Cob Jockey

My vet gave me a rough outline of what to do to help Connor's back heal.  It included a stretching routine (for him), riding in the CWD, and a recommendation to incorporate "something that encourages him to keep his hind end underneath him, like a Pessoa"

Pessoa

I didn't mind the idea of a Pessoa, but I wanted something that I could use while under saddle too. In the past, my trainer has used her HorseHugger on Connor, but even when we got creative with adjustments, it always felt like it was a bit too big for him. 

Apparently they're not made anymore?  Fun fact: It was NK's trainer that came up with this.

So I bought this: Equibands System from Equicore Concepts.  Look, SCIENCE!


I took a bit of a flyer on this and didn't do my usual amount of neurotic research before I bought it.  In fact, it wasn't until after I forked over the money that I saw that my GP trainer is listed on their website under the "testimonials" section, talking about how much it helped a "wiggly" horse under saddle. (So is Mary Wanless!)

Do you know who else is wiggly under saddle?

PC - Austen

I've been using it for a week now, and I love it.  We've kept the sessions short so far, with an eye toward gradually building him up to wearing it the whole ride.  In the instruction manual, Equicore Concepts says they want you to use it every ride/work session for a while, but gradually taper off usage over time as the horse develops the muscles to maintain his new way of going without it.

And I do love the way he goes in it.  It's not forcing him into a frame at all, but it's encouraging him to engage the correct muscles for whatever activity we're doing.  And, for a horse bred to pull that naturally travels with his hind legs behind him, it's huge for encouraging him to step under himself.



That isn't just a carefully chosen screenshot, he went around like that the whole time.  Under saddle, he feels so much more solid and engaged, which gives me a chance to focus on my own body slightly more than I am usually able to at the beginning of the ride. If you've ridden him, you know he makes you feel like every part of his body is going in a different direction at first, and the band eliminates that feeling.

First ride, with the bands relatively loose and not as engaged yet

With Connor, I was more or less able to put it straight on him with no theatrics.  I did follow the instructions and took it slowly, putting it on loosely at first, but the only time he ever seemed to care about it was the first time we picked up the canter under saddle, he threw a hind foot out in protest (which is as close as he's ever gotten to bucking).

That said, Connor is broke to harness and I feel like that helped me here.  If your horse isn't used to stuff hanging all over his body, I would take it reeeeeeeeeally slowly.  Even Connor sometimes has a hard time figuring out how to stop while wearing it - "Uh, there's a thing around my butt telling me to "go" and you want me to stop?"

Does what I ask, doesn't ask questions.  The best boy.

A few things to know if you're looking at one for yourself: first, it comes in sizes, and those are saddle pad sizes.  Connor is wearing the "small" size.

16.5" CWD with forward flap shown here

I've heard some people hate this saddle pad, but I love it so much I want to track down their supplier

Price: $220 for the saddle pad and two sets of bands; $50 for each additional set of bands
Sizes: Based on saddle pad size, pony, small, regular, and large in AP-shape, or Western