Gimmicks or Game Changer?

[Ample Prosecco]

Musings on holiday….

I think most progress comes from good instruction, a reasonably willing and genuine horse and a load of hard work. Along with the odd penny drop/breakthrough moment when finally a concept you may have been taught/told about many times before, suddenly makes sense. Or those magical rides where something that used to feel hard, suddenly seems effortless. But those rides or insights generally come from the hard work that paved the way…

However there is no shortage of people claiming they can accelerate progress significantly. Or even dramatically. With a piece of kit, or a riding or training approach. From riding exercises like activation exercises, biomechanics, alignment work to training shortcuts like join-up, to kit like mojo bands, special saddles, training aids or magic bits!

I’ve tried many gadgets and approaches. I’m a sucker for a shortcut. However, genuine game-changers have been few and far between. And I’ve wasted a LOT of money on snake-oil!

Not a single piece of equipment has ever stood the test of time as important. Other than it being there. (A saddle is easier than bareback but beyond that I really can’t tell the difference).

Of the rest, the stuff on training has been more important than anything to do with my own body which remains wonky, stiff and awkward despite endless approaches to try and improve that. Specifically training approaches on clarity of communication with the horse - which for me - was a game changer. Before that I used to just ‘shout louder’ like a Brit on a foreign holiday, if my horse struggled to understand me. Communicating clearly has been far more important than sitting correctly.

But maybe what seems gimmicky to one person is a game changer for another and for other people it’s the other way around?

So what’s your experience of gimmicks and/or game changers!

 

[GinaGeo]

A good system and training is definitely the most important factor. And into that falls the right groundwork, correct biomechanics and effective communication.

But the right equipment is definitely helpful. As a rider the wrong saddle is hateful to ride in, and the right saddle that puts you in an effective position makes your life as a rider far easier. And makes subtle communication through the seat way clearer. I’m happy to school in a jump saddle, as long as it puts me in a good balance, doesn’t try and force me into a position and isn’t annoyingly blocky. I wouldn’t bother with a GP saddle these days, they don’t help with anything.

My kit is fairly straightforward. I don’t do gadgets or quick fixes. I’ve done away with lunging and schooling aids. I don’t bother with nose bands beyond a loose cavesson. And my bitting is fairly simple, but I do make the effort to find a bit each horse is comfortable in. I don’t tend to chop and change once I’m happy we’ve got it right.

In short, no I don’t buy into quick fixes. And I definitely don’t want to be plastering over any issues that will come back to bite me later on. But I do like to have really well fitting equipment (for both horse and rider) that optimises communication And makes my life easier as a rider.

In the past I was happy to try anything and everything. Elastic reins, funky stirrups, new lunging aid, new bits, many different half pads, girths Etc.

All but a very select few are presently rotting somewhere in my tack room. I do have my own preferences for bits, pads, reins, girths etc. which have been selected from the many years of experimenting - but most are pretty simple and wouldn’t be considered fashionable

I try to listen to the horses. They’re the experts after all.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I’m a very simple tack person. Basic snaffle, no martingale, no lunging aids. My strirrups are probably as fancy as I’ve gotten, they’ve got a spring safety opening and a nice wide tread.

But I do absolutely love my AH saddle fitted by Sbloom. My confidence shot up overnight when I got it, I just felt so much more secure and like I was riding with my pony rather than perched on top.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Ooh I forgot about the freedom girth. Lottie did really seem to like that. The Equitex made no apparent difference though.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

My biggest breakthrough moment came from finding the right trainer. I’d been bumbling along not really understanding what I was trying to train before I found Di.

Well fitting tack helps but never ended up keeping on with ‘gadgets’. Finding things that fit best for the individual horse is key but no one bit of kit will be a miracle worker.

To be honest sympathetic training and a sound horse counts for most for me!

