Sprenger Bow Balance Stirrups - Stainless Steel 110 mm

The Sprenger Bow Balance is a jointed stirrup in stainless steel with a curved arch and an extra-wide tread. This version has a tread width of 110 mm: the size Sprenger describes as the children's size, and the one that suits narrower riding boots. The System 4 joint in both branches lets the stirrup move with your foot, so your leg can stay quieter.

About this stirrup

What sets this stirrup apart from a classic model is its curved arch. The branches are bent rather than straight, which brings your leg closer to the horse and makes a lost stirrup easier to find again. Because left and right are therefore not the same, each stirrup carries a marking: an L for left and an R for right.

Both side branches contain the System 4 joint, a movable link between the arch and the tread. It allows the springing movement of your foot instead of holding it back, and absorbs part of that movement rather than passing it on to a rigid piece of steel. Because the sides can give, a deeply lowered heel feels less stiff. In a fall the joint gives way as well: the foot can leave the stirrup faster than with a stirrup that is completely fixed. That is what the mechanism does, and it is no guarantee. The right boot, the right stirrup width and a check before every ride matter just as much.

The tread is extra wide, so the pressure is spread over a larger part of the sole of your foot. It holds a pad of solid rubber made in two rubber hardnesses, with a nub pattern that keeps your boot sole in place, even when wet. That pad is a wear part: it is replaceable, so worn nubs do not mean you need new stirrups. Sprenger does document an article number for a separate pad in 120 mm; for the 110 mm no such number can be found.

The material is stainless steel, produced at Herm. Sprenger in Iserlohn, Germany; the Bow Balance was developed together with Matthias Bierotte. Sprenger gives no weight for this stirrup. Stainless steel does weigh more than aluminium, so anyone specifically looking for a light stirrup is better off with another model.

And what this stirrup is not: a safety stirrup with an open or hinged outer side. It is a jointed stirrup; the outer branch stays closed. Sprenger also documents no standard and no official testing for this model. If you specifically want a stirrup whose outer side opens, a safety stirrup such as the Sprenger Peacock with a rubber ring is a different kind of solution.

Sprenger

Sprenger (Herm. Sprenger) is een gerenommeerd Duits merk dat wereldwijd bekendstaat om zijn hoogwaardige paardengebitten, sporen en stijgbeugels. Het merk combineert meer dan een eeuw vakmanschap met technische innovatie en wordt door veel professionele ruiters gebruikt.

Sprenger staat vooral bekend om zijn anatomisch ontworpen bitten, die ontwikkeld zijn met aandacht voor de anatomie van de paardenmond en een duidelijke, comfortabele communicatie tussen ruiter en paard. Veel bitten worden vervaardigd uit speciale legeringen zoals Sensogan® en Aurigan®, die de speekselproductie stimuleren en het comfort in de mond verhogen.

De producten worden ontwikkeld en geproduceerd in Duitsland, waarbij strenge kwaliteitsnormen en precisie centraal staan. Dankzij de combinatie van technologische innovatie, hoogwaardige materialen en Duits vakmanschap is Sprenger uitgegroeid tot een van de meest gerespecteerde merken binnen de internationale paardensport.