How-To · Tack · Tips ·Mar 31, 2023

How can the cleanliness of safety stirrups can affect your safety?

Everyone likes to keep their tack clean and looking nice. However, cleaning your tack isn't only good for the aesthetics of your saddles, bridles, and boots, but it can also affect your safety. Today, we will look at how important the cleanliness of your safety stirrups can be.

After all, riding horses is already a risky sport, so taking all possible safety measures is recommended. Find out how you can keep your tack clean and ensure that you stay safe at home and in the show ring.

How can the cleanliness of tack affect safety?

At this point, you might be wondering how the cleanliness of your tack can affect your safety. It's just dust, dirt, and mud, right?

The cleanliness comes into play in many ways when it comes to safety. For instance, cleaning your leather tack, such as saddles and bridles, should be done at least a few times a week if not after every ride, and here's why.

Dirt, water, sand, mud, and dust can dry out your leather tack, which can lead to your tack breaking. If your tack dries out too much, any pressure can snap a rein or a stirrup leather.

If you think about your horse's boots, the answer is pretty simple: if the boots have leather buckles, they can snap when dried out. If the boots have velcro tightening, it won't stick if there's mud and sand stuck in the velcro part.

What about safety stirrups?

Sand and mud can also affect the effectiveness of your safety stirrups in some instances. First, if there is too much sand between the treading of your stirrups, they will become slippery and your foot can easily slip off the stirrups.

On the other hand, if the safety stirrups have a hinge mechanism that opens in case of an accident, any sand stuck in between the hinge can prevent the safety system from opening.

Keep your tack clean the correct way

Keeping your tack clean is pretty simple, but you have to take the time to do it regularly. While you clean your tack, you also get a good chance to inspect it for possible wear and tear and you will get an idea of when it's time to get new reins, stirrup leathers, or other tack.

Cleaning and inspecting your tack is a part of your journey as a responsible equestrian, so learn to clean your tack the right way. Below, we will give you some useful tips for keeping your important tack clean.

Cleaning your leather tack

When cleaning your leather tack, there are two essential things to remember: too much water will dry your tack, and too much oil will make it snap.

The rule of thumb is to clean any excess dirt and mud away with water first, and then soap your leather tack up with leather soap. Make sure that the soap doesn't foam, as this means that there is too much water in the mix. If needed, dry the tack with a soft towel after soaping every inch of your tack.

Oil should be used sparingly, preferably only once or twice a month. If you use too much oil, it will soak into the leather and make it stretchy, and thus increase the risk of the leather snapping.

However, always follow the manufacturer's cleaning instructions.

Cleaning your horse's boots

If your horse uses leather boots, the same rules apply as above. However, if your boots are velcro, your cleaning process is easy: simply brush off the excess dirt and sand and throw them in the washing machine.

If you don't want to get your washing machine dirty, you can always soak your boots in a bucket of soapy water. Use a brush to get any sand and dirt out and hang them to dry in a dry and warm place.

Cleaning your safety stirrups

Your safety stirrups and magnetic safety stirrups are easy to clean. The first step is to brush off any dirt and sand, especially focusing on the treading. Next, you can use a dry or a damp towel to polish and clean your stirrups.

If your safety stirrups get very dirty, for instance after doing a cross country test in eventing, you can always hose your stirrups down to get all the dirt out. Remember to dry the stirrups with a soft towel before hanging them back onto the saddle.

Pro tip: Ophena' stirrup cleaning kit makes it easy for you to clean your safety stirrups. It includes a sisal brush with a bamboo handle and a microfibre towel that will polish your stirrups.

Have you seen our safety stirrups?

Ophena manufactures more than just stirrup cleaning kits: we have three safety stirrup models that have received glowing reviews from customers.

Ophena S and Ophena S Pro are our magnetic safety stirrups that have received over 1,500 five-star reviews from our happy customers. They have a magnetic connection, open design, and excellent treading that riders love.

In fact, many customers have reported to have experienced the following:

Improved leg and foot position
Increased focus and confidence
Better posture and balance
Increased feeling of safety

Ophena A is our non-magnetic safety stirrup suitable for all disciplines. It features patent-pending technology called The Twister: the outer side is closed off with a silicone piece that anchors in two connection points and releases in all directions.

Ophena safety stirrups are only available at Ophena.com

If your curiosity has peaked, take a look at our magnetic and non-magnetic safety stirrups and choose a model that suits you the best. Here's how you can order your own stirrups from Ophena.com: