure. The only time a lightweight stirrup was OK was when you were, for example, racing, and weight was an issue.
Then in the last few years all I'm reading is blurb for lightweight stirrups that go with your foot so you don't lose them easily.
To me that sounds so unsafe, having been taught as I was, as many of us were. Not something I would feel happy to use.
 
conniegirl said:
Asset why did you have them on the wrong way in the first place?
Any equipment if used wrong has the potential to be dangerous!
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I never had them on the wrong way, the bend was on the outside. I have seen people wear them back to front as well).
However my foot got stuck, TBH not sure where exactly - perhaps it wasn't the instep, what I meant was my foot got stuck and I got dragged when using these stirrups.
I was hanging upside down unable to free myself, before being dragged backwards over a fence and then dragged across a field - it's not something I ever want to experience again.
 
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