This applies to my early days as a competition rider….
The use of restrictive training aids
It’s not because I don’t believe in riding horses or competing …
I was lucky enough to travel all over Europe competing up to PSG and was also a flat jockey for many years, memories and experiences that I will treasure forever.
However, now that I have better education in equine anatomy and bio mechanics
Focusing on form equals function
Understanding the concept of movement and both breed and horse individuality
It is sad to say, but I see more and more horses and riders working in dysfunction
Is this why we have so many lame cases today?
Or is it also because our veterinary diagnostic imaging has also improved? (Although can quite confidently say needs to keep improving to understand conditions above the carpus!)
I see many horses on the verge of injury
It’s the biggest reason I have developed and feel so passionately about checking in with yourself and your horse before you ask them a question, never mind ride them
It’s the driving force behind stable based exercise exercises before riding
Restrictive training aids, albeit are only one piece of the puzzle and can cause more damage to your horse in more ways than one !
Before you pick up a training aid ask yourself these questions:
Why am I using this training aid?
What am I trying to achieve with this training aid?
Is this training aid restricting and potentially causing my horse mechanical weakness?
Am I honest with myself, do I have the skill level to properly understand this training aid?
Remember that everything is connected
Less is more
Focus on building foundations- in my experience training aids cause more harm than they do good.
Thank you for reading
And let’s remember to keep asking questions
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