Pessoa Training Aid

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mickey

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I have owned one of these for quite some time. I use it sometimes when lunging my horse. However, I am not having much success with it. When I try threading the side ropes through a surcingle/roller on horses side, then attach first clip to bit rings, then attach second clip to bottom of surcingle (between horses front legs) I get: a horse that moves forward and has head 'tucked in' but appears to be tight through the back and taking short strides.

Today another livery showed me another way of using it: By running side rope up to top of roller (on top of horses back) then to bit rings and then back on side of roller. This was disastrous! First my horse did not really want to go forward, very tense with head up in air. Then when I shortened the side reins to try to get head down (really not the way I want to be training him!) and got behind him with the lunge whip to get him moving forward he just got tense, choppy and increasingly fast. He really was not happy.

My question is - does anyone else use a pessoa? Do you have much joy with it? How do you attach it? What do you see as the main benefits of using it?
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I just wonder if without the horse moving off the leg you really are 'going backwards' by 'tucking' the front end in. I want him moving from behind into a relaxed outline. I had more joy with this when I took the silly thing off. I doubt I will use it again.
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I use one and have had some great results.

BUT it took a while for my horse to understand how to work in it. Funnily enough, today was day one back in the pessoa after 9 weeks without it (I broke my leg) and we have taken a bit of a step back resistance wise.

Previously, once he got the hang of it we were well away. For example it took a while for my boy to realise working over his back with his head low (on between legs setting) was easier than choppyness.

I also find you need it on quite a loose setting to enable the horse to stride out properly.
 
Yes the way you are using it is the way I was using it first. Your horse lloks very different to mine, much happier and working forward.
Maybe I need to lengthen the ropes a bit, but I already have them as long as they will go.
 
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Yes the way you are using it is the way I was using it first. Your horse lloks very different to mine, much happier and working forward.
Maybe I need to lengthen the ropes a bit, but I already have them as long as they will go.

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Have you had your horses back checked recently?
 
LZT thanks for this - I am OK to perservere if my horse will relax into it. I do find that when he gets tired he starts to lower his head. I just don't want to force him to go around in something he is not happy with as I see the tension through the back as counter productive. Esp as he has had sacro illiac strain in the past (not related to pessoa I was not using it then).
 
Hi LZT he has a spavin and has had sacro illiac problems related to that - but that was some yrs ago. He has physio several times a yr, physio saw him in March and thought his back was better than ever.
 
Then I would persevere TBH. Like I say, I have had great results with only short regular sessions. Really helped my boy work better ridden.

I'm sure you probably do already but loads of stretches will really help too.
 
My friends horse simply looks awful in a pessoa , its at its longest setting and is still too short for him and he "tucks" up into it, doesnt work very wel with it at all. I use sidereins from the girth, in between his front legs to the bit rings, and on another friends pony I use the aerborn balancing sidereins. I think there are some horses who just do not suit the pessoa!
 
Thanks. He is fine and free under saddle and competing prelim dressage with great success so I think maybe it is a case of this setup feeling unnatural to him and maybe it is something that we will need to work through. Having seen the photos above though I do wonder if I could do with some longer ropes. It's just against my instincts to push too much if I can see his back is getting tense.
 
Re the side reins from up under the girth, its a big moving horse who is a bit of a slow maturing baby giant! The pessoa doesnt help him at all, but with these( loose!) reins it helps him, due to his size and ignorant riding he has horrible muscling under his neck and a few sessions a week is helping his shape.
I do feel side3 reins have their place, I dont like the pessoa on a horse with exuberent hindquarters as they saw themselves in the mouth!
 
I use mine like this which is how the physio instructed us to do it, it's not in the instruction leaflet, which is crap. She's just brought out a video on how to use it properly her name is Gail Williams.
 
It sounds to me like you may have it too tight, i think that you need to put up with the head being down straight away, it is supposed to encourage the horse to work round and through from behind in a subtle way, not by being tight and forcing!

Good luck!
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I use one sometimes but I don't go between the legs to the girth ,I come back to the ring or a ring slightly high,they both are soft to the contact anyway and I start quite loose which I can do as there is no chance of them getting a leg over them which can happen if they go between the legs and the do a buck.
 
My horse started with hers very loose (both ends) and was working upside down for ages as I gradually tightened it, first behind and then in front, then behind a little more etc. She now has it about right and because I tightened it behind first she is working forward and down and beginning to stretch into the contact in front, while working properly behind. The whole point of the Pessoa is that is is the only (I think?? Don't quote me on that!) training aid that encourages the use of the hindlegs, whereas most other aids just tie the head down.
Sounds to me like you have it too tight in front and too loose behind maybe? Hard to tell though without a pic as they will all react differently to it! There are definately some that don't suit the Pessoa though.
 
maybe try a bungee, as it is similar in that because its elastic, it doesnt block the mouth and uses a bit of poll pressure to encourage the stretching. I also find that because you arent blocking the front end, the hind end can work through well.
 
Thanks for all your comments. My gut feeling having read all these is that I need to get the ropes on the longish side (esp at the front) and work through. Maybe he will settle into it if he does not feel too restricted.
Re: the bungee: My only concern with this is that it would be restraining the front end without encouraging the back end to work into a contact. I guess that is where I come in with my lunge whip behind my horse???
 
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