For almost two years now I have been riding in Acavallo Safety Stirrups. If you’re pressed for time and need a spoiler alert: I love them. My equestrian safety stirrup journey began a few years back when a friend of a friend had a fatal accident due to getting caught up in her stirrup (she was not wearing a helmet, but I’ll save the story of the importance of wearing a helmet every ride, every time for another blog post.)
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In the wake of this tragedy, I began researching what was on the market for adult horse riders who wanted to have a safe and sophisticated alternative to the little kid peacock safety stirrups with the heavy duty rubber bands. I was pleasantly surprised there were so many safety stirrup options and I did a series of equestrian safety stirrup reviews. In case you missed it, I’ll give a super quick recap.
Roundup of Previous Safety Stirrups Reviews
Ophena Safety Stirrups are beautiful and completely non-traditional. They have one completely open side which is wild. Peep the model and find out what I thought of Ophenas here.
Safestyle is a family-owned business. I had positive vibes on this brand, and they served their purpose, but I couldn’t make a long-term commitment. They are aesthetically pleasing too. See the Safestyle safety stirrups in action and read my Q & A with the company here.
Flex-On Safety Stirrups these equestrian safety stirrups wooed me for a long time. They look cool, they felt good. They had a unique breakaway feature–if memory serves me correctly, I’m pretty sure I foxhunted with these. True Story: I had a photoshoot with my Flex-Ons for this blog post and I mixed up the right and left stirrups. lol
Reasons I’m a Fan of Acavallo Arena Alupro Safety Stirrups
My Acavallo Safety Stirrups are both functional and fashionable. They’re made in Italy, and Italians know how to make beautiful things: the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, mosaic tiles and gelato to name a few. My friend rode for a while in these safety stirrups, and I thought they were ugly. Not to mention her reins got caught in the “safety” gap. But enough about that other brand, back to Acavallos. . .
They feel good. They are lightweight, yet easy to pick up/find if you drop your irons intentionally or unintentionally. Actually, now that I think about it, I can’t remember ever losing my stirrups since I’ve been riding in the Acavallos. Am I a more skilled rider than a few years back? Hopefully yes. But I also think the cheesegrater design of the stirrup and the wide base where my foot goes provides good grip and stability.
When ground driving, you can quickly lift the “arm” and slide your line through instead of threading the long end of the lines through the stirrup iron. I tried to demonstrate that and found it difficult to take a photo whilst holding two lines and trying to “open” the Acavallo with just one hand. But hopefully you get the idea.
I read in some marketing material for the safety stirrups that they are ideal for riders suffering from orthopedic problems and they alleviate pain in foot bottoms, ankles, knees and hips. I am grateful to be in pretty decent health and mostly pain free, so I can’t attest to this, but I’ll take their word for it.
I’ll finish off commenting about the safety aspect. I have not fallen while riding in these stirrups. I will say that the “arm” that flexes outward, in the event of a rider’s foot getting caught is easy to open (when I slide my lines through) but it has never opened when I ride from my foot getting too close to the outer edge of the stirrup. I like how that “arm” opens on the bottom. Also, it will re-engage on its own and go back into place. It’s magic.
Out of all the equestrian safety stirrups I’ve ridden in, borrowed from friends and read about–to me, these are the most beautiful (traditional looking), have been the most comfortable and seem safest with the safety stirrup design. And while writing this blog post I discovered the Acavallos come in several fun colors such as this pretty rose gold, shiny and bold red and bold blue.
If you are looking for ways to increase your safety in the saddle, enhance comfort for those aging joints and feet and feel extra stable posting or in jump position, you should definitely try the Acavallo stirrups. I love them and I think you will too.
CLICK HERE to shop Acavallo Safety Stirrups.
Thanks for reading and tally ho! And in case you’ve been living under a rock (or spending too much time at the barn), I just released a Marguerite Henry biography: Marguerite, Misty and Me: A Horse Lover’s Hunt for the Hidden History of Marguerite Henry and Her Chincoteague Pony! I would love to personalize and sign a copy for you so you can relieve the nostalgia of your horse crazy youth. 🙂 CLICK HERE to peep Marguerite, Misty and Me.
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I'm Susan and this is my horse Knight. We have been a blogging team since 2015 and we're glad you're here. Tally ho!
