test : RSS Category Feed :: Stirrups | English | Western

Bareback Pads, Horse Riding

sales@horsetackinternational.com (Horse Tack International) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 05:19:16 -0500

Bareback Pads by Best Friend and Comfort Plus for Horses and Ponies All Orders Over $85.00 Will Have Free Freight!

Get the ultimate feeling of freedom on these great bareback pads by Best Friend, makers of some of the best horse equipment in the equestrian industry. Non slip bareback pads that are outfitted to carry all the needed equipment for a days trail ride.

Now Best Friend has teamed up with ThinLine Saddle Pads to create the most comfortable bareback pad ever made. Check out Equestrian international for great deals on Western and English bareback pads from top manufactures.

Bareback pads sometimes called bareback saddle pads are used to provide protection for legs and clothing while riding. Proper bareback pads should not have stirrup leathers and stirrups because there is no tree. The lack of a tree will not support the use of stirrups and render the pad as unsafe.

Fillis and Polo Stirrup Irons

sales@horsetackinternational.com (Horse Tack International) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:46:39 -0400

The stirrup was invented relatively late in history, considering that horses were used for bareback riding and to pull carts or war chariots since the fourth millennium BC. They are mentioned in early Chinese literature and examples which must be earlier than the 7th century A.D. have been found in Japan; the true stirrup was apparently invented in northern China by the nomadic Turkic tribes in the first few centuries AD, although a simple loop through which the rider placed his big toe was already to be seen in India either by 4th century BC (Desmond Morris, Horse Watching 1998), or the 2nd century BC.

Used first as a single mounting stirrup used only in mounting the saddle; the first known representation of a rider with paired stirrups is in a Jin tomb of about 322 AD. The stirrup was spread throughout Eurasia by the great horsemen of the central Asian steppes. It is uncertain when it was first adopted by the nomads. The first attested use is by the Alans. The Greeks and Romans did not use them but mounted by vaulting or from a mounting block. Some historians believe the Huns must have used them to enable their conquests, but there is no evidence for this.

Stirrups reached Sweden in the 6th century, leading to the establishment of mounted Thegns during the Swedish Vendel Age. Stirrups have been found in rich graves of mounted elite warriors from this period. The importance of the horse during this time is reflected in the later Norse sagas, where the 6th century Swedish king Adils is said to have been a great lover of horses and to have had the best horses of his days.

Stirrups were first indirectly documented in Central Europe during the reign of Charles Martel in the 8th century, when verbs scandere and descendere among the Franks replace verbs denoting "leaping" upon a horse. A pair of stirrups have been found in an 8th century burial in Holiare, Slovakia. The stirrup of the early Middle Ages seems to have been light and semicircular or triangular in shape. By the 14th century the footplate became broader and the sides heavier and ornamented. By the 16th century this ornamentation increases and open metal-work is used to produce stirrup.

Race and Exercise Irons

sales@horsetackinternational.com (Horse Tack International) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:47:14 -0400

Stirrup Irons for horse racing and exercise saddles. High quality stainless steel stirrups irons.

Trail Riding Stirrups

sales@horsetackinternational.com (Horse Tack International) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:48:08 -0400

Trail riding stirrups are rather recent inventions brought about because of the desire for comfort. In general they have broader foot plates with some type of padding that will absorb shock. This reduces the stress on the hip, knee ankle and the ball of the foot. They can be made of stainless steel, aluminum or plastic and have been adopted in both English and Western styles. There has also been other inventions such as the Knee EEZ which is attached to bar of a western Stirrup and will act as a shock absorber also reducing shock to the hip, knee and ankle.

Western Riding Stirrups

sales@horsetackinternational.com (Horse Tack International) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:49:26 -0400

The history of the use of the horse in battle is divided into three periods: first, that of the charioteer; second, that of the mounted warrior who clings to his steed by pressure of the knees, and third, that of the rider equipped with stirrups. Without stirrups warriors could not use either swords or lances. Stirrups were known in China around the time of Christ. They showed up in India as a ring for the big toe. Toe stirrups appeared wherever the aristocracy went barefoot. But they were never commonplace. Wide use of full-foot stirrups began about AD 732. Very suddenly we find war lances, armor, and heavy saddles. Full stirrups were needed to maintain balance during battle. Historian Lyn White used this example of the stirrup to show how the power of even small technology can transform human life. Today Western stirrups are made of wood, which may or may not be covered with rawhide or leather. More recently Aluminum or plastic. These stirrups are made in many different styles for different types of riding such as roping, barrel racing, pleasure and trail riding.