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 S.T.I.’s safety breakaway stirrup is designed
to “breakaway” from the saddle when the rider is in danger of getting “hung up” in their stirrup, and being
dragged by their horse. As a rider falls to the ground, their bottom drops below their heel and their
toe will come up, this will rotate the stirrup around the stirrup leather,
releasing the mechanism. The
release mechanism is a precision-engineered safety device, designed to release
itself from the stirrup leather when it reaches a 72° backward angle, or a
45° forward angle. The
forward angle can be activated if a rider falls off the horse or gets thrown
and hangs their foot up in the stirrup. The
backward angle is generally activated when a horse falls and a rider’s foot
goes through the stirrup. Whether
your foot is all the way through or if your toe is wedged in the stirrup, the
stirrup will break away. You can
get thrown over the horses head, straight in the air, off the back or out to the
side; whether it’s the near side stirrup or the far side stirrup, the stirrup
will always rotate before you hit the end of your stirrup leather.
These angles of release were scientifically predetermined to be
reached only in a dragging situation. In
a normal riding situation, a rider’s stirrup won’t generally rotate more
than 5°. But even if you're
spurring a horse from their shoulder to their hip, with your toes out and down,
your stirrups won’t rotate much more than 35°. For the mechanism to release, the rider has to be in a
dragging position, or in the process of falling off.
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Rides like a normal stirrup |
Disconnects at 45°
forward or 72°
backward |
Rider is freed from horse |
Since the release mechanism functions by angles,
it will not be affected by the weight of the rider or the combined forces of a
rider’s weight with the horse’s force in a sharp cut, or a quick stop.
This stirrup functions the same for an 80 lb. child, as it does for a 300
lb. adult. The release mechanism
can be most closely related to that of the ski binding.
In field tests it took about 5,000 lbs. of downward force to break out
the stainless steel stirrup clip, to release the mechanism.
The steel parts used in the mechanism are investment cast stainless steel
parts, that have to maintain .01" tolerances.
The precision of this mechanism gives it the surefire abilities common to
a pistol, and the strength to withstand the harshest riding conditions.
The nylon stirrup is made of a reinforced polyurethane nylon, that has
also been strength tested in and out of the field.
Horses have fallen on it, laid on it, and we’ve driven tractors over
it, without collapsing the stirrup.  If
a horse falls on you with your foot in the stirrup, this stirrup won’t
collapse around your foot, and wedge your foot into your stirrup, as happens
with most conventional western stirrups
The release mechanism is spring loaded, and it
takes 8 lbs. of torsion pressure to move those springs, and rotate that stirrup
about the stirrup leather. This was
an unexpected benefit, that is truly advantageous to any rider.
The torsion pressure will prevent a lot of the free-swinging motion of
conventional stirrups. Most fall offs are started when someone “blows a
stirrup”, that is, the rider’s foot comes out of the stirrup, and puts the
rider out of balance. Picture a
child riding at a trot, bouncing 8" out of the saddle.
As his weight comes off the stirrup, most stirrups will swing forward
causing a blown stirrup, or swing backwards and the rider’s foot can slip
right through that stirrup. Our
stirrup will prevent this motion and about 70% of stirrup blow outs.
R.L. Tolbert, professional stuntman
Riding the Stirrups
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