Prevent losing your safety stirrups with Ophena
Losing your stirrups during your ride is not only irritating, it can be dangerous. Many situations can cause you to lose your safety stirrups, such as your horse bucking, rearing, stopping at a fence, and so on. Getting your stirrups back on your foot quickly is essential and can even prevent serious injuries.
In this article, we will look at how to prevent losing your stirrups or at least decrease the chance of it happening.
Losing your stirrups can be dangerous
Losing your stirrups can happen in many situations. Maybe your horse bucks or rears, or maybe they stop at a fence or take an unexpected side step. This can cause you to lose your balance and even fall off your horse which can lead to serious injuries.
As you see in the video below, getting caught in your stirrups can be dangerous. (Don't worry, the rider in the video is fine.)
Many riders struggle with losing their stirrups, so you are not alone. There are a few tricks and tips you can use to better keep your foot in the stirrups, and we have shared a few of them below.
Practice relaxing your leg
Often, the reason for losing your stirrups is simple: you are not relaxed. A relaxed leg will be heavy and press heels down naturally as your ankle relaxes, and this makes it easier to keep your stirrups on.
You can practice relaxing your leg by riding without stirrups. For instance, you can cross the stirrups over the horse's withers, or you can take them off and have your trainer lunge your horse while you focus on relaxing your legs all the way from the hips. If you are brave enough, you can even ride bareback.
Don't squeeze with your knees
This point goes hand in hand with the previous one. If you squeeze the saddle with your knees, your leg will become tense and your heels will come up, causing you to lose your stirrups. Practice relaxing your leg to allow your heels to stay down.
Shorten your stirrups
Sometimes the answer can be simple: shorten your stirrups. If your stirrups are too long, losing your stirrups is inevitable.
Ophena magnetic safety stirrups can help
Ophena has designed two stirrup models with magnets. Our magnetic safety stirrups, Ophena S and Ophena S Pro, can decrease the risk of losing your stirrups because of the strong magnetic connection between your boot and the magnetic insoles.
Thousands of riders have already found help from Ophena's stirrups. Our magnetic safety stirrups will help you to place your foot in the correct position in the stirrups, which improves leg position and your balance. Also, knowing that your foot will not slip and that your stirrups will stay on in tough situations will increase your confidence and focus.
Whether you are an amateur or a professional rider, you will find that Ophena's magnetic safety stirrups can make your riding experience more comfortable.
Here's how Ophena's safety stirrups work:
Ophena S and Ophena S Pro are more than just safety stirrups
Both Ophena S and Ophena S Pro have been designed to increase the rider's safety and to decrease the risk of a serious injury when riding. Our safety stirrups have an open design that allows for easy release of the rider's foot in case of an accident. Also, the magnetic connection keeps your foot in the right place at all times.
In addition, the stirrups have a Smart Attach™ -system that makes it easy to attach and detach your stirrups from your stirrup leathers.
Our happy customers have experienced many benefits when using our safety stirrups:
- Improved leg and foot
- Improved balance
- Increased confidence
- Decreased knee and joint pains
- Improved focus
Ophena A: non-magnetic safety stirrup
For those who prefer not to have a magnetic connection in their stirrups, Ophena A may be the solution. Ophena A is our non-magnetic safety stirrup that features The Twister: a silicone piece that attaches at two anchor points and releases in all directions.
This kind of release system allows the rider's foot to release quickly and easily in case of an accident. Ophena A is suitable for all disciplines, including dressage.
Ophena A is easy to use and the release system is simple. See for yourself in the video below:
Get Ophena stirrups only at Ophena.com
Our loved Ophena magnetic safety stirrups and non-magnetic safety stirrups are only available at Ophena.com. You can purchase Ophena S, Ophena S Pro or Ophena A directly on our website.
Here's how you can get your own Ophena magnetic safety stirrups:
- Choose your stirrup model (Ophena S, Ophena A or Ophena S Pro)
- Choose the color (silver or onyx black)
- Choose the size of your magnetic insoles (for Ophena S and Ophena S Pro)
- Fill in your order details
All of our safety stirrups have a 60-day money-back guarantee - that's how much we believe that you will love your new stirrups.
Pssst! Remember to check out our Ophena Evolution saddle pads as well.
