Thought I’d come back here and say I bought a pair of Jin Anatomic stirrups (had asked about the American Equus ones). If I had any hesitation about the wider tread it is definitely gone now! I chose the Anatomic model because my left foot has a tendency to roll outward. That doesn’t happen in these stirrups and I feel so secure too.
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Update: they didn’t change my life, but I do feel safer riding in them.
I feel like my heel goes down nicely and my leg is secure. I do find that my stirrups feel a bit uneven, but I am not entirely sure why. That could be a personal problem. I also find that they are a bit rough and sometimes leave scratches on my saddle when I put them up.
HOWEVER, I did hear a horror story. My friend told me that her friend was competing in the Freejump Classics, and her rein got caught in the little opening on the side over a jump. Thus, I am very mindful about how long/short my reins are and how close the excess is to the stirrups.
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Oh my. I did order the Freejump Soft’up Pros, and they should be here today! I’m excited to give them a try, but maybe I’ll lightly tape over the opening or something. I’ve been riding greenies recently and don’t need to add that to my list of things to think about.
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I know OP already found something they like, but I just wanted to reiterate for other readers to try before you buy (or order with good return policy). I tried some wide bed & composite stirrups after I had knee surgery, hated both the light weight & how either rode. Luckily, by a year post surgery, I no longer had any issues with my trusty fillis.
I find jointed stirrups really unstable. And altho I’m not a hunter & generally value practical above pretty, I find the new styles horribly ugly (but if they make you happy, no skin off my back), in addition to prohibitively expensive.
Anyway, point being, it’s really variable based on your body & how you ride (and your economic status), so keep your options open.
Just popping in to say that I tried the Tech Venice the other day. these were the first really nice pair of irons I’ve tried…I’m graduating from lesson saddles to a saddle of my own, and our lesson saddles have peacock irons.
WOW the difference. I LOVED these stirrups. My feet felt super secure and gripped (and then on top of the new saddle that actually fits me, it kind of felt like I was cheating my way to better riding 
).
I really want to try to Acavallo safety stirrups as well (barn owner recommends safeties and I’m a beginner just starting to jump) since they are half the cost of the Techs… but the Techs were so nice. Sigh.
I have the Tech Venice Slope stirrups.
I also LOVE these stirrups. I had big problems with my Fillis irons, even with new pads they caused the balls of my feet horrible pain, dismounting was a true adventure filled with yips of pain. I nearly stopped riding because the pain was so bad.
Then I went back to the old style Prussian sided stirrups, they were so much better on my feet, but then I fell off, no problems with my feet but I figured I’d see if any of the modern safety stirrups would help me.
What made up my mind for the Tech stirrups was their video of a rider falling off a bucking bull simulator. Since one of my ankles is sort of wonky the Tech safety stirrups looked like what I was looking for.
I have not tried any of the other high priced stirrups. I found what I wanted, they are super comfortable, I can just put my foot in them and forget about them, plus the slope of their Tech Venice slope stirrups is just enough so my right ankle no longer wants to collapse to the outside. In my opinion they are worth every penny (ouch!!!) and I am very glad I went ahead and bought them.
Resurrecting this thread as I am riding with a new-to-me trainer who suggested that I have “stiff ankles.” I have to buy new stirrups anyway for an extra saddle, so now I’m wondering if I actually do have a problem that could be helped by something other than my classic fillis irons. Any thoughts if jointed stirrups would help?
Hmm, I’ve heard a lot of people not like the jointed stirrups. I think a lot of stiffness in riding (and other things as well) can be attributed to weakness and the body is trying to compensate and stabilize the joint by becoming rigid and stiff. If that’s the case, then I can really only see jointed stirrups creating even more stiffness because they inherently destabilize the area even further.
Now that that has been said: I ended up buying the FreeJumps. I don’t know that I’d describe them as totally life-changing, but my feet no longer go numb after I’ve ridden for more than 20 minutes, so that’s definitely a plus. If I’m being entirely honest, I’m not sure they’re worth the price-tag, but there are a few things that I do love about them. If I had to do it over, I would look for a stirrup that had these features, and hopefully for a lower price:
- wide footbed
- actual studs on the bottom, not just cheesegraters.
- safety stirrup. I suppose this isn’t totally necessary, but it does give me some peace of mind.
- bonus points: angled eye - I ride a lot of OTTBs, so the less “wiggling” it takes to pick my stirrups up, the better.
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I tried a sales horse who had Lorenzinis on the saddle and loved them Got some for xmas and my feet feel really secure in them. It’s the wide foot bed and metal tread grip I think.
