The stirrup is a ring with a flat bottom fixed on a leather strap, usually hung from each side of a saddle by an adjustable strap to create a footrest for a person using a riding animal (usually a horse or other equine, such as a mule), used as a support for the foot of a rider when seated in the saddle and as an aid in mounting. It greatly increases the rider's ability to stay in the saddle and control the mount, increasing the animal's usefulness in communication, transportation and warfare. It is considered one of the basic tools used to create and spread modern civilization. Some argue it is as important as the wheel or printing press.

The English word "stirrup" stems from Old English stirap, stigrap, or Middle English stirop, styrope, i.e. a mounting or climbing-rope.

History

Early development

The invention of the stirrup occurred relatively late in history, considering the fact that horses were domesticated in approximately 4500 BC, and the earliest forms of the saddle—a simple blanket with light padding and a surcingle appeared about 800 BC.

The earliest manifestation of the stirrup was a toe loop that held the big toe and was used in India, possibly as early as 500 BC.Chamberlin (2007), page 80 This ancient stirrup consisted of a looped rope for the big toe which was at the bottom of a saddle made of fibre or leather. Such a configuration made it suitable for the warm climate of south and central India where people used to ride horses barefoot.Woods & Woods (2000), pp. 52–53 A pair of megalithic double bent iron bars with curvature at each end, excavated in Junapani in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have been regarded as stirrups although they could as well be something else."16.17.4: Stirrups". Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology (Vol. 1). Edited by Amalananda Ghosh (1990). page 336 Buddhist carvings in the temples of Sanchi, Mathura and the Bhaja caves dating back between the 1st and 2nd century BC figure horsemen riding with elaborate saddles with feet slipped under girths.Azzaroli (1985), page 156Barua (2005), pp. 16–17 In this regard Sir John Marshall described the Sanchi relief as "the earliest example by some five centuries of the use of stirrups in any part of the world".

Later, a single stirrup was used as a mounting aid by a nomadic group known as the Sarmatians.