Safestyle Stirrups: Family-Owned & Promoting Safety

I’ve been on a quest to research and try out all the safety irons on the market, as last year a friend of a friend had an accident in which a foot got caught in a stirrup and the result was tragic. Just hearing about the accident really shook me. I knew peacock irons were a thing for children–you know, those half metal stirrup irons where the outside part is like a big rubber band. I wasn’t sure if safety irons existed for adults, so I began to research. Safestyle irons made in the Netherlands were one of my discoveries and the company was gracious enough to send me irons to demo.

Thank you to Safestyle for partnering with me to spread the word safety stirrups!

I have ridden in the Safestyle irons a handful of times at this point, but unfortunately I have been recovering from a foot injury so I don’t feel it’s fair to give my thoughts on comfort and such since my feet and ankles have been uncomfortable to start with as a result of a fall (not a horseback fall–I tripped walking down a step in my sister’s garage and landed on the tops of both feet. I thought I had broken my left foot as the pain was excruciating).

First Impressions of Safestyle Safety Irons

Instead, I would like to share with you what I have learned about these irons. The first thing I noticed is they are attractive and have a more classic stirrup iron look than several of the other safety irons on the market today.

When I began following the Safestyle Instagram account I noticed some beautiful dressage riders (among other disciplines) using the Safestyle irons and they almost look like a traditional fillis iron. I like that a lot.

The logo is attractive which I guess has nothing to do with safety, but it’s still a plus. If you take a close look at the picture of my boot in the iron you might notice the logo on the outside “branch” of the iron.

I also like that to “open” part which is the black rubber material (I’m guessing it’s rubber) is on the inside. I have a friend who rides in a more “open” design of safety irons–the open part being on the outside and she has gotten her reins hooked on the open part when riding a horse with a short neck. That is a little scary to me. I feel like having the breakaway part to the inside is ideal.

Read on to find out straight from Safestyle how their line came on the market, why they are unique and how you can get your own pair of Safestyle irons!

What is the origin story of Safestyle? Why and how did these safety irons come onto the market?

How can someone in the U.S. or Canada shop SafeStyle stirrups? Do you plan to expand to North America?

Americans and Canadians can order the stirrups on our website www.safestyle.nl. We are standing open for horse shops to sell our stirrups in their shop of webshop. They can contact us at info@safestyle.nl for more information. We think it would be very nice to work together with the horse riding shops in America and Canada. We think we can make the horse riding sport much safer over there.

What makes Safestyle stand out from the other various brands of safety irons on the market?

Safestyle has a very good price-quality ratio. It is not only for safety, but also for a better leg position because of the special design. The suspension also makes it easier to find the stirrups when you lose them. There are several stirrups on the market that are offered as safety stirrups, but where you can still hang in the stirrup. Safestyle is designed in such a way that this cannot happen.

What is your exchange or return policy?

Our exchange option is that you can exchange the stirrups if they are unused, undamaged and in the original packaging. The return shipping costs are for the buyer. After we received the package back, the amount will be refunded.