Leathers that are thin(ner)?

[Redlei44]

AKA are safety release bars not supposed to work anymore?

I don’t know if such a thing exists, but I was browsing around for a stirrup leather that is somehow a bit thinner (referring to the thickness of leather that wraps around the saddle stirrup bar, not the width like a stability leather). It has always bothered me that most saddles I’ve owned or tried recently have a stirrup bar that is super tight against the saddle flap. I don’t want a stirrup to just fall off randomly, of course, but I also get super annoyed when it takes a feat of strength and flexibility to get a stirrup off a saddle to clean it or switch it. It also doesn’t give me a ton of confidence that the leather is actually going to slide off the (safety release) bar in an emergency.

So - does such a thing exist? A stirrup that has some sort of thinner section at the top that would be suitable for this?

I normally use nylon-lined leathers. Switched to them many years ago, love that they don’t stretch and are pretty flexible/broken-in from the start. I tried purchasing non-lined leathers, thinking that I could deal with stretching if they were thinner since they don’t have the extra lining layer. But no luck - they weren’t significantly thinner.

[Tha_Ridge]

Most stirrup bars are so recessed now and/or slightly curved upward that no leather, of any thickness, will slide through.

[HJdaydream]

I regularly take my calfskin leathers (CWD) off to clean my saddle, and I would definitely not say it takes a feat of strength in order to do so . I can easily manage it one handed most times. They are well broken in, at about 7 years old. I don’t ever remember them being particularly difficult though. I definitely feel that if one got hooked on something it would come off as intended.

[Redlei44]

Yeah, it definitely depends on the individual saddle, though I have heard that some brands purposely recess them more than others. Unfortunately the last three saddles I’ve owned (widely varying brands and ages) as well as several I’ve trialed are just a nightmare.

[Equestrian24]

I’ve actually had the same issue with a couple of my saddles, which are both ancient Courbettes. The leathers have always been really hard to get on and off, and there’s absolutely no doing it while it’s on the horse. As a matter of fact, it’s really hard when it’s on a stand or my arm is underneath where the stirrup bars are located. Whereas my old Crosbys and Collegiate are all easy to slide on and off (and all of these are plain flap, which I’m not sure makes much of a difference, but is an interesting coincidence).

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any leathers that are any easier to get on or off. The Courbettes are otherwise perfect and fit me like a glove, and I feel more “at home” in them than in any other saddle, but that’s something I’ve always had trouble with.

[mmeqcenter]

@Tha_Ridge

Most stirrup bars are so recessed now and/or slightly curved upward that no leather, of any thickness, will slide through.

I have to assume this is specific to certain brands. I’ve not had this issue at all and have bought half a dozen saddles in the last 5-6 years. My current two saddles were bought brand new within the past year or so.

[furlong47]

I think something like that would be impossible to design. The part of the leather that is under the stirrup bar is going to be different for every person (and even sometimes for the same person on a different horse or saddle) and also usually contains some of the holes, so you wouldn’t want it to be thinner and possibly weaker.

On all of the saddles I’ve owned, it was pretty hard to get the leathers on and off by hand, but they have come off of the stirrup bars in falls.

[Moneypitt]

The French made jump saddles I’m familiar with do not have the hinged portion on the end to choose to flip up or leave down. Rather sort of a single swoop design. Yes they tend to be a tight fit getting stirrup leathers on. If you have a saddle with hinged stirrup bars it’s important to lube the joint so it doesn’t rust in place.

I find that conditioning the leather behind the stirrup bar area is helpful to ease the stirrup leather on/off problem. This is usually a forgotten area when caring for a saddle but important.

Also important for safety is to make sure the stirrups are at least 1” wider than the widest measurement of the bottom of boot foot (ball of foot area) width. For example if the measurement across the widest part of the boot foot (ball of foot) is 3 1/2”, the stirrup should be about size 4 1/2”; 3 3/4” boot ball foot measurement should be about a 4 3/4” stirrup size.

[halla]

I’ve been wondering the same thing. I replaced my old old Collegiate leathers with new unlined plain leather ones and they’re so much thicker they’re hard to adjust. Everything in Dover seemed similarly thick. I don’t need fancy calf anything, I just want to be able to adjust my stirrups with ease again.