Is the equi ami worth the money?

[CobsGalore]

Have been thinking about getting an equi ami, but looking at the pictures there doesn't seem like there's much too it, even less than the Pessoa!

For those who have them, are they really worth the 65 quid?

Are they well made? Have they helped your horses way of going?

 

[Goldenstar]

Well made mmm ok but not brilliant.
Much , much better than a Pessoa does not block the horse or encourage leaning like the Pessoa can.
However depending on what you want to achieve with the horse I might try tieing a tail bandage from a lunging roller round the bum and use a bungee rein, much cheaper .
My physio recommended the equiami for a horse I had a little issue with , it worked well and did the job . We used it with various pole exercises .

 

[Capriole]

I have one, it's ok made, no worse than anything else I've used.

I must say, I use and have used various makes of this type of lungeing aid on other peoples horses and I prefer the equi-ami in it's action. That's why I chose the equi-ami when I came to buy something for myself.

 

[CobsGalore]

Thank you. I have been using a bungee recently, but he has a tendency to go on the forehand. I was hoping the equi ami would help encourage him to use his back end a bit more. Perhaps a tail bandage would do the job - certainly cheaper!

Would you be putting the bungee by the elbows or between the legs to mimic the action of the equiami?

 

[starryeyed]

I have an equi-ami and have been so impressed with it, haven't looked back! It really does help to encourage the correct movement rather than forcing it and as the horse has to work on a loop system, it means that it cannot lean on any part of the training aid like other designs. It really helped my mare to move correctly and worked wonders for her topline, she became incredibly muscley in all the right areas after using the equi-ami for a while and it really helped her with ridden work. She seems to enjoy working in it too which is a bonus! Well worth the money for me, it's brilliant. x

 

[CobsGalore]

Thanks starryeyed, that sounds very positive. Did your horse 'take to it' straight away, and how long before you noticed a difference both in terms of muscle and ridden work?

Also, is it easy to put on? I find myself faffing around with the Pessoa and worrying the lines are different lengths!

 

[Capriole]

Thats one of it's best points! It's a closed loop, so there's no faffing about getting the different sides right, you adjust it on one side and it equalises itself.

 

[Goldenstar]

Thank you. I have been using a bungee recently, but he has a tendency to go on the forehand. I was hoping the equi ami would help encourage him to use his back end a bit more. Perhaps a tail bandage would do the job - certainly cheaper!

Would you be putting the bungee by the elbows or between the legs to mimic the action of the equiami?

It won't mimic the equiami which has a very specific action .
I would try the bungee both ways and see what works best.
I would use poles as well if the horse tends to go on the forehand .
You might get just as good result with the tail bandage / bungee combo .

 

[CobsGalore]

Thanks everyone, will keep going with the bungee, and also add poles and tail bandage. May put the equi ami on my Xmas list...!

 

[mudmonkey17]

I borrowed a friends equi ami and horse hated it so would say works for some and maybe not for others. I use the bungee and bandage too much cheaper x

 

[CobsGalore]

I borrowed a friends equi ami and horse hated it so would say works for some and maybe not for others. I use the bungee and bandage too much cheaper x

Hmm interesting. In what way did your horse hate it?

Have you had good results with bungee and bandage?

 

[starryeyed]

Thanks starryeyed, that sounds very positive. Did your horse 'take to it' straight away, and how long before you noticed a difference both in terms of muscle and ridden work?

Also, is it easy to put on? I find myself faffing around with the Pessoa and worrying the lines are different lengths!

Surprisingly she did! I was expecting it to be a big issue as she's a sensitive beast and tends to really over-react if she's not comfortable with something, and I was initially really concerned about putting ropes around her as I thought she may panic - but oddly she was fine with the ropes down her sides etc and went happily in it straight away, which was a pleasant surprise - though it is possible that she was lunged in something similar in her last home.
It's hard to say how long it was until I noticed an improvement as I first started using it well over a year ago, but I think her muscles started to "stand out" to me a bit more after a couple of months of regular use. She'd always been tricky to ride (think highly strung giraffe!) but seemed to begin to drop her head and be more willing to consider long and low after using the equiami for a while - could be coincidence but I'm sure it did help her understand.

And yes - very easy to put on! I will admit to being completely confused the first time I put it on, I had the laptop with me and watched the instruction video as I was attempting to fit it to her as she bounced around the yard - took forever the first time! But once it's all fitted correctly it's so simple, it's only two lengths of rope which are colour coded, and once you know where each bit goes it's very simple and can be completely put on in about 30 seconds. And as Capriole says, very easy to adjust too as it has sliders on - you only need to adjust one slider to change the fit of the whole loop. x

 

[Joandripple]

I have one and my boy works really well in it. As previously said there is very little fading about as it is self balancing and you only have to adjust one side and all is equal. It stands up to much silliness from my boy too, when we first get into the school and it is only on the warm up setting.