The scarcity of early-medieval stirrup finds in western Europe was noted by Bernard Bachrach: " Out of 704 eighth century male burials excavated in Germany untill 1967, only 13 had stirrups.

On a western saddle, with a heavier, permanently installed fender and stirrup leather that cannot be switched, stretching is slower and less extreme, though it also occurs in this type of saddle.

Likewise, a very long stirrup is used in the western sport of cutting, where, though the rider relinquishes control to the horse, requires maximum security to stay in the saddle during the rapid stops, turns and bursts of speed the horse uses when maneuvering cattle.

In the western rodeo sport of calf roping, a moderately short stirrup is also required to help the horse to sprint quickly from the box, and to allow the cowboy the freedom to swing a lariat.

Disciplines that require long hours in the saddle, such as endurance riding and some types of western riding on a working ranch, often use a wider stirrup to provide more support to the foot.

The risk of being dragged by a foot caught in the stirrup spawned an adaptation in riding footwear: Riding boots have a raised heel of at least a half-inch, and in special designs like the western cowboy boot, often more.

The neck of western spurs is usually longer and the rowel wide in diameter, to accommodate the leg position of the Western-style rider, where the stirrup is adjusted long, and the heavy leather used for the saddle's fenders and stirrups places the rider's leg a bit farther from the horse.

The redcoat officer collapsed like a punctured bolster, and the horse reared and threw him from the saddle, except that one booted foot caught in the stirrup.

A bas-relief of a soldier and horse with saddle and stirrup s, from the tomb of Chinese Emperor Taizong of Tang ( r. 626-649 ), c. 650

But the introduction of the wraparound saddle during the Middle Ages provided greater efficiency in mounted shock combat and the important invention of the stirrup enabled a broader array of attacks to be delivered from the back of a horse.

Next, some saddles, particularly English saddles, have safety bars that allow a stirrup leather to fall off the saddle if pulled backwards by a falling rider.

A number of saddle styles incorporate a tapedero, which is covering over the front of the stirrup that keeps the foot from sliding all the way through the stirrup.

Knights rode in both the Muslim style, a la jineta ( i. e. the equivalent of a modern jockey's seat ), a short stirrup strap and bended knees allowed for better control and speed, or in the French style, a la brida, a long stirrup strap allowed for more security in the saddle ( i. e. the equivalent of the modern cavalry seat, which is more secure ) when acting as heavy cavalary.

A bas-relief of a soldier and horse with elaborate saddle and stirrup s, from the tomb of Emperor Taizong, c. 650

A modern working stirrup on an endurance riding saddle

A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a stirrup leather.

Later, a single stirrup was used as a mounting aid, and paired stirrups appeared after the invention of the treed saddle.

As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare, the stirrup is often called the third revolutionary step in equipment, after the chariot and the saddle.

The invention of the stirrup occurred relatively late in history, considering that horses were domesticated in approximately 4500 BC, and the earliest known saddle like equipment were fringed cloths or pads with breast pads and cruppers used by Assyrian cavalry around 700 BC.

The invention of the solid saddle tree allowed development of the true stirrup as it is known today.

The stirrup bar on an English saddle, for the attachment of a stirrup leather

Therefore, stirrups are attached to a saddle by means of adjustable straps, called stirrup leathers.

Depending on the design of a saddle, stirrup leathers may be attached to a " stirrup bar ," a small forged steel bar embedded into the saddle tree, or may be wrapped around the bars of the tree itself.

As the rider's whole weight must be carried at one side when mounting, on an English saddle, one stirrup leather often becomes stretched longer than the other, usually the left one, because most mounting occurs on that side.

If a rider is thrown from a horse but has a foot caught in the stirrup, they could be dragged if the horse runs away.

* Otosclerosis is a hardening of the stapes ( or stirrup ) in the middle ear and causes conductive hearing loss.

In reptiles, sound is transmitted to the inner ear by the stapes ( stirrup ) bone of the middle ear.

The malleus gets its name from Latin malleus, meaning " hammer ", the Incus gets its name from Latin Incus meaning " anvil " from incudere meaning " to forge with a hammer ", and the Stapes gets its name from Modern Latin " stirrup ," probably an alteration of Late Latin Stapia related to stare " to stand " and pedem, an accusative of pes " foot ", so called because the bone is shaped like a stirrup-this was an invented Modern Latin word for " stirrup ," for which there was no classical Latin word, as the ancients did not use stirrups.

* The stapes ( stirrup ) articulates with the incus and is attached to the membrane of the fenestra ovalis, the elliptical or oval window or opening between the middle ear and the vestibule of the inner ear.

It is highly likely that the stirrup had been introduced to the Sassanian cavalry two centuries before Khusrau's reforms ( and are mentioned in Bivar ( 1972 ) ), and a " stirrupped " foot position can be seen on the Sassanian bullae and at Taq-e-Bostan.

For this reason, the shintai of a Hachiman shrine is usually a stirrup or a bow.

The first European literary reference to the stirrup is in the Strategikon of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice, written sometime between 575 and 628 AD.

In what today is France, Charles Martel distributed seized lands to his retainers on condition that they serve him by fighting in the new manner, which some attribute to his recognizing the military potentialities of the stirrup.

It is argued that the rising feudal class structure of the European Middle Ages derived ultimately from the use of stirrups: " Few inventions have been so simple as the stirrup, but few have had so catalytic an influence on history.

It is not known why the Japanese developed this unique style of stirrup.

The stirrup itself is similar, but the length of the stirrup leather is different.

Western saddles have wide stirrup treads that make it more difficult for the foot to become trapped.

There are two basic methods of using stirrups, a shorter stirrup to allow more mobility and a longer stirrup to allow greater control.

In each case, the stirrup length allows the rider to remain over the center of balance of the horse for the average speed characteristic of the discipline ; the faster the horse travels, the more forward the rider must be positioned, and hence the shorter the stirrup.

This allows more mobility than a longer stirrup would, but at the cost of having less feel of the horse and less security.

While an inexperienced rider may feel more secure with a slightly too-short stirrup, in reality, it is actually easier to be thrown from the horse because the rider's legs act as a stabilizing agent, much in the same way the long pole of a tightrope walker balances the acrobat.

Lengthening the leg creates a more secure seat, while shortening the stirrup is done only to accommodate the needs of the horse to perform athletic movement.

If the stirrup is too small, the foot can become trapped more easily as the foot cannot free itself.

Though the underlying design of a flat bottom and curved top have not significantly changed from the earliest artifacts, some modifications have made the stirrup safer and more comfortable.

It is generally suggested that the stirrup be no more than 1 inch larger than the widest part of the sole of the rider's boots.

Some riders ride with the stirrup more " home ," or shoved toward the heel.

This is seen most often in sports such as polo and eventing, where the speed and sudden changes of direction of the former, and the great change in terrain and solid fences of the latter, make the rider more likely to be jarred loose from the saddle and increases the risk of losing a stirrup.

The development of the stirrup, and the breeding of horses strong enough to carry a fully armed archer, made the nomads a constant threat to the more settled civilizations.

Field boots: so called because they were traditionally worn by officers ranked " field grade " or higher, have lacing at the vamp, which allows for some give so the rider is more comfortable riding with the highly flexed ankle that develops from the shorter stirrup length required for work over fences.

Advances such as the stirrup helped make cavalry forces more effective.

The stirrup fix became the standard reinforcement until a more permanent fix for the problem was developed.