Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Knee pain, surgery, and stirrups

From: Brad

Dear Jessica, please answer this because I really have looked everywhere and not found an answer, and it's really important to me. My wife is scheduled to have knee surgery in a month, and the plan is that she'll get one knee done first, then after six months they'll do the other knee (we're talking about full knee replacements here). We have four horses, love to trail ride, and Dawn has ridden her entire life and isn't about to quit. The reason I need your advice is that her biggest problem with riding now is something that doesn't seem likely to change after the surgery. She can ride pretty comfortably most of the time, but she's a little bit stiff, not just in her knees but some in her ankles and hips too, and sometimes she'll drop a stirrup, and it hurts a lot when she has to turn her foot in to try and pick it up again. I know you recommend the flexible stirrups for people with injuries or arthritis that make their ankles sore, and I guess those would work for sore knees too, but wouldn't you still have to turn your foot in to pick up the stirrup if you drop it? Also, Dawn uses safety stirrups that you have recommended in the past (S-pattern) and she doesn't want to give those up.

I've asked at the tack shops, and talked to a friend of ours who teaches riding, and tried to talk to Dawn's doctors, and nobody has come up with anything useful. Can you please help us here?

Brad

Hi Brad! A lot of people - even without knee replacement surgery looming - experience pain when they drop a stirrup and turn their toes/foot/knee in to try to "catch" the stirrup on their foot again. Actually there are three possibilities I can suggest for Dawn. Two are made by Herm Sprenger; one (and by far the most expensive of the three options!) is a new version of the "system 4" stirrups with the flexible, rubber-covered joints; the other Herm Sprenger stirrup is an ordinary Fillis-style stirrup. Both are made with offset eyes - that is, the "eye" that holds the stirrup leather is 90 degrees from its usual position. When stirrups have conventionally-designed eyes, the only way to keep the stirrups perpendicular to the horse's sides is to have a twist in the stirrup leathers. When the rider drops a stirrup, the stirrup leather straightens, and the stirrup lies flat against the horse's side. This DOES demand that the rider turn and twist her foot, ankle, and, to some extent, her knee to pick up the stirrup again and re-establish the twist in the stirrup leather.

When the eye of the stirrup is offset, the sttirrup will naturally lie perpendicular to the horse's side, and there is no need to put a twist in the stirrup leather. A rider who drops one of these stirrups will not need to twist or torque any part of her foot or lower leg to locate or pick up the stirrup.

The third possibility, if Dawn is adamant about using safety stirrups (good for her!), would be still another stirrup. This one does NOT flex - it's an Icelandic safety stirrup that is very similar to the "S-pattern" safety stirrup, but with the added advantage of offset eyes.

It's worth exploring these options - the improvement in comfort can be dramatic, and the rider will often notice it during the very first ride with the new stirrups.

Beware of confusion caused by similar terms. When you're looking at catalogues, be sure that you don't accidentally order something called "offset stirrups" - these will actually cause MORE torque in the ankle and knee, and can be exceedingly difficult to pick up correctly when dropped. They were designed for a different purpose altogether, and the "offset" part in this case refers to the fact that the eye of the stirrup is not in the center, but placed slightly to one side. The stirrups YOU want are those that are balanced, with the eye in the center, just like conventional stirrups - it's only the eye itself that's turned 90 degrees.

The best of luck to Dawn - with her stirrups and with her surgeries!

Jessica

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