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I very nearly booked in for £150/hour non-ridden confidence coaching sessions (possibly hypnosis/NLP-based - clearly I'm in the wrong business ) when my last share was sending my confidence on a downward spiral. Instead packed in the share because it was making me unhappy anyway, found two new RS to try, started volunteering and now horsey life is much happier and my riding confidence is on the up! Maybe those sessions would have been a game-changer but it probably wouldn't have made me any happier/been as much fun on the journey to increased confidence, and a huge amount of money to spend on not actually riding or being around horses.

I don't want to blame my tools for any riding short-comings but my goodness would I like to one day ride in a saddle fitted to the horse AND to me!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I think mindset stuff can actually be a game changer, because anxiety and negativity can stop people accessing their skills. Good riders can freeze up and ride like they’ve barely sat on a horse before. So changing that can hugely help very quickly. But those prices are hard to justify! Plus no confidence work is going to help if you’re in a toxic environment and on the wrong horse !!

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I think mindset stuff can actually be a game changer, because anxiety and negativity can stop people accessing their skills. Good riders can freeze up and ride like they’ve barely sat on a horse before. So changing that can hugely help very quickly. But those prices are hard to justify! Plus no confidence work is going to help if you’re in a toxic environment and on the wrong horse !!

The mindset stuff is sooo helpful, but the price definitely was out there and if I had my own horse I'd be signing up for one of your camps instead! I've got Karl Greenwood's book and this other really great book called 'Tame the Chimp, Shoot the Parrot and Silence the Mouse' both of which have been mega helpful along with the change of environment/s.

There's also an equestrian vlogger I follow on YouTube who I find a really good role model/generally inspiring. Even though she is training and competing at BE100/Novice and I've never jumped a XC fence in my life, it's the principles/self-discipline, the goal-setting, and the positive attitude to learning from 'failures' I think can translate across. So I think good role models and other people to take inspiration from can be game-changing too.

 

[smolmaus]

Stirrups with a nice wide tread and a bit of bounce did actually make an appreciable difference for me. Putting some effort into improving hideously stiff/weak hip flexors would probably do more though.

I'm too Scrooge-y to spend money on anything other than Basic all the experimental investment goes into sweet itch management!

 

[ycbm]

I go for technological stuff where the technology makes sense to me. In date order:


Air flocking so I can adjust my own saddles easily.

WOW saddles for the carbon fibre joint in the tree to let the shoulders swing.

Micklem bridles because they make so much more sense.

WOW freedom girth, again because it made sense for horses with flatter sides at the bottom.

.

 

[McFluff]

The right horse for you as a rider is vital (thinking from an amateur perspective). Then well fitting tack (horse and rider) - a saddle that helps you sit in the right place is (for me) a game changer. I like that there are so many options now to find the right girth, pads, bit and bridle to fit your horse and help keep them comfortable.
Then a trainer who ‘gets’ you and your horse and what you want to achieve. At risk of being controversial, I think the wrong trainer for a combination can do more harm than good.

Anything else is surely about, at best, marginal gains.

I have to confess that I’ve found my stirrups helped improve comfort and my boots really seem to have helped my lower leg and ankle position. Neither helped me be better, just made life more comfortable.

I’ve never been drawn to horse gadgets - always felt I need to learn how to ride better without a gadget.

General fitness definitely helps. Although, I have found an exercise programme that really has helped me (more than any I’ve tried before), in activate your seat. I genuinely ride better if I do the exercises consistently. And I have tried lots of other programs, none made enough difference to keep me hooked.

 

[LEC]

Nobody can accelerate riding success without serious time and money being chucked at it.
Sure we look at ways at making the horse more comfortable but ultimately in riding the key to success pretty simple; start young, have a horsey parent who is dedicated, don’t hurt yourself badly, be the right body shape, be as fit as possible, have the best training you can afford and spend hours in the tack riding as many horses as possible. Finally, don’t ride crap as riding crap only teaches you to ride like crap. Good horses will teach you far more.

Anyone who says riding tricky or difficult horses teaches you more, only needs to look at Eric winter who was a great rider who did very well on crap so got sent more crap and then got fed up with riding crap.

 

[Fjord]

An English Hackamore for my fjord rather than a bit. Absolute game changer and solved all the issues that bits, reins, side reins, martingales (none of them lasted more than one or two goes) ever did.

