Endurance Stirrup Covers for Winter Riding

A couple months ago, I asked around on the interwebs about where to get covers to go over caged endurance stirrups -- you know, to keep my feet warm while riding in winter chill, rain, and wind.

You know what I heard back? Crickets.

Stirrup covers exist for traditional western stirrups and English irons, but there didn't seem to be any such thing designed to suit the larger dimensions of endurance stirrups - let alone the stirrup cages that many of us use. So, I improvised.

It turns out that gallon-size Ziploc bags and a handful of zipties will, technically, help keep feet warm inside caged stirrups. They will not, however, make much of a fashion statement.

Redneck foot warmers. Um.

I definitely needed a better solution. Enter my friend Simone.

Simone Mauhl is an endurance rider in the northwest region. Conveniently for my winter riding dilemma, she also makes tack - much of it custom, and much of it for packing. (We have a lot of hunters out here in Idaho.)

So, when Simone mentioned that she could make me a pair of stirrup covers designed for caged endurance stirrups, I was all over it! We put our heads together and she came up with this design:

Well! That's much prettier than my redneck version, don't you think?

​The covers are made of a water repellant fabric with a thin liner in the toe area for extra insulation. They're not completely waterproof, Simone said, but it would take a heck of a driving rain over a long period to get any leakage through the seams. ​

Dang, I wish I'd had them at the Eagle Canyon 50 in 2016, which featured sideways rain, snow, and hail all night and much of the day!

Side note: Thanks to my Helly Hanson rain pants and Goretex cycling shell, my feet were actually the only part of me that got soaked that day. I've said it before: look at outdoor adventure gear for riding -- it's better than just about anything made by the usual equestrian brands.

Anyway, back to the stirrup covers. The photos above feature them on a 2008-ish era Easycare E-Z Ride stirrup that Simone borrowed from Mr. Sweaty's saddle for a model. However, she made sure to make the velcro loops adjustable for all sizes of endurance stirrups, with or without cages.

My own favorite stirrups are a battered pair that came with a used Bob Marshall. If I knew what brand they were, I would buy more, but alas, they are unmarked. They're a bit smaller than the E-Z Rides. I tried out the covers on them the first time we got a snowy day with decent footing.

Well, now. That's much better than the Ziplocs!

Incidentally, those Ziplocs took about 20 minutes to ziptie on and about 10 minutes to snip off. I installed Simone's covers in about 20 seconds per stirrup. (Yes, I actually counted.)

You can't see it in the photo, but there is a double velcro strip along the bottom of the stirrup cage, which is highly adjustable and keeps the cover in place.

Starfish didn't find the covers spooky at all. She was probably glad to have those godawful embarrassing Ziplocs gone!

​It wasn't a super cold day -we've had a relatively mild winter this year - but I was in and out of the saddle, walking in the snow, and the whole way back we rode into the wind.

And...the covers worked! They stayed put and kept the wind off my toes, and they looked good doing it. I'll probably keep them on my saddle through February, and they'll go right back on next October.

AND...there's more good news: Simone said she can make more of these things for other riders. They're reasonably priced and Simone is great to work with.

The product is too new to be posted in an online store yet, so just look up Simone Mauhl on Facebook. If you aren't on Facebook, ping me at tamara@thesweatyequestrian.com and I'll hook you up.

​Happy toasty riding!

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