pessoa training aid... opinions please?

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guccigivi2001

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vet has recommended i use a pessoa to help my horse to stretch and use her back end, as has riding instructor. we are currently getting over side rein tantrums as she is the kind to fight against anything and everything until she realises its not going away till i wan it too:rolleyes: was just wondering anyone had any good/bad experience with them? would anyone recomend them to a horse thats learning to use her back end properly and stretch down etc?
 
they are brilliant BUT MUST be used carefully. they must never be too tight to force a horse into an outline. also if your horse fights the side reins you will need to be very careful as if they fight in the pessoa they can have a tendancy to rear and as they panic and throw their head up therefore pulling hind end underneath so could cause the horse to rear over backwards. this isn't common but it did happen to my mare. we later found out she had kissing spine so that was the reason, not the pessoa but it did unbalance her when she reared.
so yes use it they really work but please be careful.
 
the instructions aren't great/clear so if you can get someone to show you thats much better. I use mine whenever I lunge but still keep on between novice and intermediate. Just be careful when you put the lines (the ones with the sheepskin on - can;'t think of a better explanation that that) down behind your horses tail - some really take great exception to it and kick out. It works really well on my lazy boy as he likes to lean!
 
Hi,
My physio tells me you can achieve the same effect as a pessoa by lungeing with two lunge lines i.e. long lining but with you in the middle of the circle not behind the horse. Apparently the line that runs behind the horses legs encourages them to use their back side. Once you get the hang of it you can do lots of changes of rein and apparently this really helps to keep them flexible.
 
Can't recommend it enough, as long as used properly. I only ever use mine on the novice settings, it's all the girl needs, but has helped so much in helping her develop muscle.

Also agree with the long lining, have to say much prefer to do this rather than lunge as you can incorporate so much more into a session, changing of reins, figure 8s, serpentines etc rather than staying on a circle.
 
Agreed, great piece of equiptment when used correctly!!
have been using it for a year now and have never seen my mare so well muscled and developed over her back and hind quarters in the four years i've had her.
i went by the guidelines on the john whitaker version and it worked really well.
 
ok going against the grain i didn't like it much but it could just be the horse i used it on had better luck with two lines another option if your horse hates sidereins is to put on draw reins and hook them behind the stirrups the horse doesn't feel as hemmed in as with sidereins. just my opinion on the pessoa but its like anything on some horses fine others no. Definately get someone to show you how to put it on. :p
 
ahhh beautiful (: cheers guys, the two lines things sounds great aswell, will probably give that ago until i can scrape the money together for a pessoa... she might like it more cuz i can do excersises etc with it and she has the tiniest attention span:rolleyes:xx
 
theshowjumper_20 said:
Agreed, great piece of equiptment when used correctly!!
have been using it for a year now and have never seen my mare so well muscled and developed over her back and hind quarters in the four years i've had her.
i went by the guidelines on the john whitaker version and it worked really well.
Click to expand...

I too have the John Whitaker Training Aid and it has made a huge difference to all the horses i have used it with. You do need to be experienced in lungeing and I personally would get your horse better trained on the lunge using long side reins before I would introduce her to Pessoa. Not every horse accepts pulley round their bottom straight away!
Probably better to have some lessons and introduce Pessoa to your horse with your instructor. Well worth the effort though!
 
Careful, I heard about a horse that bolted when something went round its bottom. It had been carefully introduced too, but the next time it just took off and galloped round and round with the owner sitting on the ground wondering how to stop it and realising that it wouldn't stop until the rope was removed. In the end the horse fell over and the owner was able to get over to it and grab hold of the bridle before it went again.
 
well the plan is to get instructor to help me... especially as i dont do to well with instructions and she has one for her horses so shes the pro as far as im concerned :p horse has improved a lot lately whilst lunging, she is usually nicer to ride aswell if lunged a few times a week for 20 mins or so with side reins on for 5 mins in walk and a touch trot however it increases each time as she is definitley getting better... hopefully will just just be a matter of learning too do things on my terms and learning to get used to other things
xx
 
well following a couple of very succesful lunging sessions ( we lunge before/after we hack or school ) i today went and bought a john whitaker training aid from mole valley as they are pretty much the same thing (: and the best bit is it was £55 including VAT instead of the £90 ish that my local tack shop sells pessoas for... we had a 5 min walk on each rein followed by a trot and once she had grasped the fact the ropes relaxed when she stopped poking her head around in the air, she was fantastic, especially as is usually funny about things around her bum but this didnt bother her at all! only time will tell though :D
 
hi yes get one they are great, i have an american quarter horse who have to ride long and low would'nt use anythink else to lunge her in.:)
 
Haven't read all replies so apologies if already suggested. You can do something similar for a couple of pounds without affecting the Horses mouth. Basically, you tie 2 fleece bandages together to make one big long one. You put the middle at the centre of the Horses chest, bring the ends round and cross them over the Horses back and then tie round behind the back legs. Basically the back bit does the same a pessoa but it doesn't affect the Horses mouth. It's called a figure of eight banadage and I read about it in a very old book about Horses backs. Good thing to do to get them used to the feel of a pessoa without the danger of them rearing in panic.
I've used Pessoa's before and they are excellent but you do need to be careful. You can buy copies on ebay for a lot cheaper they are just as good as the 'real deal'. Get one made from rope rather than webbing. You could probably make one in fact for about a tenner. It's basically a piece of marine braid rope, 2 pulleys, a couple of trigger clips and a girth sleeve!! You do need a roller with lots of D rings as well.
 
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