I’m out. Lol.
1 Like
Safety first 
2 Likes
That is all we had when I was a kid. Only ours weren’t even Fillis irons but regular hunting irons. And yes, we were taught always to check our stirrup bars were open. It got to be such an ingrained habit that I did it as an adult and one day it saved my life (or at least saved me from a horrible injury).
3 Likes
He’s mostly talking about injuries to children, who are notoriously bad at making safe decisions when given the option. I’ve also had a horse move unexpectedly and lost my balance while dismounting, stuff happens.
I don’t think peacock stirrups are the worst issue facing our sport or anything, but it’s also an incredibly easy issue to avoid by using one of the other safety stirrup designs that don’t have that flaw. There’s enough unavoidable risk in our sport already so I’m all for avoiding the risks we easily can. His proposed rule language is way too vague and I agree that he’s definitely working his own agenda, but I still think it’s good someone is raising awareness of what could happen so riders/parents can make informed decisions.
7 Likes
There are limited models of other safety stirrups that come in children’s sizes.
Other safety stirrup models are not lacking in various faults too. I find randomly breaking while riding to be a bigger problem than this peacock stirrups thing.
All of the other safety stirrups cost quite a bit more than a set of peacock stirrups do.
I can say, back in the dark ages, pretty much all the lesson barns had peacock stirrups on every lesson saddle. I do not know of any kid who was injured by them. (except when someone would be silly and snag a rubber band off one and shoot it at someone else.)
1 Like
Meanwhile, those magnetic stirrups that could double as a gutting hook show up on my facebook all the time…
4 Likes
The child size thing is fair. I’d expect that the market would fill that gap if there’s a move away from peacock stirrups, like when the helmet rules went into effect and the helmet options grew substantially.
The s-curve stirrups are the same price as peacocks, and you can get a basic pair of quick-release stirrup for about $100 which isn’t too much more considering the cheapest peacock stirrups at Dover/Smartpak are $70. I don’t know what you’re referring to by randomly breaking while riding, I’ve never heard of that issue with any of the safety stirrups I’m familiar with. I have seen peacock stirrups get bent out of shape with no outside arm to keep them in place so they don’t really have an advantage there anyway.
I also know plenty of people have used them without injury but I’ve also seen a few kids get caught on them, luckily avoiding anything worse. Just because something doesn’t happen often doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying to prevent if possible, especially when kids are involved.
2 Likes
I recall somebody years ago who had the magnetic stirrups and would dismount onto the mounting block, and then reach up while she was still standing on her right foot to remove her left foot from the stirrup.
That looked pretty darn dangerous to me. Luckily, her horse was a saint who stood like a rock every time. But that would only need to go wrong once.
5 Likes
You did not look very hard.
Peacocks stirrups can be bought for $25.
That is four lesson saddles with safety stirrups versus one saddle with safety stirrups.
I have never seen the S curve stirrups anywhere, but Google does put them in the same price point as peacock stirrups.
I can’t see how they provide the escape that peacock stirrups provide.
There have been threads where people discuss the various models and the pros and cons of them.
I have no kid and I do not need peacock stirrups for anything, but I think this attack on this product is quite ridiculous.
3 Likes
I don’t think it’s an “attack” to point out a legitimate risk for injury so people can choose for themselves whether that risk is worth it. They may not happen often but he’s not fabricating the injuries: Peacock stirrup accident - has anyone experienced?. I said above I’m not in favor of his proposed rule change language, but banning them in USEF shows wouldn’t prevent your example lesson barn from using them anyway so kind of a moot point. There are things I won’t use for safety reasons that aren’t banned and I see no reason to ban them, but I also think the rules for things mainly used by kids should be more conservative since they can’t make informed decisions for themselves.
I feel like there’s also probably a better design to be found that wouldn’t significantly increase the costs, and maybe having more attention on the issue will lead someone to start selling one. Discussions around safety always face resistance (helmets, frangibles, etc) but over time it does lead to innovation and safer options for everyone.
I’ve followed those threads and still not sure what you’re talking about, but there are tons of safety stirrups with great reviews so saying that all of them have equal risks as what’s being discussed here is a little unfair.
2 Likes
Thank goodness I did not say anything about all of them, so you do not have to consider me being unfair.
I did use the term all when discussing price.
Hmmmm, I paid $15 for my Peacock stirrups. Somebody was dumping them due to the “danger” I guess. New condition.
1 Like
I’m a huge fan of S-curve stirrups, and they are inexpensive. The curve makes it easier for one’s foot to come out. One does have to hang them correctly, though, with the curve on the outside and facing forward when the rider puts their foot in.
3 Likes
Several of the ones posted by Trubandloki had very rounded “points” and the rubber band is flush with the point. It looks like the manufacturers have already addressed the issue.
3 Likes
I see several people mentioning keeping the stirrup bar lock open–and while that is a good idea and we do that, there is a problem–newer english saddles are being made without the traditional stirrup bar and instead a curved bar…stirrup leather isn’t going to come off that the same way
2 Likes
I agree. The S shape ones are just as much as a hazard for dragging if your entire foot goes through the stirrup. Children are at risk of this.
1 Like
I personally don’t use peacock stirrups in my barn because of the hazards with them for rider and horse ( I saw a horse get their bit ring stuck on the peacock stirrup at a show once; the horse freaked out and fell over. And when foxhunting through brush stuff can get stuck on the hook and cause issues) But, I don’t like banning tack, especially when the only real show quality alternatives are $250+.
In the past years there have been several instances of horses catching their shoe in the D ring on a martingale causing falls on the backside of the jump. It’s a real risk when you combine shoes and D rings. But it doesn’t mean we are going to barn horse shoes or martingales from the show ring.
3 Likes
A similar thing happened to me. I’m an adult rider who is very small and often put on ponies, and I’ve never liked peacock stirrups as a result, having ridden using them more than a few times. The rubber pops off, random things get caught on them, and the one time it would have been helpful, the rubber didn’t break. It was a weird sidewise fall from a spook, with my leg hanging in the stirrup, and my paddock boot halfway off. Fortunately, the pony didn’t move.
Before I knew this was a thing to do (flipping the stirrup leather off the wither when dismounting), I did rub a down jacket on one–I wasn’t hurt, but it did get a small rip. Obviously, not a life-or-death situation, but I’ve never had an instructor tell me this was a risk until a year or two ago.
I realize it’s not going to come to this, and the author of the article had an agenda, but IMHO it’s a question of “are more lives saved than injuries caused” by the design. I obviously don’t have data on this, as a rando Internet poster! But the argument that they are cheaper than better designs and therefore should be allowed isn’t all that persuasive to me–I know lots of lesson barns save on helmet “loner” costs, but it always makes me twitchy when I see a kid riding with an obviously expired helmet (a design from like, 15 years ago), or so ill-fitting there is no way to protect the kid.
5 Likes
I vaguely remember ripping the crotch out of a pair of jods while dismounting when I was a kid on school ponies. I don’t recall the coach before or after ever telling any of us to flip the stirrup up and over before getting off.
Once or twice a week my mom will use my saddle to flat my older gelding. I regularly have to get after her for sliding down while dismounting and leaving rub marks on the leather 
Maybe I need to scare her into just using the mounting block to get off.
My coach bought a pair of high end safety stirrups. He figured between riding babies, new horses in for training, showing in GPs, etc it would be a good idea. One of them broke within a month or so and it took multiple phone calls before the company would even admit it was an issue with their product.
4 Likes
I seriously don’t think I’ve ever in my life seen anyone do that.
And I don’t think I’d ever even heard of it until a similar discussion here on the BB within the last few years.
4 Likes
