I'm just glad you're not here to accuse me of ethnocentrism, and that you don't seem to have some bizarre emotional attachment to the Persian cavalry. I comment pretty regularly, mostly about politics, government, and gender, with some one-offs about pop culture here and there. And most of the time, it's rare I get…

WOW. "I brought my diapered baby to the movies, and expect to be able to just whip this nasty diaper around wherever because heaven forbid I miss the film. Fuck your health code, I have wipes." I never had the opportunity to confront a diaper or tampon litterer, and I have no idea what I would have said to a person…

As a former retail employee, WHAT IS WITH THE DIAPER-IN-THE-DRESSING-ROOM?!?! God. The things I found in the farthest back dressing room.

Yeah, as someone else said, more comfortable than a severed foot.

Sprained ankle trapped inside a boot trapped inside a stirrup? Augh! I'm so glad it wasn't any more traumatic! I trail ride, and we have a lot of up-and-down in my area. I use my stirrups all the time, but it's tricky to stay in that total balance over the horse AND keep stable feet.

You're welcome to post an image. For the umpteenth time in this thread, I did not call the Persian cavalry terrible horseback riders. If you read the rest of the replies, you'll see that in fact I have said there may be tack differences I'm unaware of. My original comment is based on what I understand about keeping…

If you look at the other replies, you'll see I found a "flour scoop" stirrup. And I have maintained throughout that different tack might make it different in a way I don't understand based on having ridden Western, bareback, and English. What I don't get is the idea of "grip" with the heel without pushing yourself…

What's frustrating me right now is that sometimes I write very thought-out comments about subjects that are actually important, and never hear from anyone, but the use of stirrups/heeled shoes by the Persian cavalry is getting a ton of play. *sigh*

I don't think they actually rode that way, I think the idea that they used their heels for grip is most likely incorrect.

I don't doubt the asskicking for a second, as it is well-documented. I doubt the Heel-Grip Theory. I'm sure they had heels in the cavalry, I'm sure the cavalry raised all kinds of bloody hell, and I'm sure (barring very VERY different equipment from what exists now) they were NOT gripping the stirrups with the heels…

She's only very far forward because she's mid-jump. Further back, and the horse would have a very hard time making the jump. When they land, she'll go back to near-vertical, and her leg and foot position will be the same. In a dressage (or Western, or Australian) saddle, the rider is totally upright. The leg and…

LOL. Xerxes left his fancy high heels at home too!

That is a badass picture! I had thought to mention that the tribes on the American plains threw spears and fired arrows from horseback for centuries, but the way my comment is being nit-picked, I figured that would be futile. No, you don't NEED stirrups at all!

Disaster averted! That's scary! When I was little, I got tall enough to need an adult saddle even though I probably wasn't big enough to use the seat very well. I lost a stirrup at a trot (as fast as the instructor would let us go at that point), and when I tried to quickly get it back, my foot went straight…

As addressed in another reply, no, not unless you were using drastically different tack. I used that image because jumping requires you to support your whole body weight in the stirrups, which she is (correctly) doing using only the balls of her feet. If you're riding correctly and in balance in either English or…

As addressed in another reply, no, not unless you were using drastically different tack. Bows and spears have been used by bareback riders throughout history. If you don't have balance on the balls of your feet in the stirrups, you do not have balance in the saddle, regardless of activity, unless your horse is just…

Both riders and horses would have been carrying more weight, most likely, which might have made keeping a good seat and legs more difficult, especially on the rider's ankles and knees. Beyond that, and apart from using different tack (addressed in another reply), using the balls of the feet is a matter of balance. …

I hadn't thought about a different type of stirrup. A little googling, and my guess is the heels were meant to go with a stirrup like this one, which I would assume is supposed to protect the foot, but looks crazy-uncomfortable.

If you have your foot so far through the stirrup that you're actually using the heel, you're a terrible horseback rider. Heels for riding are a safety measure. They keep your foot from going through the stirrup and trapping your ankle, which can happen if you lose your balance, and if you were to fall, could result…

Something about winter precipitation makes me stuff my face with white bread, just uncontrollably. I had some really good French bread the last time we had sleet/ice, and I ate about four roast beef and cheddar subs on it in about two days.