Fig. 11.—Lennan's safety stirrup.
The third stirrup, called "Latchford's safety stirrup," consists of a stirrup within a stirrup, and is so arranged that, when a rider is thrown, the inner stirrup springs open and releases the foot. ([Fig. 12.]) Either of these stirrups can be procured in London, England, or from the best saddle-makers in this country.
Fig. 12.—Latchford's safety stirrup.
A stirrup-iron should never be made of cast metal, but invariably of the best wrought steel: it should be adapted to the size of the rider's foot, and should, if possible, have an instep pad at the top, while the bottom platform, upon which the foot rests, should be broad, and roughened on its upper surface.
The stirrup-leather should be of the very best material, and should have neither fissures nor cracks in any part of it. It is very important to examine this leather frequently, and see that it is neither wearing thin, nor breaking at its upper part at the bar, nor at the lower part where it is fastened to the stirrup.
A novel arrangement of the stirrup-leather, by means of the so-called "balance-strap," has of late years been used by some riders. The stirrup is, in this case, fastened to the balance-strap, which consists of a single strap passing up through the ring-bar, and then brought down to within two or three inches of the lower edge of the saddle-flap; here it is passed through a slit in the flap, then carried under the horse to the other side and buckled to another strap, which is fastened, for this purpose, just below the off-pommel. By this arrangement the saddle-flaps on both sides are held down, and the rider, without dismounting, can change the length of her stirrup by merely tightening or loosening this strap. Although highly recommended by some riders, this balance strap has one objectionable feature, which is that, as the measurement of the horse's girth is not constant during a long ride, it will be necessary to tighten the strap frequently in order to keep the stirrup of the proper length. The old way of fastening is much better, for too much complication in the saddle and bridle is apt to annoy and confuse the rider, especially if a novice. The golden rule in riding on horseback is to have everything accurate, simple, safe, and made of the very best material that can be procured.