Safety Stirrup Swap

The USEF Board of Directors have followed suit with the United States Pony Club (USPC) in banning peacock (also known as hook and loop) stirrups at USEF recognized events. The USPC banned these stirrups starting January 1st, 2025, and USEF will put their rule change into effect for December 1st, 2025.

I was actually pretty shocked by this and assumed the use of safety vests would come down the pipe-line faster than seeing any rule changes dealing with what I would refer to as safety stirrups. To remind some of you, USEF banned the use of “black or colored stirrups (other than silver/grey) or stirrups with black or colored branches” in some particular classes/divisions. This is actually a rule change going back to 2013 (effective 2014) that was adopted by both the US and Canada. There is a slight rule distinction…

CANADA	USA
Only silver-colored stirrups are permitted in equitation or medal classes. **The Equine Canada Rules Committee states stirrups with black joints will NOT be permitted.	The use of stirrups that have entirely black branches are not permitted in any Equitation class. **The American rule does allow small amounts of black on them, such as black rubber joints.

The idea behind this rule change is to lessen the number of injuries that have been reported from the hook of the stirrup. Many of my google searches listed torn clothing, lacerations and “more serious injuries”. Another writer argues that new tech fabrics provide less of a barrier of protection. Frankly, I have been personally victimized by peacock stirrups myself and ripped a giant hole in my favorite pair of blue jods.

So after reading this rule change I thought to myself – now what? What are our options for safety stirrups that don’t cost $300 .

Foot Free Stirrups : visually these are not my favorite to look at but they do the trick to free a foot if needed. They do not have a break away component.

These run about $50 which to me, is a very friendly price point – especially for the little kiddos who are still growing.

Quick Release Stirrups : These have more of a traditional look and do come in all silver which is an added bonus. Some of these stirrups are made of aluminum which some riders find too light. The other issue is…these are hard to find in smaller sizes. Price point is friendly at $70-80.

Kwik Out Stirrups : to me these are the closest option to your traditional stirrups that can go into any ring. These do actually come in teeny tot sizes (as small as 4″) however they can come with a $200 price tag. These are decently old school – so you may get lucky on Facebook Marketplace.

Royal Rider Concept Safety Stirrup : this stirrup comes in black and traditional silver with a wide foot bed and a rubber flexible quick release branch. The sizing is limited for these guys which is their down side and will cost you $250.

Flex-On’ Safe On’ Junior Safety Stirrups : these come in a kiddo friend 4 1/4″ size and are extra customizable for when fun colors are allowed. These come in at a not so kiddo friendly price of $220-$250 and are only recommended for children under 85 pounds. The adult version has similar features for $350. In both versions, the outer branch is triggered in event of a fall and is easily snapped back into place.

Have you had enough? We continue this narrative about pricing people of the sport. When we talk about safety, we try not to put a price on it.

In theory, having properly fitting stirrups and riding boots is step number one to stay safe. A good rule of thumb is to literally use your thumb. There should be roughly one inch on each side of your boot with your foot in the stirrup. You can estimate this by using the width of a normal adult thumb. As a former tack store employee – I often took paddock boots and stuck them into stirrups to help customers decide their appropriate stirrup size. Keep in mind when you may swap boots, or during the winter when your insulated boots may have a little more bulk to them.

So as we are replacing stirrups…

Going from your peacock style stirrups to your Flex’-On stirrups could potentially increase your budget by 500%. So if you’re upgrading your stirrup game, what about everything else? Here are a list of some safety upgrades you may also want to consider. Who knows, maybe next year it will be a requirement…

Multi-Directional Impact Protection System (MIPS) helmets – technology that can hep reduce the risk of concussion and other traumatic brain injuries
Air Vests – unless you have been seriously sleeping under a rock, my hope is that you already know about these safety vests that are basically your own personal airbag

The sport continues to evolve, and as it does – we continue to make strides for positive changes for ourselves and our horses. Can we all afford equal safety? My hope is yes.