Stirrups - do they make a difference on bad knees?

[luckycricket123]

I ride in regular old traditional irons and my rubber tread needs to be replaced. I am probably just going to buy a replacement tread but since I do have knee pain which is intensified by riding I thought I’d check here first to see if people find different stirrups actually make a difference with knee pain.

I see sponsored riders singing their praises on Instagram, but I’m looking for less biased advice. If one of these products actually work it’s probably worth it to me to invest, but I’m a skeptic. Does anyone know if any of the expensive irons have a trial? Or just feel free to tell me your own joint pain + stirrup successes.

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[Blugal]

I’m interested too, for knee and ankle pain. Have looked at threads here on MDC, JIN, Lorenzini, Royal Rider, and many more. If you do a search for any of those you will turn up the rest.

[sheltona01]

Yes they do, but you have to find the ones that work for you. For me, I am very inflexible and tight everywhere. So I needed the jointed stirrups to help my knees and ankles. I believe if you are too flexible, the wider ones work better to stabilize.

[MMavin]

I bought a set of the MDC at a tack swap, and my knees have been happier. After a long road ride, I still get a bit sore. The biggest help was going to a physical therapist and strengthening my outer hip and thigh muscles to support my knees.

[vineyridge]

They absolutely do make a difference. I went from a straight fillis to the
Stubben double offset stirrups, and I was able to hunt for hours without excruciating knee pain. I tried jointed stirrups but never felt comfortable in them.

[subk]

Yes.

Things that helped me were a wider foot pad and removing the twist in the stirrup leathers by having a joint at the top. I have never gotten comfortable with a hinged footbed. Although the MDC Stirrups are supposedly not as loosely jointed I have not tried them. I use a MDC stirrup that doesn’t have the joint.

Here are what I use:
http://mdcstirrups.com/sport_classic.html

[NCRider]

Agree that you’ll have to try them. I have had terrible knees forever and one of the offset brands that tons of people find helpful were actually worse than regular stirrups for me. Other types have been more or less helpful. #1 difference was riding a smaller horse with less of a barrel.

[FitToBeTied]

I have both the Sprenger original jointed and a pair of MDC wider base jointed stirrups. When I go back and ride in non-jointed stirrups I can tell the difference.

[GreyDes]

Yes, the right stirrups will make a huge difference and I agree with the above posters that it will be personal. I like the MDC “S” stirrups with the wide footbed. http://mdcstirrups.com/s_classic.html

I had the Herm Sprenger bow balance stirrups before this and they reduced my knee pain, but I didn’t feel as stable with the flex sides.

I have an old knee injury (non horse related) and would be almost crying at the end of a ride with regular fillis stirrups. I’ve found I need something that changes the angle of the stirrup leather and reduces the pressure. The wide footbed also seems to help me. I haven’t noticed a difference moving away from the jointed stirrups, and prefer the stability of fixed sides.

MDC does have a trial option if you buy from them directly. I haven’t done this personally, but it looks straightforward. http://mdcstirrups.com/about_us.html

[fordtraktor]

Yes. It does help. I fractured my knee area 15 years ago when a horse fell on me. I use FreeJumps on my jumping saddle and Bow Balances on my dressage saddle. I sometimes ride in other saddled and I can definitely tell that night if I had classic fillis irons on that day. They are $$ but as long as they reduce pain, I am happy! If I could afford FreeJumps on everything’s I would buy those.

[Feliz]

The wide foot bed makes the biggest difference to my knees, regardless of anything else

[endlessclimb]

Yes. I have composite stirrups with squooshy pads on them. Hard to describe how they work exactly, but the foot bed is hard to push down and only goes about 1/4". It’s almost like a shock absorber. https://www.doversaddlery.com/composite-reflex-stirrup-irons/p/W1-C0742A/?eid=X18A00U1000&utm_source=google&utm_medium=PLA&mrkgcl=1131&mrkgadid=3258321441&rkg_id=h-4145adbba4b425dde35b2920d3a8830d_t-1523222714&utm_campaign=NB_PLA_Retail_Midwest_GOOG&adpos=1o3&creative=236717396624&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjw-6bWBRBiEiwA_K1ZDfjU9DCTwiDifEgrajYD8SLaJCuVegsHlq-ZQF22D7LUB2WUxwZIlhoCsqUQAvD_BwE

[2horseowner]

Love the MDC S Classics. The wide foot bed is great. They are heavy like the Fillis irons, but feel so much more secure. I am not a composite stirrup fan, I know there are many who love them, but I prefer a heavier stirrup.

[leheath]

My mom had a lot of knee pain while riding (from prior, non-riding-related knee injuries) that completely disappeared with the original flexible stirrups (don’t even know what brand as they are 20 years old and still going strong!). On longer rides, I find standard fillis irons also cause knee pain for me, but the flexible ones do not.

[Margaret_Freeman]

I tested high tech stirrups for “Horse Journal” (oh, several years ago!). We had product surveys for stirrups by other testers as well. One thing we found out is that this is a place where you don’t want to go with bargain alternatives. The cheaper hinged stirrups all had too much flex, while the expensive ones had a good level of resistance. Sprengers, Royal Riders, MDCs all worked well for people with knee, back and hip issues. The flex action in the ankle released shock from the horse’s stride from affecting areas higher up. In the same way, you need flexibility in your ankles with whatever stirrups you use, including solid ones.

[173north]

They’ll definitely help, but you need to try a few things as it’s very personal! I have old tendonitis in my knees that still bothers me, plus I broke my ankle about a year and a half ago. I ride in Tech Stirrups - I do best with a wide footbed, nothing too light, and no joint.

[foursocks]

It’s totally personal. The ones with that joint in the middle of the arch flex way too much for me- I have sprained both ankles a lot and it’s painful to have my heel shoot down so far. The best ones I have found for ankles and knees are the Compositi endlessclimb mentions above. The slightly more expensive ones have a nice wide footbed and just a tiny amount of flex. It’s perfect for me. Plus, they now come in different colors, which is fun!

[Inclined]

Actually, the bargain stirrups can help, depending on the rider. I had a pair of MDC Ultimates with jointed sides and offset eye, and my joints (especially hips) hated them because there was too much flex. I tried several other brands and ended up with these: https://www.amazon.com/Shires-Lightw…hires+stirrups . Mine do not have interchangeable treads - they’re only the cheesegraters. My knees and ankles love them. I think it’s the wider footbed that makes the difference. As others have said, it really depends on the rider.

[CindyCRNA]

My 50’s friend and I fox hunted a couple of seasons ago and our knees killed us. We both bought the MDC Ultimates and we both had our knee pain disappear : https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/mdc-ultimate-stirrups-3786

[lmlacross]

I found that my knee pain while out hunting totally disappeared with MDC wide-tread offset-eye stirrups. I prefer the non-jointed variety, but that’s a matter of personal preference. I think the wider tread makes a world of difference (or it has for me, at least).