A Different Type of Stirrup Leather

This week was so much better for me; I got to ride three times on three different horses!  The weather cooperated as far as precipitation, though there was a cold North wind each morning.  At least it was above freezing all three mornings, a big improvement over last week.

My riding teacher, Debbie, has been making me work on my lower leg more as I have been adapting to my latest saddle, the Pegasus Butterfly saddle.  Due to this saddle’s innovative pommel and tree-point design, it does not have the innate stability on the horse’s back that the regular treed saddles have.  Since the tree-points of the Pegasus Butterfly saddle can adjust to the horse’s shoulders I do not have the stable pommel to use as a reference, and it has taken my body a while to relearn the proper feel of the proper placement of my lower legs.  During this time I had new stirrup leathers, and to me they felt flimsy and they twisted too easily, since I ride in double-offset stirrups Debbie can tell very quickly if my stirrup leathers were twisted! 

Since my balance in the saddle is so bad I ride Forward Seat, and part of the foundation for a forward seat is, along with the rider’s weight sinking down through the ankles (heels down), is the stirrup leather coming across the rider’s shin bone.  While using the more modern flimsier feeling stirrup leathers I started noticing a lump growing on my shinbones where the stirrup leathers crossed them.  This had been worrying me for a while since my security in the saddle degrades when I cannot lean my shinbones into the stirrup leathers when I get my heels down.  Several months ago I heard about a new type of English stirrup leather, the Millbrook stirrup leathers which you can see at

http://millbrookleathers.com.  I was interested in the fact that the width of the stirrup leather that is next to the rider’s leg is 1.75” instead of the normal 1”.  I called Millbrook leathers and finally got a call back (the lady running it is BUSY), I told Alexia Honegger my circumstances and asked for guidance about the proper length for me.  She told me I should get the 125 cm long leathers.  These stirrup leathers form around the rider’s leg and thus are not returnable, and they cost US $149.00, so I wanted to get it right!

When I got my stirrup leathers I was so excited!  When I got them out of the package my immediate impression was that the leather had SUBSTANCE, these stirrup leathers are not flimsy!  The leather of the stirrup leathers is almost ¼ ”thick, and with proper care they should last the rest of my life (I am 65), so I larded them up and put them on my saddle after measuring them against the length of my normal stirrup leathers.  This is where I started getting anxious; the buckle of my stirrup leathers was only three holes from the end of the leather.  When I rode in them I really appreciated that these leathers did not twist around easily, but the wide part of the stirrup leather ended two inches above where they cross my shinbone.  I told Debbie that I would have to get a longer pair if the longer leathers had a longer 1.75” wide part of the leather, but that I would go on breaking the 125cm leathers and that I would donate them to her riding program when I finally got the longer Millbrook leathers.  Debbie runs a riding school and she NEEDS good stirrup leathers!

I e-mailed Alexia, explained my problem, and told her I needed the 1.75” part of the stirrup leather to be two inches longer so that the wide part would cross my shinbone.  The different lengths of these stirrup leathers had different lengths of the 1.75” wide part.  The 115 cm stirrup leathers have a 12” long 1.75” wide section, the 125 cm stirrup leathers have a 13” long 1.75” section, the 135 cm leathers have a 14” long 1.75” section, and the 145 cm stirrup leathers have a 15” long 1.75 ” section.  I had to wait three weeks to order the leathers since she had to order them from France and they had to cut the leather and stitch them up when she ordered them.  When the time came, I ordered myself a pair of the 145 cm leathers.

THESE leathers are long enough for me!  The wide part does go across the inside of my shinbone and they feel different from the 1” wide stirrup leathers.  These stirrup leathers do not irritate my shinbone, and the rear of my calf muscles gets some support from these leathers.  My lower legs definitely felt more stable.  When I got the stirrup leathers on hole number 6 and I got my heels down I immediately got out of my normal sort of chair seat and I got myself into a proper Forward Seat.  I felt SO MUCH MORE SECURE with my lower legs!  Getting up into two-point was easy, posting was easier, and Debbie said my lower legs looked more stable.

Success! 

As I rode with these wider stirrup leathers, I thought back and realized that the stirrup leathers on the Western saddles are as wide or wider, but I did not get the same feeling of security and stability from them.  This may be because the leather on Western saddles is not tanned with the same process as the leather on English saddles and it is much stiffer.  The Western stirrup leathers do not mold to my legs as well as the Millbrook stirrup leathers do, even when the Millbrook leathers are brand new.

After three rides in the 145 cm Millbrook stirrup leathers I am in love!  No more skimpy, easily twisted stirrup leathers will go on my saddle since I have finally found a more substantial yet more comfortable stirrup leather.  The lumps and sore places on the front of my shinbones have gone away, hopefully never to return.  Alexia warned me that these stirrup leathers would eventually stretch, so I will have to switch them occasionally so that they stay relatively even.  These leathers are not cheap; however there are more expensive stirrup leathers for sale that do not have the advantages of the Millbrook stirrup leathers.  Since they will probably outlast me, I figure that they are worth every penny.

As the leather breaks in and gets more supple these stirrup leathers should get even more comfortable for my lower legs.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran