Stirrup

0001STIRRUP This invention relates to a stirrup or iron for use in horse riding, and in

0002particular to a stirrup designed to reduce the risk of injury to a rider resulting from

0003his foot becoming trapped in the stirrup. Stirrups for use in horse riding typically comprise an inverted U-shaped

0004component, the ends of the limbs of which are permanently secured to a foot plate,

0005for example by welding or being bolted thereto, or by being coupled thereto in such

0006a manner as to allow a degree of articulation between the foot plate and the inverted

0007U-shaped component. A strap, for example of leather or a suitable textile material

0008passes through a slot formed in the inverted U-shaped component, the strap being

0009secured to a saddle carried by the horse.

0010In normal use, the rider's feet are located in respective stirrups. In the event

0011that the rider falls or is thrown from the horse, there is the risk that one of his feet

0012may become stuck in the respective stirrup. Under such circumstances, apart from

0013the obvious discomfort of being supported, upside down, by one foot, the horse may kick the rider which may result in a serious injury or death, or the rider may be dragged along the ground which, again, may result in injury.

0014Stirrup designs are available to assist in removal or release of the foot, for example where the rider's foot tilts and becomes jammed against the upper part of the stirrup. However, even with these designs, with the stirrup in its usual

0015orientation, angular movement of the foot relative thereto in the horizontal plane can

0016still result in the foot becoming trapped in the stirrup, the foot effectively becoming

0017wedged between the limbs of the inverted U-shaped component. It will be

0018appreciated that angular movement in other directions can also result in the foot

0019becoming jammed between the limbs of the inverted U-shaped component.

0020It is an object of the invention to provide a stirrup in which the problems

0021associated with existing designs are overcome or of reduced effect.

0022According to the present invention there is provided a stirrup comprising a

0023foot support member, and a hanger component, the foot support member and hanger

0024component being releasably connected to one another by a coupling adapted to

0025release the foot support member from the hanger component upon a rider's foot

0026moving beyond a predetermined angular position relative to the foot support member in a direction having a component in the plane of the foot support member. The use of such a stirrup has the advantage that if a rider falls or is thrown, the twisting of the rider's foot in the stirrup which often occurs will cause the foot support member to be released, allowing the rider to be thrown, or to move, clear of the horse thereby reducing the risk of injury in the manner described hereinbefore.

0027The foot support member conveniently includes a pair of arms urged towards one another and adapted to grip therebetween part of the hanger component. It will

0028be appreciated that, in such an arrangement, the change in angular position of the

0029rider's foot brings the foot into engagement with the arms, urging the arms apart

0030from one another to release the hanger component. The angular movement may be

0031in the direction of the plane of the foot support member or angled thereto, but still

0032having a component in the said direction. The arms and the hanger component are

0033conveniently provided with inter-engaging formations, for example in the form of

0034teeth formed on the arms engageable within recesses formed in the hanger

0035component. The arms may be rigidly connected to the foot plate, deflection of the

0036arms to allow release of the hanger component relying upon bending of the arms

0037and/or foot support member. Alternatively, the arms may be pivotally or otherwise secured in an articulated manner to the foot support member so as to permit such

0038movement, resilient biassing, or other suitable, means conveniently being provided to urge the arms towards one another to grip the hanger component. Alternatively, the foot support member may have one arm secured thereto, the hanger component taking the form of a second arm releasably securable to the foot support member. The second arm may include an angled region engageable in or with a formation associated with the foot support member such that, in normal use, a load can be transmitted from the foot support member to the second arm, but that relative angular movement between the second arm and the foot support

0039member allows disengagement therebetween. Conveniently, the arms are urged

0040towards one another, for example by a magnet.

0041The invention will further be described, by way of example, with reference

0042to the accompanying drawings, in which:

0043Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a stirrup in accordance with an

0044embodiment of the invention;

0045Figure 2 is a diagrammatic top view illustrating the stirrup; and

0046Figures 3 to 5 are diagrammatic views illustrating an alternative embodiment. Figure 1 illustrates a stirrup iron for use in horse riding. The stirrup

0047comprises a foot support member 10 which is releasably secured to a hanger component 12. The hanger component 12 is provided with a slot 14 through which, in use, a strap, for example a leather strap, passes to allow the stirrup to be carried by a saddle, the length of the strap typically being adjustable to allow adjustment of the position or height of the stirrup, in use.

0048The foot support member 10 comprises a plate 16 from which a pair of arms 18, 20 extend. The arms 18, 20 are each of curved form so as to together define an inverted U-shape. The arms 18, 20 are secured rigidly to the foot plate 16, for example by being welded thereto, but other techniques for securing the arms 18, 20 to the foot plate 16 may be used if desired. By way of example, the arms 18, 20

0049could be secured to the foot plate 16 by means of bolts. Alternatively, the

0050connection of the arms 18, 20 to the foot plate 16 may be such as to allow a degree

0051of articulation between the arms 18, 20 and the foot plate. As illustrated, the foot plate 16 is provided on its upper surface with a

0052textured region 22 serving to reduce the risk of the rider's foot slipping relative to

0053the foot plate 16, in use. Obviously, if desired, this feature may be omitted or may

0054be included in other forms.

