pessoa alternatives

jenbleep

jenbleep

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ok well my instructor and i tried Frankie in a pessoa last week...........we clipped it on on the front end then as we went to bring the back bit around his bum he went mental. When I say mental he nearly jumped out of his stable, started shaking and dipped his bum underneath himself!! I have no idea why he would act like that - his owner said he didn't like much around his bum (except his leg straps for his rug? weird horse) anywhoo i thought he would get used to it - apprently not. I am going to take it slowly and see if I can get a bandage around his bum or something, but for now, what could I use for lunging instead that has the same effect as a pessoa?

Lots of people have said he would benefit from work in one, as he can be quite lazy on the lunge and I would like him to work from behind and stretch his back.

My instructor mentioned a bungie??

Thanks in advance
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I would use a chambon, which will get him to stretch down and out and work over his back. Over the next few weeks work on getting him used to having something round his back end, like a bandage, and eventually you'll be able to work him in the chambon with an elastic bandage or something similar looped around his back end and connected to the rings on the roller so you get the benefits of the chambon in conjunction with the bandage encouraging him to use his back end more. That's what I'm doing with my mare at the moment.
 
sounds good.........I have an old tail bandage that I could use so I'll be giving that a go this weekend
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It doesn't need to be too tight does it? Just so it doesn't fall down round his hocks. Don't think he'll like that
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No, start with it loose to begin with until he gets used to it. It shouldn't be tight anyway, just enough so he can feel a slight pressure I think. If you have an elastic bandage that would be good as it has a bit more give in it so won't feel so restrictive when you do tighten it up a little. But to begin with just get him used to the feel of something around his back end, first standing still and then walking around. Just remember to go slowly and don't push him, and finish on a good note each time even if all you've achieved is getting him to stand still and relaxed in his stable with the bandage on.
 
Most horses find the Pessoa a bit strange to begin with, but it is definately worth persevering with! I work my ex-racehorse in it regularly - so he is used to it -, but he does not really cope with having the 'bum strap' under his tail in the stable, so I sit it on the Poly Pad behind the roller, with all the clips attached to the relevant places, until I get him out to the safety of the school, where he can (and does) react to it as he wishes! Part of the problem with doing it in the stable is that that part of the Pessoa is designed to encourage the horse to work in a forwards way and engage the hind legs (unlike most, if not all, other training aids) - not really possible in the confines of a stable, so creating mild panic! N.B. It might be worth lunging your horse for a short while before putting the Pessoa on, just to get any silly behaviour out of its system first!
You could try and get your horse used to something around that part of its quarters by introducing a second lunge rein, and this would also have a similar training effect to the Pessoa.
Good luck!
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Have you ever heard of an Equi-Ami?
http://www.equiami.com/
My friend is thinking of getting one, it looks similar to a pessoa, but in these pictures it's very hard to see what the difference is.
I think the back bit is independant and just clips on either side of the roller.

I'm a bit annoyed as I have 'invented' something very similar for my horse made out of bits of pessoa!
 
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