Product: Venice Plus Evo safety stirrups, and Venice Sloped Evo safety stirrups
Brand: Tech Stirrups, based in Italy
Horse Trail Chicks’ rating: 5 carrots out of 5
When I first started horseback riding many decades ago, there was pretty much only one kind of stirrup iron for English riders. We didn’t talk much about stirrups, but did dread getting a foot caught during a fall and being dragged. At some point the peacock safety stirrup came along, but it was thought to be for children and beginners.
In recent years there has been an explosion of new stirrup technology. Manufacturers are making enhancements to every part of the stirrup and designing them for specific riding disciplines.
Safety is one of my top priorities. When I got my first pair of safety stirrups a fellow rider asked if I was afraid I was going to fall off, implying that either I lacked confidence or wasn’t a good rider. Thankfully, attitudes are changing and people realize that no matter how good a rider you are, things happen. A friend of mine who is an extremely confident and skilled rider got dragged with her foot in the stirrup a few of years ago and is not keen to repeat the experience.
As trail riders, this is extremely important. There are more things to spook a horse on the trail than in the arena and even the calmest horse can spook from time to time. On the trail you can get dragged a lot farther than in the arena and over much rougher terrain and, if you get injured, help is a lot farther away. I always trail ride with safety stirrups. So, I am thrilled to see the vast array of English safety stirrups on the market, employing a wide variety of technologies.
Several years ago we reviewed four different brands of safety stirrups and the Tech Venice came out on top. Kerrie and I recently had the chance to try out one of the latest Tech safety stirrups, the Venice Plus Evo, and to compare it to the Venice Sloped Evo.
Venice’s safety mechanism involves a hinged outer branch (hinged at the bottom) that opens when pressure from the foot is placed on it.
Features that are common to both the Plus Evo and Sloped Evo include:
- A small spur just above the hinge, which prevents the foot from pushing the hinge open when the foot is on the tread.
- Diamond-shaped grippers on the tread to prevent slipping.
- Asymmetrical tread that has more of the footbed behind the center of gravity of the stirrup.
- Sloped tread to help keep your heels down. The Plus Evo has an inclination of 5 degrees, and the Sloped Evo is at 2.5 degrees.
- The eye for the stirrup leather has a slight twist in it, which rotates the stirrup a tiny bit, making it easier to pick up with your foot and more comfortable.
- They come in a wide variety of colors.
The Venice Plus Evo has another feature, which is particularly good for trail riders who ride for many hours. It has a shock-absorbing tread, which can reduce the strain on your legs and knees. The tread does not just respond to up-and-down pressure, but it flexes in all directions – side-to-side and front-to-back, allowing your foot to move while experiencing less pressure than with a normal stirrup. Although the amount of shock-absorption is small, you can feel it.
We did a blinded test, using the Plus Evo on one side and the Sloped Evo on the other, and Kerrie was able to identify the Plus Evo just by how it felt when trotting.
After trying out both models, Kerrie and I love these stirrups and believe they are the best safety stirrups we’ve used. We love the Venice Plus Evo the most for its shock-absorbing ability. My knees didn’t feel as much strain on a long trail ride. The stirrups are nice and streamlined – not bulky at all, yet heavy enough for good stability.
Of course, our primary concern is how well they release in an emergency. We already established that the mechanism would perform extremely well in our prior review, when we found it impossible to get caught in the stirrup. It releases with the foot wedged in many directions. The only way we can imagine getting caught is if you are wearing boots with laces on the foot – the lace could conceivably get caught on the spur. So choose your boots wisely!
After a few trail rides we noticed dirt adhering to the hinge grease, which made us concerned about the long-term durability of the stirrup for trail riding. Tech informed us that this is not a big problem as long as we keep the hinge clean by rinsing it in warm water. They recommend rinsing the stirrups after every ride and oiling them regularly. As Type A as I am, I can’t see myself actually rinsing them after every ride. So far I’ve rinsed them about once a month and the hinge is holding up just fine.
Tech stirrups are made in Italy with high quality materials and to exacting standards. There are knock-offs on the market, which we have tried and found to be of lesser quality and which can develop an annoying squeak after a few months of use, due to a design flaw. Tech stirrups are not cheap, but you get what you pay for, and with Techs you are getting a high quality product that will perform well for a very long time and could save your life.
Price: Venice Plus Evo: US$575, 420€; Venice Sloped Evo: US$425, 315€
Where to buy: Directly from TechStirrups.com, which at this time (March 2023) has the best price and they offer a flat rate 5€ shipping to the U.S.; many online tack retailers, and some brick-and-mortar shops.
Happy trails!
Monica
