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BREAKWAWAY STIRRUPS

H

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
8,789
Location
Texas
Just another gimic ? or a worth while ?
Reason I ask is..........This morning I had some fence to ride and gaps to check,horses around here have'nt been rode much because I was feelin a lil pekid earlier this year,anyway I am partial to the grey horse i have so always ride your best horse as the ole sayin goes but,horses need rode and the little sorrel i have had'nt been rode in a long while and I reckoned it was time.
So bout day break me and the little sorrel are makin good time it's like the little horse was rode daily no problems at all yet.
I cut through a plowed field and the sorrel stumbled a couple times seemed to get his balance and we broke into a trot,bout that time he stumbled forward he musta went 20 tryin to regain his balance when his nose started plowin loose ground,happened pretty fast but the little horse fell on his left side and had my leg under him he gained his feet pretty damn fast as a matter of fact to fast because if I would have been thinkin when he stood upright I would have been in the saddle.
I guess it happened to fast or maybe Im gettin old,probably a little of both anyway he got up damn fast and my left foot is hung in the stirrup,Im thinkin bad things are fixin to happen fast,but that little sorrel just stood there never spooked and i finnally got my boot loose.
I believe it was my fault for not realizin the little horse needed time to adjust to a rider again and I made it worse when i cut across the plowed field.
Anyway I got very lucky this morning,after i gained some age I swore i would never sit a saddle without a nitelatch,never bury my boot to the heel in a stirrup which i did'nt this morning,I guess the horse wallowin on it moved it to the heel.
Anyway..........got me wonderin bout the so called breakaways,always thought they were for green horns,change your mind mighty fast when your boot is hung and you are flat on your back.
To be honest this is the 2nd time I been hung up both times I was lucky,what's that ole sayin bout 3 ?
good luck
 
My daughter used a pair of these. http://www.breakawaystirrups.com/

for almost 10 years and really liked them. They are wearing a bit now and I should get them back to get checked out. They hang nice and don't flip away when putting your foot in them.

Stay safe.
 
Another thing Im gonna do is get a lite weight saddle,aint always ropin draggin,dont need a 40# saddle to ride fence.
McCall makes a good lite weight saddle,thinkin bout one like this.
PAMEIDHBNICACGIM_j.jpg


good luck
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
Gee Haymaker maybe you should be using one of these. :wink:
http://www.ride-the-sunshine-glow.com/bareback-pads.html
Click to expand...

hell..........I barely can stay in a good saddle,probably would'nt get out the gate bareback,no problem gettin hung up tho.
good luck
 
Faster horses said:
You'll like that McCall saddle, I think, haymaker.

And give that sorrell pony some extra oats for saving your life...
he did, you know. :nod:
Click to expand...

I dont know if the little devil saved my life or not but I can tell you for sure I now have a very deep fondness for the little devil,he is just one of those laid back horses,but can flat fly when you ask him to.
He gets good care,but hafta admitt yesterday he got treated special,I heard good things about oxbow stirrups think I will try those next,gota do somethin,been hung up twice and never got a scratch.
good luck
 
Glad it turned out well! Talked to a lady at the Cattlewomen's meeting last weekend who got hung up and drug a ways last spring...she just started riding again and her ankle still bothers her :shock:

I ride with oxbows, have for years. I won't use anything else. But they are made to ride with you foot all the way in the stirrup. So if you don't want to ride that way you won't like them.
 
Oxbow stirrups are way different feeling than other stirrups, haymaker.
I admire those who ride with them, but there isn't much support
because your weight is on the arch of your foot. Takes some getting
used to. Most of our training friends do ride them, but they ride
a lot and have used oxbows for years.
How big are your
stirrups? How big is the space from the top of the stirrup to the bottom
(I think this is called the throat--and they can be different sizes)?
Maybe that's what's wrong...the throat of your stirrup is too large.
I'd check that out. Getting a foot through a stirrup is not a common
problem.

Good that BMR knows some breakaway stirrups that work well.
I always wondered about them getting away from you when getting
on.
 
Faster horses said:
Oxbow stirrups are way different feeling than other stirrups, haymaker.
I admire those who ride with them, but there isn't much support
because your weight is on the arch of your foot. Takes some getting
used to. Most of our training friends do ride them, but they ride
a lot and have used oxbows for years.
How big are your
stirrups? How big is the space from the top of the stirrup to the bottom
(I think this is called the throat--and they can be different sizes)?
Maybe that's what's wrong...the throat of your stirrup is too large.
I'd check that out. Getting a foot through a stirrup is not a common
problem.

Good that BMR knows some breakaway stirrups that work well.
I always wondered about them getting away from you when getting
on.
Click to expand...

I dont think the size is the problem,I dont know what the depth is probably 6 inches the width is 5 and a half, I think it was the way he fell on my foot and struggled to get up that twisted it stuck.

I thiink I wiill get me a couple pair of oxbows and check em out.
good luck
 
HAY MAKER said:
Faster horses said:
Oxbow stirrups are way different feeling than other stirrups, haymaker.
I admire those who ride with them, but there isn't much support
because your weight is on the arch of your foot. Takes some getting
used to. Most of our training friends do ride them, but they ride
a lot and have used oxbows for years.
How big are your
stirrups? How big is the space from the top of the stirrup to the bottom
(I think this is called the throat--and they can be different sizes)?
Maybe that's what's wrong...the throat of your stirrup is too large.
I'd check that out. Getting a foot through a stirrup is not a common
problem.

