Way long ago in ancient days I started riding in Chile, in an old English hunt seat saddle (before knee rolls) and the main English stirrup of the day, now called Prussian sided stirrups (also sold as Polo stirrups and exercise stirrups.)  This was long before those nice rubber pads that we all use, I had naked metal under the sole of my shoes.  The stirrups used in the very few lessons I got before I got my first horse were Prussian sided stirrups, as were the stirrups I got on my first saddles.  My feet never hurt from riding though occasionally, on long rides, my feet did get numb across the ball of my foot, but when I learned to not keep the same pressure on the stirrups for hours that particular problem went away.  After a few years I got the rubber stirrup pads for my Prussian sided stirrups, a luxury back in the day, and rarely considered a necessity.

Upon reading that stainless steel stirrups were MUCH safer to ride in than the cheaper nickel stirrups (Never Rust), I saved up my money and bought myself a pair of Eldonian stainless steel offset stirrups to replace my Never Rust stirrups, a pair that disappeared several decades ago.  After I lost my Eldonian double offset stirrups I next bought various stainless steel regular Prussian sided stirrups.  Back then, in the days before Korsteel, stainless steel stirrups cost many dollars more (back when a dollar was actually worth something), but the problem with the nickel (Never Rust) stirrups is that they can deform under strong pressure, like if a horse fell and landed on its side and the rider’s foot, thus trapping the rider‘s foot in the stirrup.  I rode for years in these stainless steel Prussian sided stirrups, regular, offset and Peacock, without any foot problems, no pain, no residual soreness, and I felt nice and secure on horseback using these stirrups.

Then came the day that the tack stores mostly carried the “new” Fillis stirrups.  I had read about them, how they were safer because they were heavier and more likely to fall off the foot of the rider as the rider fell off the horse.  Okay, that sounded good, besides they already came with the rubber pad!  Little did I realize that the stirrup pads for the Fillis stirrups were a NECESSITY, not a luxury.  I bought myself some Fillis stirrup irons and put them on my saddle, after all they were supposed to be safer than the older Prussian sided stirrups!  Around this time my seat started becoming less secure.  At first I blamed the changes of my body from child bearing, and I worked harder at keeping my weight in the stirrups, heel down, and the stirrup leather wrapped across the front of my shin bones.  My feet, rebelling at the pressure from the foot bed of the Fillis stirrups, continued to avoid putting as much weight in the stirrups as required for my type of riding (Forward Seat), and the stability of my lower leg continued to worsen.

Then a drunk driver drove head on into my car one day as I was driving out to feed my horses.  This triggered my Multiple Sclerosis, messed up my neck and lower back, and greatly weakened me.  As I tried to drag myself back into the saddle I faced many problems, my lower back would kill me if I rode too long, and my body became ever more sensitive to pain.  For around 5 years I could only get myself to ride once or twice a year, and each time I would try to go on several rides, but the pain in my lower back and feet defeated me.

When I was finally diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis I did my best to get back into riding.  After a few starts I faced the fact that I had to make a choice, I had enough energy to feet and water my horses and provide some rasping of overgrown hooves, or I had enough energy to try and ride my horses.  Taking care of my horses won.  Eventually we got prosperous enough so I could afford some riding lessons, and guess what; every saddle boasted a pair of Fillis stirrups.  The stability of my lower leg continued to get worse and my lower legs looked like and moved like cooked spaghetti.

After a few years I finally found Debbie’s stable, and for the first time in my life had regular lessons over several years.  As Debbie corrected my many position faults my legs “lengthened” and I could put more weight in the stirrups.  Since I could only ride for 30 minutes at a time it took a few years to get this “lengthening” of my leg and at first I did not particularly notice much pain in the balls of my feet, but as my position got better the balls of my feet started hurting, and this pain got worse as time passed.  Finally my feet hurt so much when I dismounted that I found it difficult to walk, and for the next few days the balls of my feet would feel bruised.

I went to the tack store since I had saved up enough money to new stirrups.  First I bought the Stubben single and double offset Fillis stirrup irons, hey my old Prussian sided double offset stirrups had really helped the stability of my lower leg.  But when I pressed the base of my big toe against the sharply rounded Fillis branch my feet rebelled, it just hurt too much.  Then I saved up enough to buy the Herm Sprenger Bow Balance Stirrups.  At first I was in heaven, the balls of my feet hurt less and the rubber cover over the flex side helped cushion the base of my bit toe, and I went ahead and got a second pair.  But the flex sides further reduced my feeling of security in the saddle since I did not feel a stable “floor” under my feet.  So I went back to my regular Fillis stirrup irons.

And the pains in the balls of my feet continued to get worse.  It got so bad that I was worried that I would have to stop riding completely since as the pain in my feet got worse it affected my ability to walk.  Having gotten myself out of an electric wheelchair, my ability to walk on my own two feet is extremely precious to me.  One day I got new Fillis stirrups pads with a gritty surface (Super Grip stirrup pads), and as I was putting them on a pair of my Fillis stirrups I took a close look at the tops of the foot bed, and I found out that they were less than an 1/8 inch wide.  I then realized that the Fillis stirrup pads, though thick, were no where near thick enough to prevent the balls of my feet from feeling pain from this super narrow tread.  Plus whenever I pressed the base of my big toe against the thin, round branches of the stirrups my foot pain increased a lot. 

Then I remembered riding in the Prussian sided stirrups and how those stirrups did not hurt my feet.  I went to the tack store again and asked the owner about the old styled Prussian sided stirrups, she did not have any in stock and at that particular time I did not have enough money to special order any.  Then, the next time I went to the tack store, the owner excitedly came up and told me that she had just gotten a pair of Stubben stainless steel Prussian sided stirrups in on consignment, and she made them affordable to me (I think it took all the money in my wallet.)

