Pessoa use

[ycbm]

I've recently been seeing a string of horses which I know have pessoas used on them regularly have hind limb and back lameness problems even though they are very low mileage and not old. Could they be connected, do you think? I'm not keen on how I see them work, myself.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I have never liked them I think they just sock the horses in the gob, would much rather use a bungee and tie a tail bandage round the bum to the girth why does it all have to be connected to the mouth its a much cheaper alternative too.

 

[Cortez]

Pessoa's? Hate them with a passion. I was required to use them at a place I was working many years ago and can't bear to see the horses getting socked in the gob with every stride.

 

[JFTDWS]

Perhaps a student could do a survey on this...

 

[Chinchilla]

Perhaps a student could do a survey on this...

LOL there are seriously tons about right now! They're all over facebook as well!

Pessoa's? Hate them with a passion. I was required to use them at a place I was working many years ago and can't bear to see the horses getting socked in the gob with every stride.

this /\ not sure how it ["socking a horse in the gob with every stride"] creates a horse that wants to work. Horse that wants to work = easy to teach (imo) = fit horse = healthy horse

fancy gadgets don't solve much - unless told by a professional (preferably multiple professionals) it's necessary I don't see the point in resorting to lots of expensive bits of kit.

 

[ycbm]

Pessoa's? Hate them with a passion. I was required to use them at a place I was working many years ago and can't bear to see the horses getting socked in the gob with every stride.

That's what I don't get myself. We want horses to accept a constant contact (be it harder or softer according to your training style). I don't see how varying the contact, including from side to side, as the horse moves its hind legs is any way to encourage a contact. Then there is the way they force a horse to use its hind legs under it, because if it doesn't it will hit itself in the teeth with the bit.

I just wondered if anyone else had seen long term use result in problems. The horses I'm thinking of had been warmed up in one as a routine thing.

 

[ozpoz]

I used to hate and fear them too, but I have recently seen that they can be beneficial. They can be very useful for rehab and recovery from injury to build up core strength but should never be fitted so that the horse is "socked in the gob with every stride" nor should the pace be forced.

 

[ycbm]

I used to hate and fear them too, but I have recently seen that they can be beneficial. They can be very useful for rehab and recovery from injury to build up core strength but should never be fitted so that the horse is "socked in the gob with every stride" nor should the pace be forced.

This isn't a trick question, honestly. How can you be sure that the recovery and core strength would not have happened without the Pessoa? And if you fit them so loose that there is no connection between the bit and the hind quarters, how is it achieving anything?


I was instructed to use one to rehab my horse with kissing spines. When the vets reviewed him they were very pleased with his progress. He'd never had one near him.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was a connection. Very much dislike them because of the attachment of the bit to the back end. Just seems odd. If in need of a gadget I go for a chambon and a tail bandage round the bum but it's such a faff I rarely bother. The chambon and tail bandage was recommended to me for rehab work by a very experienced ACPAT physio and that's good enough for me (by the way she also very much disliked pessoas).

 

[ozpoz]

I went with a recommendation and continued because I was pleased with how it went. Re. the "no connection" - I don't know the answer. A sensitive and cooperative horse will act on a suggestion.

 

[Ceifer]

I’m not a fan either for the reasons others have stated. I had to use one as a groom and it always took me bloomin ages to figure out how to get the ruddy thing on and if somebody else had put it away and folded it up differently I was stuffed.

 

[HashRouge]

This isn't a trick question, honestly. How can you be sure that the recovery and core strength would not have happened without the Pessoa? And if you fit them so loose that there is no connection between the bit and the hind quarters, how is it achieving anything?

I used to work for a show jumper who used a loosely fitted pessoa for lunging. The horses were never socked in the mouth by it, but you could see them stretching down and out when they wore it and engaging their hind legs. I wondered, though not sure, if it is the vibrations along the reins that cause the horse to stretch down? Whether this is the case or not, I do agree with ozpoz that a loosely fitted pessoa does seem to encourage the horse to stretch over the back.

However, having seen them fitted so loosely and prove so effective, I am often astonished by how tightly people fit them! I do think they are a gadget that is easily misused. In this sense I'm sure that it could cause muscular pain in the back. Not sure about hind limb damage, but then that might be the result of too much lunging on small circles?

 

[Tiddlypom]

I've never used a Pessoa. However, I recently went to a lecture/demo on lungeing and long lining given by a high powered equine physio. The use of the Pessoa was demonstrated on one horse, and tbh when fitted correctly, as it was on the night, it wasn't as bad as I'd been led to believe after reading HHO's opinions on it . I can well imagine, though, that if fitted incorrectly it could cause harm.

However, the same horse was next lunged in an equiami, an aid which she'd never worn before. The improvement in her way of going was astonishing. She was much softer, moving through her body with lift and power, and looked twice the horse.

 

[prodigal2]

My experience of the trainers using these are for a quick fix to achieve a particular outline. Now whether the pessoa is at fault solely or trainers trying to cram 3 years of basic training into 10 months maybe the question to be asked why so many good horses at certain yards are more prone to injury, and before they hit their teens are broken.
As you may gather I am not a fan, and how i have seen them used along with side reins under saddle ends up developing differing muscle groups,musculature/ligament tension in the neck and hind due to horses pushing on the equipment as opposed to dropping the head which enables the hind end to come in a bit so a horse is less on the fore and more importantly find that lifting the back makes it all so much easier to move, which is a solid foundation for a balanced horse.

 

[ycbm]

Not sure about hind limb damage, but then that might be the result of too much lunging on small circles?

Very good point!

I've been watching some videos and it looks to me as if the horses are stretching down and out to try to find the spot where the reins calm their incessant vibration on the bit.