0055As illustrated in Figure 2, the arms 18, 20 are provided at their upper end

0056with a series of teeth 24. The teeth 24 are received, in use, within correspondingly shaped recesses 26 provided in the hanger component 12 thereby firmly gripping the

0057hanger component 12 between the arms 18, 20.

0058As illustrated in Figure 1, in its normal, rest, position the hanger component 12 is gripped between the arms 18, 20 thereby securely attaching the foot support member 10 to the hanger component 12 and strap so that at least part of the weight of the rider can be carried by the stirrup. If, in use, the rider falls or is thrown from his horse and one of his feet twists relative to the stirrup so as to become jammed between the arms 18, 20, then with a traditional stirrup design the rider would run the risk of injury as described hereinbefore as he would be unable to remove his foot from the stirrup. However, with the stirrup design of the invention, the angular

0059movement of the rider's foot relative to the foot plate 16 will cause one side of his

0060foot to move against the arm 18, the other side of his foot engaging the arm 20, the

0061twisting motion causing the ends of the arms 18, 20 to be pushed apart from one

0062another towards the position illustrated in Figure 2 and it will be appreciated that

0063once the arms 18, 20 have moved beyond a predetermined position, then the hanger

0064component 12 is no longer secured between these components. Upon release of the

0065hanger component 12 from between the arms 18, 20, it will be appreciated that the

0066foot support member is no longer supported and so the rider is free to fall to the

0067ground, clear of the horse. Likewise, the foot support member 10 will fall from the

0068horse and may be retained upon the rider's foot, or may fall therefrom.

0069Clearly, by allowing the rider to fall or be thrown clear of the horse, the risk

0070of injury to the rider resulting from being kicked by the horse or dragged along the

0071ground is reduced. The stirrup illustrated hereinbefore is re-usable in the sense that should the foot support member 10 become disengaged from the hanger component 12, it may be re-secured thereto simply by urging the arms 18, 20 apart from one another, re- introducing the hanger component 12 therebetween and then releasing the arms 18, 20 to allow the arms 18, 20 to return to the position illustrated in Figure 1 in which the hanger component 12 is gripped therebetween.

0072Although in the described embodiment the arms 18, 20 are rigidly secured to

0073the foot plate 16, it will be appreciated that this need not be the case and

0074arrangements are possible in which the arms 18, 20 are articulated relative to the

0075plate 16, as mentioned hereinbefore. In such arrangements, in order to ensure that

0076the hanger component 12 is gripped between the arms 18, 20 then it may be

0077desirable to provide a biassing arrangement urging the arms 18, 20 towards one

0078another to grip the hanger component 12 therebetween. Such biassing means may

0079be provided at the connection of each of the arms 18, 20 to the foot plate 16, but this

0080need not be the case. Alternatively, a magnetic arrangement may be provided to

0081urge the arms towards the hanger component.

0082The stirrup described hereinbefore is intended to allow release of the foot support component from the hanger component in the event of the users foot moving angularly in a direction having a component in the plane of foot support component. In other words, the axis of relative angular movement between the user's foot and the stirrup has a component in the direction of an axis perpendicular to a plane containing the foot plate. Movement in this direction will generally bring one side of the user's foot into engagement with one of the arms and the other side of his foot into engagement with the other of the arms, urging the arms apart in the fore-aft direction of the stirrup. In order to ensure that release also occurs in the event of

0083other relative angular movement, the stirrup may be provided with additional means

0084to release the foot support member from the hanger component.

0085Figures 3 to 5 illustrate an alternative stirrup design in accordance with the

0086invention. This design of stirrup comprises a foot support member 30 (see Figure 3)

0087in the form of a foot plate 32 to which a first arm 34 is rigidly secured. The first

0088arm 34 carries, at its end remote from the foot plate 32, a projection 36. A ring

0089magnet 38 encircles the projection 36.

0090Remote from the first arm 34, the foot plate 32 is provided with an opening

009140 (see Figure 5) or other suitably shaped formation adapted to receive an angled

0092lower end region 42 of a second arm 44 (see Figure 4). The upper end of the second

0093arm 44 is provided with an opening or recess arranged to receive the projection 36,

0094and is also provided with a slot 46 through which, in use, a strap is passed to suspend the stirrup. The first and second arms 34, 44 are conveniently of steel or another magnetic material so that the magnet 38 secures the arms 34, 44 to one another in use.

0095In normal use, the stirrup is load bearing and the nature of the engagement between the first and second arms 34, 44 and between the second arm 44 and the foot plate 32 is capable of carrying the load. In the event of the rider falling, being

0096thrown or the like, if his foot moves angularly relative to the foot plate 32 to bring

0097the sides of his foot into engagement with the arms 34, 44, a force will be applied

0098urging the arms 34, 44 apart against the magnetic attraction due to the presence of

0099the magnet 38. If the force is sufficient to overcome the magnetic attraction, then

0100the second arm 44 will be released from the first arm 34 and be free to pivot relative

0101to the foot plate 32 to an orientation in which the foot plate 32 and second arm 44

0102can separate from one another.

0103It will be appreciated that in this embodiment the second arm constitutes the

0104hanger component.

0105It will be appreciated that a range of modifications and alterations to the

0106arrangements described hereinbefore may be made within the scope of the invention,

0107and that this application is not restricted to the specific arrangements described

0108hereinbefore.