GB2274381A

GB2274381A - A stirrup attachment

Info

Publication number: GB2274381A
Application number: GB9400918A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roy Woodward
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-01-20
Filing date: 1994-01-19
Publication date: 1994-07-27
Also published as: GB9400918D0; GB9301293D0

Abstract

A safety attachment for a riding stirrup comprises a pocket having a base portion 16 and an upper portion 17, flexible elements 22, 23 being connected to the sides of the upper portion 17 adjacent the mouth of the pocket so that, in use, the elements may be wrapped around the limbs 11 of the inverted U-shaped part of the stirrup, so as to hold the mouth of the pocket in register with the aperture in the stirrup. Releasable hook-and-loop fasteners 24, 25 are provided to secure the ends of the flexible elements 22, 23 to the outer surface of the upper portion 17 of the attachment. <IMAGE>

Description

"A Stirrup Attachment" The invention provides an attachment for stirrups of the kind used in horse riding.

As is well known, a conventional stirrup comprises a horizontal tread member from which extends upwardly an inverted U-shaped portion, formed at its upper end with means for attaching the stirrup to a stirrup strap. In use, the toe portion of the rider's shoe or boot is inserted into the stirrup aperture and the bottom of the rider's foot rests on the tread member.

If an accident should happen in the course of a ride, it may occur that the rider's foot slips forwardly and passes completely through the stirrup. If this is accompanied by a fall, the rider's foot may become trapped in the stirrup which may result in serious injury, for example as a result of the rider being dragged along the ground behind the horse.

The present invention provides an attachment for a stirrup which will prevent the rider's foot from passing completely through the stirrup and becoming trapped. The attachment may also be used to ensure that the rider's foot is correctly positioned in relation to the tread member of the stirrup, and it may also serve to increase the rider's comfort.

According to the invention there is provided an attachment for a stirrup of the kind comprising a horizontal tread member from which extends upwardly an inverted generally U-shaped portion including two spaced side limbs leading to an upper part having means for connecting the stirrup to a stirrup strap, the attachment comprising a pocket having a base portion and an upper portion defining an open mouth, the upper portion having releasable attachment means for attaching the pocket to the side limbs respectively of the stirrup, in use, so as to hold the mouth of the pocket generally in register with the aperture in the stirrup.

Accordingly, the rider's foot can only pass through the aperture in the stirrup to the extent which is permitted by the attachment. The attachment will normally be so sized that only a toe part of the rider's foot can be inserted, the depth of the pocket being such that when the rider's foot is fully inserted the foot is in the correct relationship to the tread member for good riding.

The releasable attachment means may comprise at least one flexible element connected to the upper portion adjacent the mouth of the pocket so that it may, in use, be wrapped around at least one limb of the generally U-shaped part of the stirrup, retaining means being provided to secure an end portion of the flexible element in a releasable manner to a part of the upper portion of the attachment.

Said retaining means may be located to connect an end portion of the flexible element to an external part of the upper portion of the attachment which is spaced from the mouth of the pocket. The flexible element may be integral with the upper portion of the attachment, forming an extension thereof.

Preferably at least two of said flexible elements are provided, located to be wrapped around the two limbs respectively of the U-shaped part of the stirrup. The or each flexible element may be integral with the upper portion, forming an extension thereof.

The attachment may include a further flexible element connected to the base portion adjacent the mouth of the pocket so that it may, in use, be wrapped around the tread member of a stirrup, further retaining means being provided to secure an end portion of the flexible element in a releasable manner to a part of the base portion.

Preferably the further retaining means are located to connect an end portion of the further flexible element to an external part of the base portion which is spaced from the mouth of the pocket.

The further flexible element may extend for substantially the entire width of the base portion, at least where the element joins the base portion, so as to extend for substantially the full width of the tread member in use. The further flexible element may be integral with the base portion, forming an extension thereof.