I got home, put them on my saddle, and the next time I rode the balls of my feet did not hurt at all.  Heaven!  My feet continue pain free. 

Since then I have been getting rid of my Fillis stirrups.  Two pairs went with my Wintec saddles when I consigned them (my regular pair and my Fillis Peacock stirrups.)  I still have my Stubben offset Fillis irons, I was holding on to them until I could find some Prussian sided offset stirrups.  I will be taking them to the tack store for consignment soon since I found a pair of Prussian sided double offset stirrups.  Unfortunately, though I have seen many pairs of Prussian sided double offset stirrups on Ebay, all of them are nickel (Never Rust), and while these double offset stirrups have REALLY helped the stability of my lower leg (my riding teacher does not yell at me about my lower leg when I use them) I just cannot feel totally secure about them since they are nickel.  I have been looking for the old Eldonian stainless steel double offset stirrups on Ebay.  I thought I had found a pair, but it seems that the stirrup photographs on Ebay can “warp” some, I bought them, and when I eagerly tore open the package I found out they were regular Prussian sided stirrups.  Still, they are Eldonians, made back in the day when Eldonian was an English company, using English steel, English quality control, and made under the direction of English loriners.  I promptly put them on my saddle in place of the nickel stirrups, I just feel safer with stainless steel stirrups!  (If anyone finds a pair of Eldonian stainless steel single or double offset stirrups in a back corner of the tack room, 4 ¾ to 5” wide, please sell them to me!  I would LOVE to have four pairs.)

That leaves my HS Bow Balance stirrups of my collection of Fillis stirrups.  I had stopped riding in them with my English saddles because the top of the Bow Balance stirrups gives the stirrup leathers enough of a twist to it did not “wrap” across my shin bones, thus reducing the stability of my lower leg and my security in the saddle.  I had put them on my EZ-Fit saddle because I wanted a safety stirrup on that saddle and I was still hoping I would find a use for the rather expensive Bow Balance stirrups.  Since the stirrup leathers on my EZ-fit saddle are much thicker than my regular stirrup leathers (they are lined with nylon) I was hoping that the Bow Balance stirrups would be acceptable to my legs. When I started to ride Debbie’s Arab gelding Tercel in the EZ-Fit saddle Debbie started yelling at me again about the lack of stability of my lower leg, so like a good Forward Seat rider I worked on putting more weight in the stirrups.  Then I noticed a knot developing on my left shin bone, and I finally realized that the Bow Balance stirrups had twisted the thicker stirrup leather just enough that, over time, the irritation where the stirrup leather crossed my shin had caused this “knot” to form.  Well, I dug out my pair of Prussian sided Peacock stirrups and put them on my EZ-Fit saddle in time so that I could try them when I rode Cider last Sunday.  All of a sudden I felt MUCH MORE SECURE in the saddle because my feet felt like they had a stable “floor” under them and my body no longer desperately gripped with my knees for some feeling of security.  My lower legs stayed still and my legs and feet were happy.  My seat was stable, my balance worked well, and my feet knew where they were so I could correct them myself. 

I am never going to buy myself flex stirrups again, they destroy the stability of my lower leg and my brain cannot handle the constant shifts in my front to back balance.  These stirrups were destroying my seat.

I know that there are many people with knee problems that find the flex stirrups a godsend, and there are many people who find the adjustable stirrup eyes (like on the MDC stirrups) much more comfortable.  This is fine, it is much better to ride than not to ride because of joint pain.  But for people who do not NEED these fancy stirrups but use them because they are supposed to be “better,” consider that many of your problems while riding may come from your stirrups!  If you ride hunt seat, especially if you gallop and jump, your stirrups give you an important foundation for your whole seat.  If the foot bed of your stirrup is constantly shifting it can cause a lot of muscle tension in your legs as they try to achieve a feeling of security, muscle tension that can prevent your legs from relaxing, letting your weight sink into the saddle or stirrups.  Because your lower leg is less stable you will feel a LOT less secure riding, and this can cause problems all the way up from your foot, knees, through your seat, back, shoulders and head.  I had despaired, I had thought that I would never be able to get my seat back when I used the flex stirrups.

As for the Fillis stirrups, right now I am thinking that they are a “gift” from the Devil for English hunts seat riders and I HATE them.  I know that many modern riders get sick and tired of us “old-timers” going on and on about how much better riders were back in the day, while us “old-timers“ just shake out heads over how riding has deteriorated over the decades.  NO ONE has considered that the supposedly safer Fillis stirrups are at fault for today’s faulty hunt seat riding (along with the super slippery knit riding breeches of course.)  Look at me, I struggled for years to get my lower leg stable, and my riding teacher kept on yelling at me each and every lesson about my unstable lower leg.  I change from the Fillis stirrups to the old-fashioned Prussian sided stirrups and, literally overnight, my riding teacher has changed from yelling at me to fix my lower leg to telling me that she wished that SHE could have as stable a lower leg as I do!  I assure you that I am not physically capable of changing my riding over night.  It was changing my stirrups back to the old Prussian sided stirrups that got my lower leg stable, and finally gave me back some of the security I had in the saddle oh so long ago.

Your Fillis stirrups or your flex stirrups may be the cause of many of your riding problems.  Consider trying a pair of Prussian sided stirrups, Stubben still makes them.  If you don’t want to spend that much money just to try something, there are many pairs of the Prussian sided Never-Rust stirrups on Ebay and they are pretty cheap.  Try them, and if they help you then you can buy the stainless steel ones without worrying that you are wasting your money.  I can tell you that two-point is a lot more secure when my feet don’t hurt, and my feet no longer hurt from riding since I changed to the Prussian sided stirrups.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran