Equiami - worth the money?

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Jingleballs

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I keep reading rave reviews about this product and have been swithering about buying one for a while.

I currently use the Laura B draw reins method to get pony to stretch down. I've tried the pessoa in the past and pony hated it.

My worry is that I spend £65 only for him to hate this too.

Has anyone had any issues, complaints? Or is it really as good as it looks?

Also, anyone use the riding aid? I wonder if it's worth spending the extra £20 and buying the full set.
 
Def worth the money I luv mine! Only had it for few weeks (doing physio rehab) & difference is amazing horse goes really well-long & low, swinging thro back etc

Used pessoa for few wks til I decided bout equi-ami & horse (& me hated it) all that jabbing in mouth & he didn't go well at all.

Good thing with equi-ami is it moves with horse so no mouth jabbing & they can't really lean on it.

Don't no anyrhing bout riding part hav only bought the lunging bits.
 
Chocy said:
Def worth the money I luv mine! Only had it for few weeks (doing physio rehab) & difference is amazing horse goes really well-long & low, swinging thro back etc

Used pessoa for few wks til I decided bout equi-ami & horse (& me hated it) all that jabbing in mouth & he didn't go well at all.

Good thing with equi-ami is it moves with horse so no mouth jabbing & they can't really lean on it.

Don't no anyrhing bout riding part hav only bought the lunging bits.
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Thanks Chocy! Good to know that your horse disliked the pessoa as I was concerned that the similarity between the two would mean my horse also hated the equiami.

Can I ask, I know it's early days but have you started to see any improvement in topline etc through using it?
 
Yes theres def small improvement in how he looks but think it wil b a while b4 he has a 'proper' topline but if its better than b4 his physio u'll b happy!!
 
Yes my horse did not go well in Pessoa either, he curled right up in it. I think to avoid jabbed in gob, he goes well in equiami , so to me it was worth the money. I don't have the riding part so can't comment.
 
Definitely well worth the money IMO! When I bought my mare she was extremely weak through her back and had no topline, she used to struggle with transitions and used to throw in huge bucks when she lost her balance, she ran around in a stress with her head in the sky - the physio suggested something like a pessoa so I bought the equiami to help build up her back muscles after reading so many positive reviews. I have been really, really impressed with it and cannot praise it enough! She's a very highly strung stressy type and I was initially a bit concerned about how she'd react to having these ropes around her, but she took to it immediately and seems to actually really enjoy being worked in it, she has a lovely natural outline and always goes round with her ears pricked looking happy. I've used it a few times a week (now dropped to once or twice a week) and have noticed such a big improvement, she's so lovely and muscley and finds work a million times easier, she's learnt to carry herself properly and does exercises which she used to struggle with almost effortlessly now - and I believe most of this is due to the equiami.
I honestly cannot say enough good things about it! I prefer it to the pessoa as it all works on a loop system with the horse, so that it cannot possibly jab the horse in the mouth or force it into an outline, it just encourages. The loop also means that the horse can't lean on anything, which teaches it to carry itself correctly. It's very easy to put on & take off (all colour coded!) and I can pop it on her in about 30 seconds.
Really, really love it! I did buy the riding aid too but if I'm honest I've been focused on the lunging one & haven't really used it enough to comment as yet x
 
:D FANTASTIC piece of kit!! Well worth the money!!

We have had our youngster in nothing else and his way of working is fantastic really built up the correct muscles, my other boy also works fantastically in it and is making a huge difference to him. He has had lots of rehab and over the course of a year is making huge progress.

Well worth the money and the riding aid is also fantastic if you can get the combo.
 
Thanks for all the recommendations. I did post about this on a classical dressage forum and there seemed to be much reluctance to using this aid or any type of aid i.e. pessoa as it would develop muscles in the wrong place rather than those developed with a natural, balanced carriage.

I'm still keen to try it though and although I'd love to learn to long line I know it can be a tricky technique to learn and will take time and I'd like to start addressing the issues sooner rather than later!
 
Hello!

Wow I am interested in this, I want to buy one!! :D

My boy is terribly unbalanced in the canter and needs a bit of work with it, would you recommend buying the lungeing aid or the riding aid? Which would be more effective? :)
 
I love mine! Not sure my boy does though, it means he actually has to work on the lunge ;)

Took several sessions to get the hang of it, no forcing to be seen, which makes a change compared to some other training aids. Once he got the idea though, he's just got better and better in it. Definitely helped him to understand how to use himself and balance himself on a circle, and meant he found it easier while riding too. Haven't used the riding aid, don't think I like the concept as much, but really very pleased with the lungeing aid so far.
 