Good that BMR knows some breakaway stirrups that work well.
I always wondered about them getting away from you when getting
on.
Click to expand...

I dont think the size is the problem,I dont know what the depth is probably 6 inches the width is 5 and a half, I think it was the way he fell on my foot and struggled to get up that twisted it stuck.

I thiink I wiill get me a couple pair of oxbows and check em out.
good luck
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you came out unscathed! That is a scary feeling for sure.
Do I understand correctly that your foot wasn't all the way through but just to the heel and it was the toe of your boot that was caught?
 
I had some cutout stirups that the kids rode when they were younger-Ty got in a wreck this week at work had a horse roll on him in somer soft ground-I guess he poipped his knee back in and had a 4 mile ride back through the bush wasn't the most fun. I think those breakaway stirrups are a good idea for sure-don't feedlots get a discount on insurance if the whole crew rides them.
 
Dylan Biggs said:
HAY MAKER said:
Faster horses said:
Oxbow stirrups are way different feeling than other stirrups, haymaker.
I admire those who ride with them, but there isn't much support
because your weight is on the arch of your foot. Takes some getting
used to. Most of our training friends do ride them, but they ride
a lot and have used oxbows for years.
How big are your
stirrups? How big is the space from the top of the stirrup to the bottom
(I think this is called the throat--and they can be different sizes)?
Maybe that's what's wrong...the throat of your stirrup is too large.
I'd check that out. Getting a foot through a stirrup is not a common
problem.

Good that BMR knows some breakaway stirrups that work well.
I always wondered about them getting away from you when getting
on.
Click to expand...

I dont think the size is the problem,I dont know what the depth is probably 6 inches the width is 5 and a half, I think it was the way he fell on my foot and struggled to get up that twisted it stuck.

I thiink I wiill get me a couple pair of oxbows and check em out.
good luck
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you came out unscathed! That is a scary feeling for sure.
Do I understand correctly that your foot wasn't all the way through but just to the heel and it was the toe of your boot that was caught?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply Dylan,yes it was the toe of the boot against the stirrup top, seconds seem like hours when you are trying to reach high enough to twist your boot loose and you know you are damn close to big trouble,I realize just how lucky I got,never would have believed you can have a horse fall like that and get hung up,I caint say enough good about that little sorrel,but I also understand given the same circumstances next time he may bolt,now the question becomes how to best minimize it.
I know one thing and I hope everyone that is readin this will agree,if and when you have a horse fall with you make damn sure you are in the saddle when he rises,I dont care what anyone sez its my humble opinion safest place on a horse is in the saddle,Ive preached that for years and got lucky when I did'nt practise it yesterday,that wont happen again.
good luck
 
I got hung up once and it is a scary deal for sure. Same kind of deal, it was a young horse that needed rode. Luckily he was fairly calm because it took a while to get out of it and I was 15 miles from the headquarters. A while later I was telling about it to a really old cowboy friend who I highly respected and he told me a trick to do if it ever happened again. He said that human nature is to roll away from the horse and this puts your foot in the wrong position to come loose easily. Instead roll toward the horse (spooky, I know) and this will allow your foot to get in a position to come free. Luckily I've never had to use this trick, but I did see it work once while on a gather.
 
HAY MAKER said:
Dylan Biggs said:
HAY MAKER said:
I dont think the size is the problem,I dont know what the depth is probably 6 inches the width is 5 and a half, I think it was the way he fell on my foot and struggled to get up that twisted it stuck.

I thiink I wiill get me a couple pair of oxbows and check em out.
good luck
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you came out unscathed! That is a scary feeling for sure.
Do I understand correctly that your foot wasn't all the way through but just to the heel and it was the toe of your boot that was caught?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply Dylan,yes it was the toe of the boot against the stirrup top, seconds seem like hours when you are trying to reach high enough to twist your boot loose and you know you are damn close to big trouble,I realize just how lucky I got,never would have believed you can have a horse fall like that and get hung up,I caint say enough good about that little sorrel,but I also understand given the same circumstances next time he may bolt,now the question becomes how to best minimize it.
I know one thing and I hope everyone that is readin this will agree,if and when you have a horse fall with you make damn sure you are in the saddle when he rises,I dont care what anyone sez its my humble opinion safest place on a horse is in the saddle,Ive preached that for years and got lucky when I did'nt practise it yesterday,that wont happen again.
good luck
Click to expand...

Hay Maker, no nee to apologize, since it was your toe that was stuck, my next question is what material is the sole of the boot. A lot of new boots are made now with a non slip type of sole and not the old leather sole, that certainly does not help in circumstances like you were in.

I had a horse at a lope years ago on native pasture and he planted both front feet in a badger hole and was skidding along on his chest and i took both feet out of the stirups and bailed off just before he rolled right over, so I don't know if one strategy fits all circumstances. He was a stumble bum bugger, I finally got rid of him, he was cowy as all get out though.
 

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