The various releasable retaining means may be adapted to allow the flexible elements to be connected at different positions to the base portion or upper portion of the attachment, as the case may be. Each retaining means may comprise a buckle, press stud, or hook-and-loop fastener. The base portion and/or upper portion of the attachment may conveniently be formed from leather, woven fabric, plastics or any combination thereof. For additional comfort, at least part of the interior of the pocket, and preferably substantially the whole interior thereof, may be lined with a thermally insulating material such as natural or synthetic fur or wool.

The following is a more detailed description of one embodiment of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a typical horse riding stirrup, Figure 2 is a side elevation of one form of stirrup attachment in accordance with the invention, Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the attachment mounted on a stirrup, and Figure 4 is a rear view of the attachment and stirrup.

Referring to Figure 1, the typical stirrup illustrated comprises a horizontal tread member 10 from opposite ends of which extend upwardly the limbs 11 of an upper stirrup part 12 of generally inverted U-shape.

The upper part of the inverted U-shape 12 is formed with a slot 13 to receive the stirrup strap.

The tread member 10 and U-shaped part 12 are normally integrally formed in one piece from metal and define a stirrup aperture 14. The upper surface of the metal tread member 10 may be covered by a textured pad 15 of rubber or synthetic rubber which has an extension which passes downwardly through an aperture in the tread member to locate the pad firmly in position.

Referring to Figure 2, the attachment comprises a base portion 16 and an upper portion 17 connected together in somewhat similar fashion to the sole and upper of a boot or shoe and providing an internal pocket of a suitable size and shape to receive the front part of the boot or shoe of a rider.

The upper portion 17 of the attachment is formed with integral side flaps 22, 23 which extend rearwardly from the mouth 19 of the pocket formed by the attachment, the general position of the mouth being indicated in chain line. Each side flap has glued or stitched to its free extremity a strip 24 of material forming one half of a hook-and-loop fastener, the strips 25 forming the other halves of the fasteners being glued or stitched to the sides of the upper portion 17, forwardly of the mouth 19 of the pocket.

Figures 3 and 4 shows the attachment in position on a stirrup. It will be seen that the side flaps 22 are wrapped around the respective side limbs 11 of the stirrup and are retained by their hook-and-loop fasteners 24, 25, to the sides of the upper portion 17.

The attachment is thus securely retained on the stirrup and limits the extent to which the rider's foot may pass through the aperture in the stirrup, as previously explained.

Preferably the hook-and-loop fasteners 24 and 25 are so dimensioned that some latitude is provided in the point of attachment of each flap to the upper portion. This enables adjustment of the position of the attachment on the stirrup, and thus allows some variation in the effective depth of the pocket. Such adjustment may be made according to the size of the rider's foot or according to the position which the foot is required to adopt in relation to the tread member 10 of the stirrup. For example, one or both of the parts of each hook-and-loop fastener may be larger than is necessary to achieve a secure fastening so that adjustment may be effected by different relative positions of the two parts of the fastener when they are brought together. It will be appreciated that other forms of fastener may be employed such as buckles or press studs.

Although in the arrangement shown the side flaps 22 are relatively wide, the invention does not exclude arrangements where narrower straps are employed, in which case each wide flap 22 or 23 might be replaced by two or more spaced narrower straps.

Although the flaps 22, 23 are preferably integrally formed with the upper portion 17, in some cases it may be preferred to form the flaps separately and to secure them to the rest of the attachment by any suitable means, such as adhesive, stitching or rivets.

The attachment may conveniently be formed from leather, heavy duty fabric or synthetic plastics material. The base portion 16 and upper portion 17 may be formed in two or more parts which are then glued, stitched or riveted together or they may be integrally formed from a single piece of material. For example, the base portion and upper portion may be integrally moulded from synthetic plastics material. In that case the attachment flaps may also be integrally moulded with the upper portion, or they may be separate elements which are subsequently attached to the moulding, for example by welding, stitching or riveting.