Yes! Physio saw miraculous improvements in my mare in just 3 weeks! She took to it almost immediately i.e. working long and low and she seems a happy bun in it. My 13.3 who is VERY set in her ways of trying to hollow etc really argued with it the first time, second time in it responded much better. Not used it since on little one due to lack of time! But I love it great bit of kit. Used riding aid once and it didn't do anything but that was on my little mare who is super-resistant :p
 
Much better than a Pessoa much more difficult for the horse to lean and block than in a Pessoa which I hate, one of mine is on a programme from the physio using the equiami plus lots of very long trotting poles , I am impressed by it so far.
 
There's so many out there, how do we know which ones really are the best? I have a kavalcade ho (sp?) & a lungie bungie, I looked at the equiami website & of course it really sells it but anyone know how it really works so different & why I should buy that one & forsake my others?
 
JJones said:
There's so many out there, how do we know which ones really are the best? I have a kavalcade ho (sp?) & a lungie bungie, I looked at the equiami website & of course it really sells it but anyone know how it really works so different & why I should buy that one & forsake my others?
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Well it's been established that Pessoa types sock them in the gob and the Equi-Ami doesn't so that's one good reason!
 
Glad to see good feedback on them. One of mine is on a build up program from our physio. We borrowed a pessoa & after a few weeks the physio came out saw no difference, so she put her equiami on him & he worked much better in it. So decided I was going to get one as she recommended we get one, so shall be ordering 1 in next few days as was waiting to see what money I got for xmas & I got enough to buy 1 :D. She is coming back up Jan/Feb time so figners crossed she will see an improvement :)
 
Lol bitless bill that's one reason for the pessoa.
But what about my lungie bungie....the only difference I see is that the lungie bungie doesn't go round the bum. I fasten my lungie b to the girth between front legs & it looks like it works in same way but if anyone can help me out more with the difference that would be great.
 
jaysh said:
Lol bitless bill that's one reason for the pessoa.
But what about my lungie bungie....the only difference I see is that the lungie bungie doesn't go round the bum. I fasten my lungie b to the girth between front legs & it looks like it works in same way but if anyone can help me out more with the difference that would be great.
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Ditto on that one :cool:
 
Chellebean said:
Hey

How do people find this compared to the bungie?

thanks and sorry for hijacking :D
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The bungie encourages the horse to lower its head... but the equi ami works as a mobile loop connecting the front and back end... so the front half does encourage the horse to lower its head, but the back half encourages the horse to use its back end properly and step under more and carry more weight behind. The more the horse carries its back end under, the more it enables the horse to lighten the front end, because of the mobile loop. In a bungie, the horse only has to lower its head - a horse *could* still be pulling itself along by its front legs and not properly using its back end at all. Properly adjusted, when the horse carries itself properly using its back, the equi ami is essentially exerting no pressure at all, so it teaches the horse that that is the correct way to carry itself without leaning into anything, because it uses the classic 'pressure release' approach that horses understand through the rest of their training.
 
IMGP0926_zps4723efd7.jpg


This (hopefully) shows the loop effect of the equi-ami. I use mine for longlining and she goes really well in it.
 
^^^^ Really useful pic. The crucial bit is that where it connects to the roller at the side, there's a loop which connects the front half to the back half, and it slides freely around 6 inches or so, meaning the horse is never fixed... this is the bit that means that the pressure releases when the front and back ends of the horse do the right thing and there's no jabbing :-)
 
JingleBell said:
I did post about this on a classical dressage forum and there seemed to be much reluctance to using this aid or any type of aid i.e. pessoa as it would develop muscles in the wrong place rather than those developed with a natural, balanced carriage.
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Out of interest JingleBell, did they suggest any alternatives to this kind of lunging aid?
 
I've said before, I love the EquiAmi - it is doing wonders for my boy - an ex PTPer with high withers, a designer cutaway bum and mild kissing spines. He can have a paddy in it, but generally he seems to work very nicely. Here's a pic to show the difference in just 2 weeks, lunging 4 times per week:

380314_10151358085463767_26595705_n.jpg
 
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