I'm trying to go for the simpler is better approach but must admit I'm a sucker for a magic gadget.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

@McFluff Activate Your Seat is one of the few I’ve never tried. Perhaps I should!

 

[McFluff]

@McFluff Activate Your Seat is one of the few I’ve never tried. Perhaps I should!

It doesn’t feel like you are doing much, but if I do a set a day with the bungee I find I can sit deeper and feel more connected. Maybe took a week before I was aware of an improvement, and if I stop (e.g. Go on holiday) I can feel the difference.
I have tight hip flexors and stretching just wasn’t helping. These exercises strengthen the muscles so they work better (my layman description).

 

[millikins]

Not a training aid but certainly a game changer. Our first pony wouldn't load, didn't respond to lunge lines, treats. waiting, all the usual advice. Asked a fellow livery to pick up a control halter in the tack shop and she came back with a piece of rope with two knots in and said £15 please. Magic, absolute magic, pony planted, reared, ran back, reared again and walked straight on. And she loaded every time after, didn't even need to use it so long as she was wearing it over a standard headcollar. I believe it was a Richard Maxwell copy.

 

[TPO]

Game Changer: finally reading Mark Rashid's books, namely the A good horse is never a bad colour series. I had them for yonks and kinda dismissed them into the same trash pile I put Monty/Parelli/Clinton A. Big mistake on my part. These books very much opened my eyes.

Gimmick: Fairfax leather girth completely altered my horses stride length, and he already had ground covering paces. For him, it really did meet all of its claims.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Yep Mark Rashid was who I meant as my own ‘game changer’. I suddenly just saw horses differently.

 

[SEL]

I bought a pair of flex stirrups off a friend who was giving up horses. Wasn't expecting much but my left knee has an old injury and loves them. Now I just need a pair for the other horse because I'm too lazy to change between saddles.

WOW and a hackamore has been a game changer for the microcob. I thought she was going to need to be retired after her breathing issues and accident but she's the happiest of happy hackers now.

I do think good, well fitted tack makes a huge difference but that's probably not the gimmicks you were thinking of. I've got a few things gathering dust such as the equiami that had their use with a specific horse at a specific point in time, but I'm also a big believer in in-hand work and some people think that's a gimmick so......

 

[Accidental Eventer]

I haven't bought into very many gimmicks over the years, more by luck than much else. I do love buying things that I think might help, though when it comes to riding and training for me the biggest thing has always been good coaching and me doing my homework.

I have been very lucky that I have known my coach my whole horse life, she was a coach at my pony club (still is!) and she is amazing. I got lucky with her, because she is constantly expanding her knowledge base, works closely with the people who developed a lot of the equitation science stuff, and has been endlessly open and giving with he knowledge. I respect her enormously. I have had many lessons with others over the years, at her encouragement and some coaches wonderful and some are terrible but I have the knowledge base to know why.

The only gimmick I have is a neck rope to help with horse posture and rider hands. I dont use it all the time but it has been helpful over the years. Other than that, finding saddles that fit Hen has been a game changer and the right balance of feed/work/rest.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I bought a pair of flex stirrups off a friend who was giving up horses. Wasn't expecting much but my left knee has an old injury and loves them. Now I just need a pair for the other horse because I'm too lazy to change between saddles.

WOW and a hackamore has been a game changer for the microcob. I thought she was going to need to be retired after her breathing issues and accident but she's the happiest of happy hackers now.

I do think good, well fitted tack makes a huge difference but that's probably not the gimmicks you were thinking of. I've got a few things gathering dust such as the equiami that had their use with a specific horse at a specific point in time, but I'm also a big believer in in-hand work and some people think that's a gimmick so......

I should have said well fitting tack is on the list of basics. Some of the stirrups, reins, girths make pretty big claims though!

True game changers tend to just become standard over time I think. Or they get banned as unfair! Like speed suits in swimming. So these niche areas are - I think - by definition , not true game changers. As if they were they would no longer be niche....

