As I hinted at in a my spontaneous jumping post last week, I twinged my ankle jumping and think new stirrups could be the solution for preventing future twinges.
Now this isn’t a new injury for me. As a teenager I constantly had pains in my knees and ankles. I have also always ridden with short stirrups. However I never thought that riding could be the cause of my discomfort.
In the first year of university I only rode a handful of times and I think this gave my joints time to recover. When I got Scottie, he was lazy so I needed to learn to ride with longer stirrups so that I could wrap my legs around him better. I think these things continued to mask riding as the cause but when I think back to when I was doing a lot of jumping (riding in shorter stirrups) I do remember feeling strain and discomfort in my left ankle.
However, jumping last week has certainly restrained my ankle and even riding back at normal length the next day I still felt a bit of strain in a 2-point seat during Scottie’s antics. I have also felt uncomfortable on my ankle since with quite bad knee pain one day. All of which have made me realise that I need to do something about this.
Several people have suggested various types of flexi stirrups for me to try. Now since I don’t have an injury as such, I don’t feel like I need to invest in £150+ on a fancy pair of stirrups. I believe that I could get the right pair for £40-£50.
I am considering the following 3 types (prices vary between retailers):
- FS – Flexi Stirrups (£47ish)
- Rhinegold Flexi Stirrups (£27ish)
- Cottage Craft Flexi Stirrups (£37ish)
I have heard a few people say that if they are too flexible, they struggle with them for dressage as they give you too much movement in the ankle. So ideally I want a pair with only a small amount of flex, just enough to remove the strain while jumping. However, if this isn’t possible I could always switch my stirrups for jumping, but that is a bit of faff!
Do you have any experience with the above flexi stirrups? Would you recommend them or any other brand/type? I would really appreciate your input. Or if anyone knows of any experts I could talk to that would be fantastic!
Last Updated on 07/08/2018