The attachment may be formed from a combination of any of the above-mentioned materials, or other suitable materials. For the added comfort of the rider, the interior of the pocket provided by the attachment may be lined with natural or synthetic fur or wool or any other thermally insulating or comfortable material. The inner surfaces of the flaps 22, 23 may also be lined with such material, or other decorative material, for decorative effect when the flaps are folded over the stirrup as shown in Figure 3 and 4.

In view of the provision of releasable fastenings, it will be appreciated that a pair of the attachments may readily be transferred from one set of stirrups to another and may thus be part of the personal riding gear of the user.

Figure 3 also shows a modified version of the attachment in which a base flap 18 (shown dotted) is integrally formed with the base portion 16 of the attachment and extends rearwardly from the mouth of the pocket. The flap 18 extends for substantially the full width of the base portion 16 and pocket 19 where it joins the base portion, but may taper inwardly as it extends away from the base portion. A strip of fabric 20, forming part of a hook-and-loop fastener, is glued or stitched to the flap 18 near its free extremity, and a strip comprising the other half of the hook-and- loop fastener 21 is similarly glued or stitched to the underside of the base portion 16 at a location spaced forwardly of the mouth of the pocket 19.

In use, as shown in Figure 3, the base flap 18 is wrapped around the tread member 10 of the stirrup and is passed forwardly beneath it so that the two parts 20, 21 of the hook-and-loop fastener may be connected together, thus securing the attachment to the tread member 10, for added security.

Claims

1. An attachment for a stirrup of the kind comprising a horizontal tread member from which extends upwardly an inverted generally U-shaped portion including two spaced side limbs leading to an upper part having means for connecting the stirrup to a stirrup strap, the attachment comprising a pocket having a base portion and an upper portion defining an open mouth, the upper portion having releasable attachment means for attaching the pocket to the side limbs respectively of the stirrup, in use, so as to hold the mouth of the pocket generally in register with the aperture in the stirrup.

2. An attachment according to Claim 1, wherein the releasable attachment means comprises at least one flexible element connected to the upper portion adjacent the mouth of the pocket so that it may, in use, be wrapped around at least one limb of the generally Ushaped part of the stirrup, retaining means being provided to secure an end portion of the flexible element in a releasable manner to a part of the upper portion of the attachment.

3. An attachment according to Claim 2, wherein said retaining means is located to connect an end portion of the flexible element to an external part of the upper portion of the attachment which is spaced from the mouth of the pocket.

4. An attachment according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the flexible element is integral with the upper portion of the attachment, forming an extension thereof.

5. An attachment according to any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein at least two of said flexible elements are provided, located to be wrapped around the two limbs respectively of the U-shaped part of the stirrup.

6. An attachment according to any of Claims 2 to 5, wherein the or each flexible element is integral with the upper portion, forming an extension thereof.

7. An attachment according to any of Claims 2 to 6, including a further flexible element connected to the base portion adjacent the mouth of the pocket so that it may, in use, be wrapped around the tread member of a stirrup, further retaining means being provided to secure an end portion of the flexible element in a releasable manner to a part of the base portion.

8. An attachment according to Claim 7, wherein the further retaining means are located to connect an end portion of the further flexible element to an external part of the base portion which is spaced from the mouth of the pocket.

9. An attachment according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the further flexible element extends for substantially the entire width of the base portion, at least where the element joins the base portion, so as to extend for substantially the full width of the tread member in use.

10. An attachment according to any of Claims 7 to 9, wherein the further flexible element is integral with the base portion, forming an extension thereof.

11. An attachment according to any of Claims 2 to 10, wherein said releasable retaining means are adapted to allow the associated flexible element to be connected at different positions to the base portion or upper portion of the attachment, as the case may be.

12. An attachment according to any of Claims 2 to 11, wherein said retaining means comprise a buckle, press stud, or hook-and-loop fastener.

13. An attachment according to any of the preceding claims wherein the base portion and/or upper portion of the attachment is formed from leather, woven fabric, plastics or any combination thereof.

14. An attachment according to any of the preceding claims wherein at least part of the interior of the pocket is lined with a thermally insulating material.

15. An attachment for a stirrup, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.