Pessoa alternatives - are they any good?

[Tash88]

On the recommendation of his previous owner (who is my YO) I would like to get a pessoa for my new horse, he carries himself in a very balanced way quite naturally but he can be lazy behind, apparently he stops this after a few sessions in the pessoa. I lunge him once a week, sometimes twice, he is five so still learning.

I've recently spent quite a lot of money on various things that he needed so wanted to save a bit now, and obviously the pessoa is about £100. I've seen lots of alternative 'training systems' online, the John Whittaker one looked basically identical, but are they as effective as a real pessoa?

Any other lunging tips to improve his way of going behind will also be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tash

 

[rhino]

I got a 'mock' pessoa from ebay, looks identical to the real thing and is good quality. Only problem I had is that the 'full' size wasn't big enough... for my 15.3hh! I have used it on a few smaller horses/ponies and it's fine, but annoyed that it didn't fit my own horse.

 

[sharky]

we use an EquiAmi on our horses and works really well, very easy to fit and adjust to get them working well.

My 17.1 can be a bit lazy behind but he really works under with the equiami on him

 

[Tash88]

Thanks Rhino... I'll have to watch out re: sizing then as my horse is 16hh, although he has got quite a short back. I'm pleased that they're good quality though, that was something I was concerned about.

Tash

 

[Tash88]

Will look up the EquiAmi Sharky, I have heard of them.... Thanks

 

[Perfect-Piaffe]

I brought mine from Decathalon £40 bargain and love it Almost identical to the pessoa, ive had it ages and still going strong! I do love a bargain!

 

[HashRouge]

I got a mock pessoa from £30 off ebay. It works really well, my horse's way of going has really improved, and it's set up exactly the same as the real thing. Very good value for money!
The only thing is, when ordering I would check that the ropes will be long enough for you. I use mine pretty loose and it's the perfect size for my 14.2hh arab, but on something bigger I think I'd need slightly longer ropes.

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

The John Whittaker, Oliver Townsend, Mark Todd, Pessoa and other such training systems all work on the same basis. Save your pennies and buy the JW- It's very cheap and COMES WITH THE ROLLER!

 

[Mlini]

I have the John Whitaker version. It worked out cheaper as a roller is included Was £72 from my local tack shop.
It is great quality and fits my horse well - he 17hh. I would recommend it.

 

[Tash88]

Either the JW one or the EquiAmi are on top at the moment - I have a roller already but was thinking of getting another one as it's starting to look a bit tatty... thanks for all the helpful replies!

 

[treacle_beastie]

Ive got a topline activator from.eBay and it does the same job

 

[Belperdeb]

got mine off ebay too for £30. Its worked wonders on her balance etc. She is 16 2 Tb and fits really well with plenty of adjustment

 

[witchstick]

I thought one from ride away, think it was about £50 all together, it's great and the ropes feel so much thicker than the passoa one.

 

[Fly_By_Wire]

I can't speak for other horses, but I never really liked the pessoa on my boy, he had a tendency to lean on the bit and shuffle rather than really working. He can be a bit lazy behind and has a tendency to fall on to his forehand, but I found that long reigning really helped him, and I hardly had to do anything to get him moving forward into the contact. He took to it really quickly, so might be worth a try for your horse? (a lot cheaper than a pessoa as well!!)

Also by long reigning I mean two lines from the bit, threaded through a roller, and then used to lunge the horse with two lines instead of one