I have a pair of beloved kwik-outs that are almost as old as I am, but I am curious about other types of irons.
Anybody ride in similar “safety” stirrups?
Favorite innovations?
What’s the deal with wide footbeds- what are they supposed to help with?
Do the composite types hold up well?
Best bang for the buck nowadays? I’ve seen some painful prices for ultra-engineered irons!
TIA
Hi Junebug, I admit I am not a fan of “safety” stirrups. It takes no pressure at all to ping that little rubber band right off! For dressage I believe you should stick with fillis or a similar silver style. I like the idea of the eagle-eye stirrups although the earlier types were criticized for being too spinny, don’t know if they’ve gotten better since. The composites are good if you’re just riding at home but I’d invest in some fillis-types if you show :). Not a huge cheese grater fan, hard for your foot to slip out should you have an accident!
Agreed thecolorcoal- I can’t stand the rubber-band types! The kwik-outs are hinge-type (though they have their risks too).
I have black composites that are wide. It is easier for me to keep my foot in the stirrup with these wide composites.
The Super Comfort Stirrup Pads are the best thing since sliced bread. I got them when I was riding a jumper with a fairly concussive jump and needed a little help keeping my stirrups. They’re still going strong. They also help eliminate some shock, making them exceedingly more comfortable. DD has hers on safety stirrups right now as she broke her ankle this summer and didn’t want to risk reinjury.
I ride in Safestyle irons on my dressage saddle. No weird contraptions, they are just open on one side.
However, my knees let me know they prefer a jointed iron with a shorter stirrup, therefore, in my jumping saddle, I have flexible composite stirrups, which I love. The one downside with the cheese grater treads, is that I need to make sure my foot is fully out before I dismount, or the lightweight stirrup might try to come along with my leg.
When I get my warmblood back from training, the Safestyles are going on her saddle, so I’ll probably get a pair of non-jointed MDCs because I like the rotating eye. I think the jointed iron is detrimental to a dressage seat because it’s less stable and (at least for me) encourages, shoving the feet down too much.
I used to ride in kwikouts but never loved them. I adore riding in normal stirrups with Swiss Clips. Super safe and they don’t change the feel of the stirrup.
George Morris requires simple Fillis stirrups to ride with him
I prefer Fillis stirrups - I can’t stand jointed irons when doing dressage. That said, I do like the swivel ones from MDC I think? They make ones that swivel so the leather lies flat which I really like - they also have a jointed one which I do not like
I have the swivel ones (non-jointed) that MDC makes and they are a miracle worker for my bad knee. Had to hunt & hunt to find them without the joint (even jumping, I never liked the flexi-feel under my feet) but they are totally worth it. I went from having an almost completely numb and non-weight bearing knee after riding for 40 minutes to being able to ride for hours with minimum pain.
I also use the MDC swivel but use the jointed ones for dressage. Helps my knees a lot
Torn meniscus and broken ankle here. MDC swivel (unjointed) with Super Comfort Stirrup Pads have saved me.
Does anyone have exper
That’s a classic “s” stirrup where the “s” side goes on the outside of the foot that’s supposed to allow your foot to come out of the stirrup with less chance of getting hung up.
I used it for years on my jumping saddle. Completely unproblematic. I never was in a fall where I felt like I was at risk for being hung up in my stirrups though (although I was tossed a couple of times in that period).
On my dressage saddle I’ve had for many years (10+) a pair of MDC irons with both the swivel eye and the jointed footbed. I love them. I’ve never felt that the jointed foot was “too” jointed; they seem completely stable to me. I’ve taken a couple of falls with them and never had a problem.
On my jumping saddle I have a pair of the composite stirrups with the cheese-grater wide bed. I find them very comfortable but I don’t know that they have any “safety” properties.
I hate the peacock stirrups (rubber band stirrups).
I use simple fillis style irons with a set 90 degree angle eye on my dressage saddle, I think they were the princely sum of $55.
I have a pair of “Icelandic” irons on the AP I use for trail riding. They have the “S” side on them and the 90 degree angled eye. Comfortable and safer, should I get spooked off by a deer or something.
I have the MDC stirrups with the S configuration with a wide footbed. These stirrups aren’t outrageously priced, they’re very attractive, and I find that they keep my lower leg in a better position (leg flatter against the horse, toes not pointed out so much). I have two saddles and have actually been considering buying a second pair for my jump saddle.
I’ve used the Foot Free style with the curve on the outside, and they are very good if you want a safety stirrup. I tested them many times, actually. Peacock irons, with the elastic are good for young riders, but they are susceptible to opening up more over time because of the open side.
I use Sprenger 4-ways, which were the only brand available when I bought them. They came out on top of testing as being the safest, with the Foot Free in second place. I bought them because they eliminated the pain in my hips and knees. I have also tested their safety features many times courtesy of my spooky horse, and they worked quite nicely.
Like others, for jumping, I did notice a difference in having jointed or flex stirrups. For purely dressage, I don’t. I use the S shape for safety because I ride alone (horses at home). I have Kwik Out on jumping/trail saddles just because I have a pair, but for all new saddles, the S works. But I never saw the Swiss clip before! Great idea!
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Does anyone have experience with these:
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/foot-free-safety-stirrup-irons-11227
[IMG]https://img.smartpak.com/images/product/highres/21227_steel_01.jpg?width=422&quality=100)
[/quote]
I have those with Super Comfort pads on my jump saddle and I love them. I greatly prefer a heavy, non-jointed iron but I need a wide footbed to keep my feet from going numb. This setup has eliminated about 90% of that problem. Eventually I will put the same setup on my dressage saddle, although for now I just have plain Fillis irons and pads.
You really have to try different irons to see what works best for you. Most jointed irons make my ankles hurt after about 45 minutes. I’ve scraped myself on the nub of peacock irons while dismounting (ouch), and while I really like the wider footbed that seems to come with most composite irons I don’t care for their lighter weight.
These are my favorite stirrups: https://www.amazon.com/Shires-Lightw…hires+stirrups. Mine have the cheese grater pads and are not interchangeable. I love them because the wider footbed has helped my knees and ankles not to ache.
I tried the MDC Ultimates, but they had too much movement. My hip joints compensated for the stirrup movement and began aching.
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