The Rubber Curry Comb

We`ve all seen the web articles about life hacks – such as using potties instead of cavaletti cubes. Well, I came across a fab idea by one of my clients a couple of weeks ago.

You know some stirrups, such as the T-bar leathers which have to be physically shortened, or the Pro-jump stirrup irons which don`t run up very easily. You run them up and by the time you’ve walked from the arena to the stable, they`ve slid down again and are banging around their elbows.

Well one of my clients has Pro-jump irons and they are the bane of my life! I seem to be forever running them up. Anyway, when I took the saddle cover off the other week to ride, I found a length of cloth over the seat of the saddle, with the stirrup irons tucked into it. It took me a moment to realise, but the cloth was an oven glove.  You know, the double oven mitts? Each stirrup was tucked into the hand part. Genius – pure genius!

Since seeing this, I`ve come across stirrup socks, which are fleecy drawstring backs in which you place your stirrup iron – perfect for when you come back from muddy rides – and good for protecting saddle flaps from damage.

The two ideas are actually quite different in that one tries to protect the saddle from dirt or damage, and the other is a way of keeping stirrups out of the way. But perhaps the stirrup sock company could further the oven glove idea; making it more ergonomic to fit stirrup irons in, or a better length to accommodate the excess stirrup leather. Either way, I think my client should patent her idea!