 

[smolmaus]

Micklem bridles because they make so much more sense.

I've been thinking about a Micklem because they do make sense to me too but was concerned that they all seem to have a flash and didn't 2018 ycbm pop up on Google with just the answer I wanted ty 2018 ycbm!

 

[ycbm]

Yes it's perfectly possible to remove the bottom noseband, they work fine. I used to replace it in dressage competitions with a doubled back flash strap.
.
You're welcome

 

[SEL]

I was thinking about this and trying not to think of the £££ !!

Because the Appy was broken and vets couldn't fix her I do have a fair few gimmicky things around

Arc Equine - on the fence as to whether this helped or not, but it broke just out of warranty so felt like an expensive mistake.

Massage rug - Appy underwhelmed. Fortunately the microcob loves it

Magnetic rug - gathering dust.

VIP pad - that was a hit

Equitex - not a hit

Anything and everything designed to start the Appy sweating apart from the thyroid drugs which actually worked (unintentional side effect)

Ice boots - nothing wrong with them except they are designed so the whole boot goes in the freezer. We have a tiny freezer. Oops.

 

[sbloom]

Many independent, advice-only, bridle fitters are going off the Micklem, I think there are better options around these days, for many horses anyway.

Lansdown rugs with the shoulder shaping were a game changer when I last had a riding horse, and every day/week I see the difference with a better saddle, especially now I also see what happens when we really get the fit for the rider functional/optimum. Definitely not a gimmick despite the protestations of those who think we only deserve good seats if we've spent years on the lunge.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

In my endless quest to be a bit less rubbish I’ve tried lots of strategies and gimmicks;

I bought these vibrating bracelets that were meant to help keep hands still. No effect.

Mojo bands! (My physicist husband nearly divorced me. ) needless to say, no effect.

Expensive super-duper reins meant to improve connection and feel via unspecified means. Feel lovely in my hands but no effect on my riding.

Dressage Rider Training. Got better at yoga but no effect on my riding, despite really consistent practice.

Equipilates - small improvements - Worth pursuing I think

Various biomechanics type approaches - no lasting effect

I’ll keep on with Pilates. And lessons! Lots of lessons

 

[rabatsa]

Stirrups with a nice wide tread and a bit of bounce did actually make an appreciable difference for me. Putting some effort into improving hideously stiff/weak hip flexors would probably do more though.

I'm too Scrooge-y to spend money on anything other than Basic all the experimental investment goes into sweet itch management!

The best thing ever for my hip flexors was taking up deep water aquafit classes. I was aware that they had reduced range of movement but not just how much they had. I am not back to being as flexible as in my teenage years but wow what an improvement.

 

[Alibear]

Some gimmicks work for a short while but enable you to progress to the next step so even though I've only used them short-term, I count them as a win. Bits generally fall into this category for me, and sometimes a grooming tool, massage mitt, shampoo etc,
Good lessons make the most long-term improvements for me. I tend to be a stick with one trainer person but having been a bit stuck I decided to get out and try others this year, and currently, I think that's been a success. But it's too soon to see if it works in the long term.
I've never found a supplement that made a truly noticeable improvement, I'll still try them when I'm stuck but never stick with the long term.
The activate your-seat lungee bungee works for me IF I actually use it!

 

[sbloom]

The best thing ever for my hip flexors was taking up deep water aquafit classes. I was aware that they had reduced range of movement but not just how much they had. I am not back to being as flexible as in my teenage years but wow what an improvement.

Showing that increased ROM doesn't come from stretching....all joints need to be balanced (strength, stability and flexibility all leading to mobility) and working in water is so helpful though I'm full of admiration that presumably the whole thing is in water deeper than you can stand in?!

 

[smolmaus]

The best thing ever for my hip flexors was taking up deep water aquafit classes. I was aware that they had reduced range of movement but not just how much they had. I am not back to being as flexible as in my teenage years but wow what an improvement.

I can't swim and I'm scared to try no matter how good I know it is for so many things!

I do have a whole bunch of resistance bands in the garage that I could definitely be doing something with.