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Wide stirrup leathers

I’m in the market for new stirrup leathers and have wondered about these wider ones for dressage. I have an old injury on my inner thigh which would surely be more comfortable with a less narrow band under it.

They are touted as being great for leg stability, which is never a bad thing, but will they be “too” stable? i.e., if you want to put your leg forward for a flying change, will they interfere?

Thoughts? pros, cons?

@atr Thanks for asking! I’m curious about them too.

I’ve got a pair of the Ovation wide leathers - truthfully, I never noticed a difference in stability. The part that hooks onto your saddle is normal width anyways, so it doesn’t really change the amount they’re able to “pivot” around that point. The only real difference would be the amount of friction between the leathers and the saddle, which is pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things.

I certainly don’t dislike them, but IME they’re not the “game changer” that the marketing makes them out to be :wink:

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I had a pair of ovation wide leathers. They stretched too much for me, and because I have arthritis in my right hip, they stretched unevenly too (something to keep in mind if you have an old injury)

I liked them fine until they stretched too far. Didn’t feel like the width did anything for my leg stability, but I didn’t notice a difference when I switched them back for my old leathers.

I have a pair of the Total Saddle fit wide leathers. I’ve really liked them and have had them for over 2 years. I liked them so much I bought a pair for my other, non-dressage saddle.

They don’t interfere at all (although neither I nor my horse are at the flying change level!). They just rest flat against the flap. I think the stability really comes from the fact that they just have greater surface area.

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I have the Millbrook leathers and love them. I think they provide much greater stability of the lower leg.

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After ending up with a “bump” on my shinbones where my nylon cored stirrup leathers crossed my leg I got really excited about the Millbrook stability leathers. I ordered them according to their chart AND I called Millbrook but what I wanted, the wide part across the shinbone, did not happen.

So I got Millbrook’s longest stability leathers, the wide part crossed my shinbones, and my legs were happy, much happier than before. My lower leg became more stable. I LOVE these stirrup leathers, they are substantial enough so that they do not make grooves in my shin bones like the nylon cored leathers did.

I gave my too-short-for-me pair to my lesson stable. She put them on one saddle which apparently now is the favorite saddle for many of her adult students.

I also have the Total wide leathers, love them and so does my trainer!

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Another plug for the TSF wide leathers, love mine!

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I bought TSF stability leathers after my first 25 mile Endurance ride. I had done a 12 mile ride the following day, and while my inner knee was not bruised, it was distinctly tender (the other knee was padded by a neoprene knee brace) for several days. The stability leathers smoothed out that lump beautifully.

I didn’t notice any increased stability of my leg, or instability when I rode in my other saddles with regular leathers. I will note that those other saddles are used on my other horse who I’ve had for many years and am super comfortable riding. In general my legs are quite stable when riding. I did notice the stirrup leathers under my knees and did buy TSF stability leathers for the other saddle I used most often.

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This was my experience as well when I rode a friend’s horse for a while who had them. I would consider them for comfort on longer trail rides but that’s probably about it.

I have the TSF wide leathers and really like them a lot as well. As an adult beginner I’m by no means looking for performance implications, I’m looking more for stability and between these leathers plus my tech venice sloped stirrups I feel very comfortable and secure.
I do suffer from joint pain (mostly knees but also hips and ankles some days) and these stirrup leathers really minimize any discomfort for me.