29/03/2021
The latest must have item.
Before I go into my latest grumpy old man rant I think I should explain a little of my history. I have worked professionally in the equine industry for 30 year in various roles, as a groom, stable manager, rider and coach. As a younger person my employers would instill in me results would come from hard work, sticking to a proven system and being consistent, something I still believe in today.
In recent years there have been some fantastic improvements made to the equipment we use on our horses and I'm all in favour of anything that can improve the comfort, welfare and performance ( blatantly stolen from my wife's website, she's an equine physio and bitting consultant) of any horse. Today the tack options for our horses are endless. When I started competing, apart from a few nosebands you could pick from, when you were asked what sort of bridle you wanted the options were simple, black or brown.
Equestrianism seems to have gone high tech. Just like we need the latest iPhone because apparently the last one was useless and you really need the new one. Now we're being persuaded that items of tack that we've used for years are no longer up to scratch and that newer items are going to be performance boosting.
We are being bombarded with new innovations constantly. Girths, breastplates, stirrups, saddles, bridles, numnahs, boots, shoes, bits, nosebands, additives, all claiming to improve your performance.
Take something as simple as a stirrup iron. I ride at home in a bog standard iron with rubber tread. When I ride other people's horses I have composite stirrups, plastic ones, aluminium. They have treads angled front to back, left to right, rotating attachments, gel treads, springy treads. Most are endorsed by top riders that they'll help you ride more like them. When in them do I ride more like the Olympian that endorses them? Not really. Am I more comfortable? Not really. If the endorsing rider were to ride in my bog standard stirrups would s/he turn into a gibbering wreck in the collecting ring or panic in front of every fence. Probably not.
There are so many opinions and it's all so confusing.
I see bits that use poll pressure fitted with poll relief bridles. Spurs on horses that are too fast. We have lovely flat seated xc saddles that allow rider movement and then you can get sticky breeches and resin to make you stick to the saddle. If you have ever gone down a substantial drop fence in sticky breeches you'll know something has to give. If the breeches stick you'll end up with a wedgy from hell. If you see a male rider doing it those are not tears of joy running down his face.
So having bought the latest bit of kit which is three times the price of regular kit will it make a difference? In a very unscientific way ( let's face it, horses aren't the easiest thing to do a scientific study on) I would imagine that if 10 horses/riders used some new kit maybe one or two would notice a real difference, the others, very little if any. In the surreal world of social media with those same ten riders 2 would honestly post about the difference. Another six or seven would see these posts, feel they're missing out and jump on the bandwagon and say how amazing thing are since using it. One or two would be honest and say there was no difference but worth the try. Six months later 8 items would be for sale on eBay.
I'm sure it's very frustrating for other professionals seeing the same thing. People clutching at straws, trying the latest wonder kit instead of improving their own skills. If you've got hands that look like you're trying to pull start an old petrol mower then it's unlikely a fancy noseband is going to change much. Don't get me wrong, making your horse comfortable in their tack is vital but it's not always the newest or most expensive that's best for your horse. My own horses all get saddles and bits fitted and regular physio so they can perform their best.
So, embrace the new technology but not at the expense of improving your own riding skills.