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Interesting thought, and I must say I totally agree! I am just figuring out that I am classed as “hypermobile” in spite of being pretty inflexible. (Hence I prefer the term “ligamentous laxity” to “hypermobility”… Hypermobility conjures images of dancers and circus performers in backbends. In my reality, my body is trying to stop itself from assuming weird positions.) I don’t have a great, classic heel down when I ride. I can handle a pretty stiff jointed stirrup, but the really flexible ones are annoying for me.
Anyway, any time the fancy stirrup topic comes up, my advice is ALWAYS try before you buy, as much as possible. It’s such an individual feeling and preference, the best way to find out is to try them. Ask around the barn for what you can borrow!
Lucky for me, after deciding I liked the composite Royal Riders, I decided to try the $20 composites (basically look like a fillis but much lighter) and like them well enough not to spend more!
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Yes, this! I say this in every stirrup thread.
Stirrups seem to be a VERY personal thing. What one person loves the next might hate.
My old body gets very mad if I try to ride using a rigid stirrup. Sure, I can do it. But my hips and knees start screaming pretty darn quickly. Using my flex stirrups all is happy.
I needed new stirrups a year or so back and bought super expensive Flex-On ones for jumping. They’re a very lightweight composite, super sharp tread spikes and a broad tread. I really liked them, except for the weird feeling of the broad tread (I mostly ride dressage with super plain normal stirrups).
And then in Feb I twisted my ankle badly after landing a very small jump (think damage to nearly every ankle ligament and my Achilles and some ligaments in my toes). And I know it’s just anecdotal, but some of the jumpers at our yard had similar injuries in similar types of stirrups. I suspect I was landing a little bit to the outside of my foot, but the spikes caused my foot to not slide to the outside of the stirrup, instead it stayed in place and I rolled over the ankle. Again, just anecdotal, but now I can’t ride in them anymore. I’m back to plain stirrups, but with a wedge tread to support the damaged ankle.
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My ankles were once so stiff that my instructor asked if I had broken them at some point. I haven’t even ever sprained them. Before you splurge on new stirrups, which I’m sure could help, but there could be a non-financial way to solve the problem, I would recommend doing ankle flexibility exercises, like standing with your toes on the edge of a stair and letting you heels sink like they would in stirrups. I’m sure there are others that could help too, but that’s the one that helped me the most. On the subject of jointed stirrups specifically, I’ve found that they help my knees more than my ankles.
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Another “you have to try it to see if you like it” anecdote - I rode in Freejumps today and wow, they are not for me. I loved the feel on my foot and the grip, but my feet went numb and my janky knee was furious at me after I got off. I typically ride in a fairly similar style so I was surprised that the Freejumps didn’t agree with me but now I know.
I am very happy with the MDC Sport stirrups, with wide aluminum treds and flexible sides. They also rotate to either a 45 or 90 degree angle. They have helped my leg be more secure, and made my knees and ankles more comfortable during and after riding.
I sprained my ankle a few years ago, and my doctor recommended holding my leg comfortably in the air while seated on a chair and “writing” the alphabet with my toes. It stretches and strengthens the tissues.
I think so! I ride in Herm Sprenger jointed irons at home. This weekend I’m in FL to ride my horse and my saddle here has a wide tread aluminum Jin-type stirrup. I cannot keep my foot securely in this iron and my ankles are absolutely killing me. I sprained my right ankle years ago and didn’t allow it to heal properly, and man am I feeling it today.
But…
Everyone is different, and I’m sure there is someone out there who would feel the opposite way about it. A poster above, for example, notice the difference they make to her knees. My knees are fine today, it’s my ankles that are dying. So, different strokes for different folks.
My best advise is to try before you buy. If you can’t, buy used when possible at a lower rate. I tried 2 other types of jointed irons before sucking it up and getting HS. All three pairs are different. I did add the cheese grater bottoms to these and love them!
I have these and honestly I’m not sure I like them. I just had sprengers with the comfort wrap instead of pads. Those are my fave set up.
Just make sure the reins aren’t too long. If you have a horse that carries themselves very short in the neck (like my mare) tie a knot in the reins or buy shorter reins for jumping.
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I have the HS 4-ways and you couldn’t pry them out of my cold, dead hands. With 2 bad ankles and a bad knee they’re the only irons I found that don’t cause pain. I’ve also had the same pair since about 2004 so the quality is excellent
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/herm-sprenger-system-4-stirrups-812
