Heard of any tangles/problems with pessoa/equi-ami, etc.?

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Orangehorse

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I have got out my equi-ami again to give my horse a bit of a work-out on the lunge as I can't get out to ride him as much as I would like. I can see the benefits, and like the way it works. I feel he is having an outing to the gym!

It is designed so that they can move their head and neck freely, and downwards, but my heart is always in my mouth in case the horse decided to have a little jump/buck and ends up with his front leg through the front rope. I always have a pair of scissors in my pocket, and I also tie some string round his neck to keep the girth attachment up a little.

Has anyone heard of any horses getting tangled up in one of these type of training aids?

I must add that so far, after quite a few years, he HASN'T had an accident of any sort, but it does make me nervous.
 
Yes, it is why I asked really. We all know that horses can get in the most almighty tangles when you wouldn't think it at all possible.

Someone told a story of longreining where the horse spun round and round and was completely trussed-up. It was also handy with its back legs, so the trainer stood there and scratched his head wondering how they were both going to get out of the tangle in one piece. It was OK, but sometimes these situations end horribly.
 
Anything we drape our horses in has a risk I suppose. I do have a pessoa - although I don't use it terribly often. My daughter's ISH dislikes the intermittent touching of the tail piece and will kick out at it. He hasn't tangled himself - but if I accidentally fitted it too loose or it slipped he might. Mostly I use a lungie bungie like Springtime. But if you want to encourage a little more thoroughness I use an elasticated tail bandage tied to each side of the roller and passed just above the second thigh. Not tight - just enough to rest where I put it and not move or flap. I can't see a way for him to tangle in that (although don't tell him that or he'll find a way!).
 
Yeah, it's always a risk!

My tb is melodramatic (I know if he did get tangled up he would loose it) so I avoid stuff like that, but I find walking over poles and raised poles in trot really help him lift his back and stretch on the lunge.

You can get safety release clips, they're really cheap on amazone, I would probably put some between the bit and whatever you're attaching to it.
 
Mine put her leg over the Pessoa. She is a very stretchy sort and was creating a track with her nose and managed to put her front leg through. She's not the worrying type so just waited for me to untangle her. We don't use it anymore!
 
I sold my Pessoa as I just didn't ever use it. I now lunge in just a bridle, but do pole work at the same time to get his back working and get him thinking. I've noticed a huge difference in his topline since I started doing this, and he is so much more relaxed!
 
I know what you mean - sis' horse decided to have a bit of a strop last time I used his pessoa (napping to other horses) and I thought he was going to catch himself up! I train a dead stop voice command (I just use 'stand') so if it does happen, he'll stand still for me to untangle him. I've not had to use it in earnest with him yet, but it does work for my horse :)

Voice of experience (though nothing to do with lunging) says a sharp knife will sort you out quicker than scissors in an emergency.
 
My girl put her head down to snatch at a fly on her chest and got the rope which was going from the bit to the girth area caught over her lower jaw. Panic was an understatement on her behalf and to be honest I was shocked that nothing gave way on the Pessoa and relieved beyond belief that her jaw was OK as I really thought she was going to break it. I finally managed to stop her wheeling around and we had to cut the rope because of the amount of tension on it.

It was a freak incident but only my third time using it on this pony so could never risk it again, even though I'd is done on my previous horse with no issues.

I will never ever use one again on any horse and refuse to work anyone else's horse that is wearing one. I will only lunge with one or two reins, dependant on the horse and what we're doing.
 
My physio doesn't like gadgets used to lunge. Unfortunately my horse thinks it's great fun to whizz off on the lunge as there are no restrictions!! The last two times I have lunged I have lunged him over poles and he has been great. He has a good walk and a lively canter but his trot is a bit choppy. He really opened his stride tonight over poles so I will definitely do a bit more!
 
I have an equi ami now and have used a pessoa a lot in the past. I personally much prefer the equi ami and as it's a lot simpler, and in terms of straps I feel there is less of a chance of a tangle - and I also think the equi ami would give way in certain areas much easier than a pessoa would. My own horse is not really a bucker and doesn't tend to throw herself around so I don't worry too much with her. She's also calm and listens to voice aids, so I am fairly confidant that in a bad situation she would freeze and wait to be rescued.

I did once use a pessoa on an ish that bronked the rear strap off his bum and then the whole thing went sideways!
 
This happened to me on the road with my mare. She span so quickly and then reared, landed spun. Got completely tangled. I would say I'm fairly competent at long reining but this was terrifying. Interestingly she didn't panic at all, despite being a total nut job she just stood and let me untangle her and gave me her "what" expression


Orangehorse said:
Yes, it is why I asked really. We all know that horses can get in the most almighty tangles when you wouldn't think it at all possible.

Someone told a story of longreining where the horse spun round and round and was completely trussed-up. It was also handy with its back legs, so the trainer stood there and scratched his head wondering how they were both going to get out of the tangle in one piece. It was OK, but sometimes these situations end horribly.
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To be honest unless you put a horse in a padded cell, in my experience they always manage to find something to tangle themselves up in. Some seem particularly prone to do this, more than others.

The trick with any new gadget is to introduce it safely and slowly, and teach them to accept it. If it is too loose, too tight, attached to the wrong piece of tack, or has an inexperienced handler then the risk will be greater. However, even the most experienced handler can have the odd moment.

For what it's worth, I have had several bucking bronco horses over the years who have never managed to get themselves caught up in a pessoa or side reins. The bigger issue has been on the odd occasion when they have broken free and got the lunge line caught round them. However the cavesson or bridle has usually given way and it has been pretty straight forward to sort out.

So without lunging them in a round pen (and I have seen injuries in there too including a horse get stuck and bring the pen wall down) with nothing on you can't remove all risk anyway.
 
One of ours shot off wearing the pessoa, span round and round and was trussed like a chicken. She then stopped, looked at OH as if to say "help" and hasn't been any problem since. I've stopped using it on my boy as it made his legs go nicely and his back not work (trainer's comment when I rode after using it).
 
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