Why don't we pay more attention to safety stirrups?
I have had a few conversations with fellow equestrians about stirrups, especially safety ones. I have noticed many people feel that spending €200+ on a pair of stirrups is a little outrageous and not needed. Now I agree, many safety stirrups are expensive, but so are helmets and body protectors that need to be replaced every few years, while with stirrups you only tend to buy one pair.
One pair for life (ish)
Many of us buy only one or two pairs of stirrups over a few decades. I have had two types of stirrups on my horses saddle in the last 17 years. I do wonder why we don't give more thought around the safety element of stirrups, as a drag fall can happen just as easily as any other fall. I feel like a pair of fully break away stirrups (like the Rid Up ones) should be just as important as your helmet and body protector.
Design Matters
If you have read my blogs before you may have come across my review for the Rid Up stirrups, and I highly recommend these stirrups. They are ( as far as I know) are the ONLY ones that fully break away from the stirrup leather with only 10kg of weight. To me, they are the safest as they will come away even if the horse is standing still.
I recently read the information for another safety stirrup brand (one that has a side arm that opens) and it said this:
[the stirrup] is unlikely to open if the pony stands still when the rider falls; and will not open if the fall does not cause the rider's weight to act on the outer arm of the stirrup.
This stirrup needs 15kg of weight to open the side arm for the junior range and 40kg of weight on the adult range. A friend of mine got their foot stuck in this stirrup after a fall, so it shows that there wasn't enough force on the side arm for it to release. This is an alarming design element as you would purchase these particular stirrups for it to release in falls, but they only do some of the time.
Overall I think we should give more merit to our stirrups and invest in the safety ones with good design elements like the Rid Ups. They may be more expensive than standard ones, but they may save countless falls in the future. You only need to buy them once, its not like a helmet that you need a new one after a fall.
If you like my work and wish to support it, you can buy me a coffee. My horses will thank you :D