Amateur Dilemma

By, Meredith Rogers

Equestrians have a lot of stuff. We have the basics that we need to ride: saddle, girth, bridle, bit, and saddle pad. If you’re like me, you have more bits that you can count. I have a halter on my horse, and I also have a back-up halter, a show halter, and extra halter pieces just in case. He has a whole wardrobe for when it rains, it gets cold, or it gets colder. I have a whole wardrobe that changes with the weather too. And let’s not get started on all the shampoos, lotions, liniments, and sprays! There are also some pieces of equipment we use to fix a specific problem, such as draw reins and running martingales. As I’m sure you know, I could go on and on.

This past year, my barnmate and I have been experimenting with equipment specifically designed to fix our position. This is an ongoing struggle because when you’ve been riding crooked, you don’t know you’re crooked because it feels straight. That’s why mirrors or, better yet, someone on the ground is so important. However, humans, by definition, find it difficult to change, and older humans find it even harder. That’s why we turned to what some may call gadgets to help us. It started with the Shoulders Back (https://equifit.net/products/shouldersback-original), which counteracted the many hours of sitting in front of a computer. Next, we purchased Equiformance Bands (https://equiformancebands.com/), which I learned about when Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel put them on me in the clinic I attended. They instantly had an effect – lengthening my leg and getting more weight in my stirrups. Recently, we tried the Position Reminder (https://ridecorrectconnect.com/) that really helped us keep our elbows at our side and our hands in the correct position. The latest tool we’ve purchased is the Unisit Strap System (https://www.unisitstrap.com/). OMG! This thing totally changed my riding. It fixed all my problems from gripping with my upper thigh to putting more weight in my stirrups, to solidifying my neutral spine. My horse instantly went better. But, as with all these other devices, there are huge caveats…there are pros and cons to each, you still need to put in the effort, and they are not designed to be used forever. All of them are to be used to teach you what “correct” feels like, so that you can reproduce it when you remove the equipment. We not only use them when we’re on our own but also when we ride in lessons, sometimes using multiple devices at a time, to augment the person on the ground.

Feel is the hardest thing to learn and these tools help with that. Riding correctly is so hard, especially when our muscle memory is just plain wrong. I don’t see using this equipment as cheating. I see them as just what they are, tools. Getting a nail into a piece of wood is much harder without a hammer. Because these devices get pricey, my barnmate and I have split the costs and share everything. It is also helpful that at the end of the day we can commiserate how achy we are after using these things because they force us to break old habits, which our bodies fight against.

This is not an endorsement of these specific products. I just wanted to share what is working for me and maybe remove some of the stigma of using “gadgets”. If you’re struggling with some aspect of your riding, I’m sure there’s a product for that. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Don’t be embarrassed to need the help. We all need help in one form or another, and I’m the first to admit that I need a lot of help!

Down But Not Out

Ingrid Klimke, known for dressage greatness, is also an accomplished eventer. On June 17, she fell during the cross-country phase of the CCI 4* in Luhmühlen and broke her collar bone. She has since had surgery and is back in the saddle. She was to compete at CDIO Aachen June 28-July 2 aboard the Hanoverian stallion Franziskus, but has stated that the horse “is not fit to compete,” having taken a wonky step after a schooling session.

Be Careful Out There

As of press time, 2 horses have tested positive for Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) in Virginia. They had been stabled at the Virginia Horse Center for the Shenandoah Classic. As soon as each horse became symptomatic it was removed from the grounds. Although one horse is medically stable, the other one had to be euthanized. About 80 other horses had to go into quarantine and so far are okay. The horse show continued, with unexposed horses having their temperatures and general health monitored. Infected horses have also been seen elsewhere in the country this season, including California, Maine, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as Alberta and Quebec in Canada. A good place for updates is the Equine Disease Communication Center: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/alerts.