Looking for suggestions for western stirrups! I have some ankle issues and end up with ankle pain after riding for more than 30 minutes. I know from previous experience that aluminum stirrups don’t work well for me (something about the weight aggravates the ankle). The saddle is an older dark oil arabian tree Simco, if it matters.
Fire away! Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
Could be the twist of fenders making ankles hurt, over the (light weight) stirrups being aluminum. Have you had any issues using any model of wooden stirrups? Even well broke-in fenders will pull your toes a little, trying to go back to being flat on the horse sides. This pull can also bother folks with knee problemss when riding. Rewrapping your fenders to be twisted all the time can remove that pull. I have seen this rewrapping demonstrated on Utube video and our local tack store will do it for you. They call it The Texas Twist, it is very popular with Trail Riders here.
If you still want wooden, what kind if riding do you do? Stirrup shapes are made for different reasons, each better suited to some jobs than others.
Just wondering, how do you feel the weight of the stirrups so it bothers your ankle? I can’t figure how you could without lifting them, which does not sound reasonable. A constant pull on foot from fender twist, could cause pain in the ankle.
Like goodhors said, it’s usually the pull from the fenders that makes your knees and/or ankles hurt.
You might try a stirrup turner, like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Tough-1-72-2060-2-25-P-Stirrup-Turner/dp/B00EJFDMT8
Or, if you’re really convinced the problem is with the stirrup and not the fenders, you might try slanted stirrups:
Agree with the above. It’s the angle of your fenders that will cause knee or ankle pain – not the stirrups themselves.
You can take your saddle to a saddle maker and have them permanently twist your fenders for you (or you can google and try to do it yourself).
Or try the slanted stirrups.
I too have ankle issues and had to replace the stirrups that came with my custom saddle with the slanted ones. Even though my fenders were turned when the saddle was made, the bottom of the stirrup wasn’t parallel to the ground and it killed my ankles. Now with the slanted ones they hang parallel to the ground and give me a much more stable foot bed and no more ankle pain.
I take every Western saddle I buy to my local tack shop/saddle maker to get my stirrups turned and wrapped. That way, they stay perpendicular to the horse and the pressure is removed from your ankles and knees. Best $40 spent, ever!
In my case its not the Turn on the fenders, but it really is the stirrups. I rode in some oxbow stirrups with no knee pain whatsoever, and regular stirrups just kill me. I’ve got soft tissue injuries that never healed right in one foot and seriously gimpy knee that likes any excuse to swell up, and the oxbow stirrups allowed my feet to find their own balance and still let me keep my heels down.
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