Stirrup recommendations, anyone???

Grace O'Malley

Grace O'Malley

Sweetpea Bulge, Hobbiton
Apr 5, 2004
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I have a birthday coming up (we won't say which one :rolleyes:), and I thought I might treat myself to a stirrup upgrade. ATM I have just plain old irons, and I'm perfectly happy working in the school with those. What I find though, is that if I hack for any longer than about an hour, my knees and ankles start to ache, and I even get some numbness in the lower leg.

So what have people found helpful for this? The flexible kind? The kind with offset "eyes" so there's no twist in the leather? The Sprenger Bow Balance? Do these innovations affect safety at all? That is, will your foot come *out* of a rubberized, flexible stirrup easily enough in a fall?

Would you recommend any of these?

Thanks for your stories! :D
 
I've not tried any of the Sprenger ones but LOVE the HM wide tread stirrups. They have the 'eye' at 90 degrees to normal and are brilliant :D

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I've used mine for flatwork, jumping and xc and feel so secure with them but they've always released when I've come off. I can't ride in anything else now!
 
I have the ones like the bendy sprenger ones but mine were only about £20 and are still amazing, so comfy for my dodgy ankles and knees, and i also have the leathers that you change with a little metal bit that goes in a hole so you dont get the bulkiness under your thigh,
Sorry if you have no idea what im talking about.
xxxx
 
I love my Thorowgood T6 irons - I dithered for ages because I didn't want to spend that much on stirrup irons but now I've got them I'm really impressed, no more aching knee & ankle no matter how much I do! I like them better than my friend's Sprengers (plus they're cheaper!) & far more than other cheaper Sprenger copies that I've tried.
 
I've got sprenger bendy offset eyes and bow balance. Offset eyes are great for schooling & hacking, bow balance fabulous for jumping. Any bendy stirrups will help your sore knees & ankles I suspect, but I treated myself to the sprengers after getting cheapies & they are better. If I had to choose 1 pair it would be the bow balance.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies! :)

It's good to hear some personal experiences before I seriously consider dropping $200 on a set of stirrup irons :eek: I would hate to buy them only to discover I feel insecure riding with them :o

It sounds like the flexibility is really helpful, also a slightly wider tread. The offset eye sounds like a good idea too.

I also found this Q & A on Jessica Jahiel's website. That poor woman sounds even more battered than I am, but oh boy, do I hear her pain issues!

Now I just need to shop around for the best price... :cool:
 
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