Maybe. You cant know until you try. Would advise against simply joining “ everybody else in the barn” or accepting trainer’s absolute pronouncement of what irons you will use.
You need to experiment and get what works for YOU. If it does really work, its priceless. If not so much, thats a clinic or some extra lessons.
I was having a ton of pain in the ball of my foot from a cheapo fillis iron. I ended up switching to the Jin Anatomic and have found that it really made a difference in my comfort, especially on longer rides.
I’m in the camp of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. If you’re not having any problems with a traditional iron, good for you, but if you start having knee or foot pain, there’s many of options out there, and they aren’t all $350.
I think special stirrups are a little like a custom-fit saddle: Most people probably don’t need them, but some people really do. You probably know if you are such a person. If your main issue is that your stirrups don’t have enough tread, switching out the stirrup pads is a very easy fix.
Has anyone here tried the American Equus stirrups? I saw an ad for them on Instagram and became intrigued. I’m leaning towards wanting something with more grip than my fillis irons for cross country jumping. I did try some wide footbed plastic stirrups on another saddle and found that if the base was too wide I didn’t like it.
Use the stirrup wraps, cheap and they do help your foot stay secure in the stirrup. I had the same problem until I started using them.
I don’t know about all of the expensive stirrups, but I bought a pair of MDC adjustable & they make a huge difference in my knees. Turned at 45 for jumping & lessons, 90 for trail rides & dressage. Really like them.
I am one of those lucky ones that doesn’t have hip/knee/ankle pain, and have been using the cheap old fillis irons for the longest time. Pandemic hit, and i was bored so I was drooling over some of the fancier stirrups and see what the fuzz is all about. I tried Tech Athena, MDC, and Acavallo. I was in love with the rose gold option on the Acavallo and went with them. To be fair, i honestly do not feel any difference among the 3 I’ve tried, nor do i find them any better than my fillis,(again, i have no pain whatsoever with them). But i used the safety feature as an excuse to get new stuff 
For what its worth, my trainer, who is also a judge, thinks the silver edge free jumps I have are hideous and has been telling me to get the black ones. But this is for hunters. Not sure what she’d say about equitation. For hunters I would definitely avoid the silver edge ones.
I also think they’re ugly! I have black ones. But for equitation I would switch back to Fillis stirrups.
I have the MDC with the adjustable tops and lLOVE them. I’d never go back. I have weak ankles and these really, really help me. I’m so uncomfortable when I ride in the regular stirrups now.
I used to think just like you, I didn’t get the hype of expensive stirrups and though as long as I could change out the fillies my feet were fine. My parents bought me as a birthday present freejumps and I thought it was all hype and no substance but the second I used them the difference was amazing. My feet have never ONCE slipped out no matter what and I can confidently put my heel down almost twice as much as when I used my old ones without risking them slipping off. I would never go back, they are just super sturdy and they helped my position get so much better in seconds. Would totally recommend doing the switch if you have the chance and money.
As someone who thought my old fillis stirrups would be pried out of my cold, dead hands- I rode in a few of the new “fancy” ones. I have had my knee reconstructed (car accident).
Honestly-I went from the fillis to the cheesegrater ones and just bought the Free Jump ones that don’t release. I feel more secure (?) with the wider foot bed and it isn’t like I felt not secure before.
I wasn’t looking to solve any real issues, it started when I took a fall and looked at the release ones. Then it just kind of went on for about 1.5 years of trying stirrups on and off.
I think “worth it” is what you issue you are trying to help “fix”. ( and I only bought my FJs because I had a coupon for the saddlery )
Fun factoids: the human foot is comprised of 26 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, & ligaments. The weight distribution through your foot affects the rest of your anterior & posterior muscle chains & vice versa. So I’d say that whether or not a certain stirrup makes a difference for an individual rider depends on what’s going on in that person’s knees, hips, shoulders, etc. Charlotte Dujardin did an ad for a stirrup company recently that I thought sounded worth trying for me personally. . The footbed moves slightly independent of the iron itself. Totally blanking on the name of the manufacturer at the moment.
I will say that my 14yo, who has no joint issues & had never ridden with anything other than plain, cheapie Fillis irons, rode in my trainer’s jumping saddle, which has FreeJumps. (Trainer stalked them until they were significant discounted on a post holiday sale.) 14yo thought they were ugly, but loooooooveed riding in them.
Not really. I use the MDC and Stubben stirrups because I like the wider footbed (balls of feet get sore after riding lots of horses, especially in my thinner-soled show boots), but I actually feel more secure in plain ole’ fillis irons. The metal footbeds, I think, are more slippery. If I was only riding one or 2 horses a day, I would stick with the fillis irons - get yourself some new rubber stirrup pads and you’ll be good to go.
I’m kicking around trying out a pair of these LeMieux stirrups. Anyone seen or tried them?
https://www.doversaddlery.com/lemieux-vector-control-stirrup/p/X1-07103/
I’ve been riding in a pair of Compositi for the past handful of years and love the wide track and slightly squishy footbed. I need a second pair of stirrups anyway and am interested in a safety option, plus the slight offset seems enticing for some here-and-there hip pain I get. I’m also considering the Free Jumps, but man, they’re pricey for something I might not like!
I tried my trainer’s Lorenzini stirrups and loved them but at $250+ I’ll stick with my Fillis irons.
I have almost been through it all with stirrups. I have a pair of Freejump Classics coming in this afternoon that I am excited to try.
I like Herm Sprenger, not the offset ones but the ones that look like regular irons, but with the black rubber/joints on the side. I think I had those for a couple years until I leant them to a friend and * poof * they will never be returned.
After that, I got MDCs which I still ride in today. I changed the footbed out to the classic narrow when I got them and I do enjoy them. However, they give me some knee pain on bad days.
When I had some knee dislocation issues, I switched to a pair of Lorenzinis. They’re more stirrup than I think I need and I ended up selling them the other day. I had them on my saddle for about six months and they definitely helped with the pain, but I found them big and bulky.
I can’t remember which stirrups I was riding in when I went to college, either the MDCs or the Sprengers and for my first few lessons (probably because I was insanely nervous) I could not keep my stirrups for the life of me. I think I switched to whichever pair I wasn’t using at the time and the problem went away. It totally could have been a personal problem and not a stirrup problem though.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that I like the Freejumps – my health insurance is too poor for me to risk getting my foot caught in my stirrup!
You’ll have to let me know how you like the freejumps!
The Freejumps (classic soft up or whatever they’re called) are great stirrups. I had the hideous silver ones and now the black ones. The classic wide leathers they make are soft and very attractive and can be run up like normal leathers, though they do slip a little. However, the leathers don’t wear very well: I’ve had mine for about a year and they are beat up, the stitching is frayed, they have stretched a lot. I’ll note that I also have some Freejump paddock boats and half chaps. The boots are nice and pretty enough to wear around anywhere, but the half chaps are total garbage. The part that covers the top of the boot has literally disintegrated. They make my junky $30 dollar ones that I’ve had for over 10 years look like a million bucks.
I recently bought the MDC Super Sport stirrups and after riding in them for a couple of weeks I am very happy. The wide non-slip footbed, flexible sides and 45 degree angle setting have really reduced the strain I felt in my knee joints during and after riding. They have not scratched my saddle, because I am careful to turn them with the front facing the flap before running them up. It is important to install them correctly so the angled edge is to the rear, which adds to the non-slip property of the footbed.
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