Pessoa help

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Kelly1982

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I have just invested in a pessoa and i am having a bit of trouble with it and not sure if it is working correctly or my horse is just very good at evading.

Basically i am using it on the lowest setting and when she is walking round in it she is in a nice outline and working well but as soon as you ask her for anything else her head goes up and the pessoa doesn't seem to actually do anything!!! I know that it is designed for them to have their head but then it makes their back end work more so therefore encourages them to come down but this doesn't seem to bother her and she quite happily trots round looking at the sky!! I have even tightened it and upped it by one setting and neither makes a blind bit of difference.

Am i doing something wrong?? I fitted it exactly how the instructions told me and i showed my friend how to use it too and her horses work perfectly in it (although they are older than mine).

So is it ok for her to go round star gazing as its still working or is there something else i can try.

I am worried she is going to start building muscle under her neck if this keeps on.
 
It takes them a while to get used to them. When Bloss first went in hers she'd walk around fine in at, then as soon as id ask her to trot she'd stick her head in the air and look like a giraffe!!

It took her around 2months of using it once a week to get her to work properly in it. Just take it slowly with her, as remember they are hard work and you should only start off with 10mins of walking at a time in them then gradually build it up.
 
hi Kelly

I swear by my pessoa ive been using one for years i think they make such a difference to a horses outline. The problem you are having is quite common most horses are very comfortable working on the pessoa in a walk however at a faster pace some do try to fight against the pressure and the pessoa is designed to allow them to do this because the point of the pessoa is to encourage the horse into an outline not force him. I am using mine on an older mare at the moment who due to back problems in the past hasnt worked in an outline in a long time. she reacts the same as your horse- she goes really well at a walk however at a trot she resists the pessoa by trying to put her head up in the air. The best thing to do is to persist and keep her moving forward at an active trot - she eventually realises that fighting it is pointless and its more comfortable to move in a correct outline.
Tighten it if you must however make sure its not too tight ie. putting pressure on the the horses mouth unnescessarily however it is vital that you keep it at the lowest setting because the higher settings are for more advanced outlines ie. a higher head carraige which is necessary for a dressage horse. these higher settings are only suitable for a horse that is working correctly and comfortably at the lower settings. I honestly think you should persist with it out of all the training aids on the market it really is the best my instructor (a top irish showjumper) swears by it aswell because like i said it encourages the horses into an outline as opposed to forcing them and really makes them active behind.
 
Hi PG

Yeah thats exactly what she does, sometimes she is better than others but most of the time she has her head in the air.

I have only had it about a month so i will give it a bit longer, i am just worried incase she starts building muscle in the wrong places
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Thanks elliefiz, sounds like i just need to perserver (sp) with it then. She is only young so not expecting no miracles but like i said before i am worried she is going to start building muscle in the wrong places.

She was the worst ever last night, she was spooking, galloping off, motor biking round the lot!!! And she is not a horse to give into a fight easily.
 
I love my pesso, only had it since about SEp and it made such a differnece to that horse. He to tried evading it, from messing with his head to then backing off and becoming very lazy, keep going with it they soon work it out quickly. Ive now got a 5 year old in mine on lowest setting and hes adapted to it very quickly desoite only being in it a few times
 
Try using the setting between her legs (so it goes from the sheepskin bit behind her hind legs to her bit then from the bit down between her legs and clipped onto clip on roller) so it encourages her to bring her head lower and will make it more difficult for her to stick her head up. This should make it virtually impossible for her to stick her head up - if she still manages to then it's probably too loose. Once she has got the hang of it and realises that she has to stay rounder then you can change to the setting you were using before and she may not realise! Gd luck - pessoa's are wonderful things!
 
I use the attachment for draw reins on the girth of the roller as a clip for the pessoa. I also find the lowest setting between the legs more productive than the next one up.
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Think i will have to investigate this as i didn't realise it had attachments underneath as there was no ring there.

Sounds like it could be a good idea until she gets the hang of it.
 
Between the legs is the lowest setting.
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Its the starting position. My boy has quite a high head carriage, and find this setting difficult, so has it on the next higher one for warm up, then drop it for most of work, then cool off again on his "easier" setting. It really does depend on the horse!
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kelly if your roller girth has no ring underneath it loop abit of twine around the girth at the middle point as a temporary measure because putting the pessoa between the legs is the best setting for a horse to start off with. thats the way im lunging my mare at the moment. As you said you will have to persevere with it but i would do it a minimum of two or three times a week at the beginning because doing it once a week isnt enough to retrain and strenghten the new muscles she will be using. Do it for about 15 mins on each rein and trot is the best pace to be working at because it uses all the major muscle groups. My mare is warmed up in hers four times a week before i start riding her. Of course it is different for each horse but i think its a good way of getting the horse concentrating before i start to do any schooling work.
 
Thats not what the instructions said
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The lowest setting is either side of her by her belly so i just used that one. It didn't say nothing about going between the legs.

Senza is like G though and has a naturally high head carriage so getting her to work lower is quite difficult but still gonna try and put it between her legs and see if that makes a difference.
 
Thanks elliefiz, i will try that if i dont have an attachment. I have been lunging her once/twice a week for about 20mins (weather permitting). I started off at 10mins and have built it up and will probably just keep it at that now. We also was just doing walk and trot with lots of transisitions and have just introduced short bursts of canter although i try to keep that to a minimum as i dont feel she is balanced enough yet to cope with any longer.

Thanks for your help
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my boy would not settle in a pessoa however my other boy went lovely in it and it really helped to bring his canter back and more uphill. my current boy just carries on going round with his head in the air ... everything checked, i.e. teeth, tack, back and no probs at all. He is just highly strung and thinks it's a free for all on the lunge as no-one has any "real" control of him! He's 20 now so I cannot be bothered to teach him to slow down on the lunge so we sold the pessoa and avoid lunging ...
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Perhaps try a chambon instead as it has a bit less give? Problem with the pessoa is that if they lift their head high enough, they can still avoid it's action the same as they do if they hold their head long and low ... there is the same amount of resistence I think. Or try long reining?
 
[ QUOTE ]
kelly if your roller girth has no ring underneath it loop abit of twine around the girth at the middle point as a temporary measure because putting the pessoa between the legs is the best setting for a horse to start off with. thats the way im lunging my mare at the moment. As you said you will have to persevere with it but i would do it a minimum of two or three times a week at the beginning because doing it once a week isnt enough to retrain and strenghten the new muscles she will be using. Do it for about 15 mins on each rein and trot is the best pace to be working at because it uses all the major muscle groups. My mare is warmed up in hers four times a week before i start riding her. Of course it is different for each horse but i think its a good way of getting the horse concentrating before i start to do any schooling work.

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I do the same with my mare, in actual fact i dont like to get on her without putting her on the pessoa first, as she can be very nappy, so it really encourages her to go forward and listen to me. Also find that she works in a lovely outline when i get on her, which makes my schooling session easier for me!! This then follows through to when i am at a show at the weekend, so think it is valuable for her training and development.

I work only on the low setting, but although this works well for walk and trot, dont think its ideal for canter. will be experimenting with the different settings when i do more canter work with her. I also sometimes have to have the outside rope tighter as she can occasionally fall in.

All in all,, couldnt live without it!!
 
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