pessoa or long lining/ double lunge?

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UKa

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Hello, I am doing regular groundwork with my mare who has had back problems and to encourage correct muscle development with working without rider weight. Have been toying with getting a pessoa lungeing aid for a long time but have in the past stuck to using long reining or using the long reins as a double lunge to work her (hates side reins anyway and I feel that with the second line that goes around her bum it is sort of doing the trick as the pessoa would do?). Do you think this has the same effect or which do you think is better? Cost has prevented me from getting pessoa but if I can use it regularly and people think it is worth it I may still get one... thanks!
 
we use the equiami lungeing aid in preference to the pessoa as it is so much easier to use and they cant lean on it so they work lighter. you dont have to fiddle with it to change rein either. we got ours from your horse live a couple of years ago but they have a website. we dont like side reins either as theyre too fixed
 
Im not sure of your level of experience so please excuse me if I sound patronising, its not meant.

Unless you are absolutely sure of the biomechanics of your horse and have an eye for the absolutely correct shape the horse needs to be in using a pessoa I would save your money and long rein.

Ive seen any number of them fitted incorrectly and if you are trying to address a physical problem then you do need to get it absolutely right or things could get worse.

If you are happy to go ahead with one then they can be a very useful bit of kit.

You can buy less expensive pessoas by the way - I bought one from www.Divoza.com and it came in at just under £30.
 
If the long reining is working stick with it, personally I feel it is better than a pessoa as you can control the outside of the horse with the rein. I get far better results from long reining than with the pessoa and it is also what my sports physio highly recommends for horses with sore backs. Obviously this is just my opinion but I do have a pessoa somewhere in the tack room!
 
... not at all patronising it is useful to hear this. My physio is not keen on lungeing and prefers long reining but I just wonder if I get it right like that all the time.

Thanks also for the link which sounds good.
 
you can buy cheap pessoas i think they are fab
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i have a pessoa, probably used it 10 times in 5 years. i long rein now instead.

i am looking at the equiami also now as i like the thinking behind it. they are not far away so may have a demo first.
 
I always long rein, I can alter the horses way of going as we go along easily, ie at different stages of warm up and cool down etc. don't have a pessoa to compare with though
 
My instructor has got me using a de gogue for lunging and I have to say that I much prefer it to the pessoa because it put no pressure at all on her if she goes correctly.
 
I personally think that most of these training aids are a waste of money, a waste of time and cause some horses who should not be ridden/lunged in them a great deal of pain. They can be used by inexperienced people and tbh on the occassion that I have used two reins for lunging to encourage the horse to use his back end more I have made the sessions very short (I never lunge for more than 20 mins or 30 mins if jumps are included in the sesssion) and never lunge on a small circle. A lot of people I know are Pessoa mad but I wouldn't want to lunge my horse in one. I remember in the early 90's when the 3 ringed gag snaffle suddenly gained popularity and literally over night most of the horses on our yard where sporting new bits because the 'popular livery' chose to ride her horse in one. I've seen the same thing happen with De Gogues, Chambons, Saddlecloths, bridles and horse rugs.
 
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