"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 ...
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leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal (usually a horse or other equine, such as a mule). They greatly increase the rider´s ability to stay in the saddle and control the mount, increasing the animal´s usefulness to humans in areas such as communication, transportation and warfare.
In antiquity, the earliest foot supports (appearing in India by the 2nd century BC) consisted of riders placing their feet under a girth or using a simple toe loop. Later, a single stirrup was used as a mounting aid, and paired stirrups appeared after the invention of the saddle tree. In China, the stirrup appeared within the first few centuries AD and may have spread westward through the nomadic peoples of Central Eurasia. Some scholars believe that the Sarmatians were the first to devise true stirrups during the first century BC. The use of paired stirrups is credited to the Chinese Jin Dynasty and came to Europe during the Middle Ages. Some argue that the stirrup was one of the basic tools used to create and spread modern civilization, possibly as important as the wheel or printing press." - (en.wikipedia.org 20.12.2020)
