No Bucking Way

Equisolv – Premium Equine CBD

Next up we have another fabulous Irish brand newly on the market, Equisolv Premium Equine CBD.

I have not used this product (as of yet!) so below is not speaking from experience but from research. From what I have found it is extremely interesting and sounds like a great addition to have in any yard or feed room. Equisolv Premium Equine CBD is a product of two passionate entities coming together to develop a supplement aimed at delivering numerous health benefits and alternative therapeutic solutions to horse health concerns.

Dawn Ward the founder of Elevation Equestrian has played quite a role in the development of this product, alongside the team at Remedy Health Ltd who are existing manufacturers of natural, organic CBD products, so lets get right into it, see below all the key facts you need to know about Equisolv Premium Equine CBD.

Benefits Of CBD For Horses

There are numerous benefits of using Equine CBD or so I am told anyways! Improving health & well-being, managing behavioural issues or as form of therapy. Like in humans, CBD is know to aid and assist with chronic pain, anxiety & stress levels, this has the same effect for our horses. Some additional benefits that caught my eye when reading up on it were the following, alleviating aggression and moodiness, reducing inflammation, promoting good digestive health, boosting the immune system, relieving allergies and is a very powerful recovery aid when given after strenuous work. All these benefits I am sure some of us horsey guys and gals could definitely use in our favour to have an even happier horse between our legs.

What is Equisolv CBD?

To put it simply Equisolv is a practical solution for numerous amounts of equine health concerns. A natural product that is 100% organic with no known side affects. Equisolv is super potent with a very minimal feeding rate required compared to other similar products on the market. It delivers 18000mg of full spectrum CBD per every 600g tub. The powder is milled to a very fine composition making it very easy to administer and is fed according to each individual animal’s requirements. This allows owners to adjust the dosage to suit every horse’s different needs. CBD is totally safe to feed and is not psychotropic as it contains no THC (present in marijuana plants and responsible for giving the famous “high”). It is continuously independently tested for quality and quantity of CBD.

Below is a very useful chart when it comes to feeding & dosage!

Everything about Equisolv is 100% Irish, the hemp they use is grown and harvested in Co. Wicklow and the processing is completed in their facility in Youghal Co. Cork. It is 100% organic, contains no THC and is independently laboratory tested for the quality and quantity of CBD. Equisolv Premium Equine CBD should not be a replacement for sound veterinary advice but is a powerful natural aid to assist horses in the recovery of illnesses and injuries, for horses requiring relaxation and for when an additional nutritional boost is required.

Dawn Ward, founder of Elevation Equestrian has been instrumental in the development of Equisolv alongside the phenomenal team at Remedy Health Ltd who are existing manufacturers of natural, organic CBD products. The opportunity to collaborate on a quality, highly beneficial equine health supplement was taken and the outcome is a product that we are all extremely proud to stand over.

Equisolv is certainly making a name for itself on the equestrian market as of late, and for all the right reasons at that too. The word game changer comes to mind, and some have even said miracle powder. They had a very accurate and relevant quote that really stuck in my head on their facebook page, I think as a horse owner it really stands out and makes a statement at that too!

As humans we house, feed and work horses in ways that are not natural to their evolution, Equisolv is our way of giving back to an animal that brings so much to so many of us.
Equisolv

If you like what you’ve read be sure to head over to the Equisolv website or check out their Facebook page for even more in depth detail on the product itself.

Available to purchase also from the following outlets – Equissentials , Sean McEntee’s, Equisolv

If anyone has any further questions, be sure to get in contact with Dara, or the team on their Facebook page, they are super helpful.

Darielle

Equisub

In times of trouble, us Irish seem to always find a way to laugh or joke or to have some humourous way around dealing with the hard things. We do often use this as a way of avoiding or dealing with the crazy and troubling times we are facing yet again, can you actually believe it? No. Me neither.

The fabulous Lorna O’Hare from Equestrian Reality recently set up a Facebook page gathering and pulling equestrian retailers together, for some of us our online shopping dreams finally came true, but I thought why not reach out and give some of these Irish businesses an extra push and some extra online recognition. There is nothing more I like seeing than Irish supporting Irish, especially in the equestrian community.

So welcome our new “Supporting Irish Equestrian” featured section on No Bucking Way. This is my way to give back to these Irish companies and to support them in what I can only imagine has been quite a difficult year. Each week I will introduce you to a new business give you details and links to their sites not only in a blog post but over on our social media channels too.

For your Information – So you are aware some brands & companies I have worked with before and have promoted their products.

Let me introduce you to Equisub

How many of you have heard about the brand new offering from Equisub recently? Well if you have been living under a rock please remove it and come back to reality QUICK! So lets get straight into in, see below everything you need to know about the new Irish brand Equisub, not only have they got Subscription box’s but they also have gorgeous horsey Pjs.

EquiSub – Subscription Boxes

Equisub is a new online equestrian subscription box company. From monthly gift boxes, to once off gifts, they even have special children’s versions available, Equisub have something for everyone. To make things a bit more attractive towards your spend, they are super affordable with prices starting from only €35. Things just keep getting better, you receive full sized products from an array of different Irish brands, yes I said full sized. This means you get the chance to try out products in full, I don’t know about you but samples only leave you wanting more.

Orders are to be placed before the 20th of each month in order to secure your subscription boxes to be dispatched on time. All orders can be made here.

Equisub – Pyjamas

Yes there is more to Equisub than subscription boxes. Pyjamas. No regular pj’s at that but horse themed pyjamas! Any horse girls dream. They have a few different styles, from onsies to two piece items they even have toddler sleep suits. I was gifted one of their fabulous onsies at Christmas, which I was super impressed with, so comfortable and the best bit, a flap at the back which means going to the toilet was much easier (no need to strip down!) The most important question of course left until last… They don’t loose shape after a wash, WIN!

Available To Purchase – HERE

The perfect gift for your horsey friend for that special occasion, be it a birthday, anniversary or if your feeling generous as a thank you gift, I don’t think you will go wrong with an Equisub subscription box for that horsey man or woman in your life.

Be sure to check out their website for additional gifts such as horse themed slippers and throw over blankets. Keep up to date by following their socials on Instagram & Facebook

Be sure to check back in next Monday for our next Support Irish Equestrian addition, and for any companies who want to get involved be sure to drop me an email.

Stay Safe & Happy Shopping,

Darielle

Youngster Exercise Series – The Circle Challenge

Here’s another exercise that is a bit more challenging but excellent for a young horse to take on. I did this one with Cosmo before we went into complete lockdown in March. It was tough but very rewarding when we got it right.

WHAT IS THIS EXERCISE GOOD FOR?

Building topline
Encouraging self-carriage
Making your horse more sure-footed
Improving balance

HOW TO SET IT UP

For this exercise you’re going to want a large amount of space. I set mine up in the middle of the arena but it could be set-up at either end of the arena too.

For the Trot Poles:

Two sets of 3 x raised trot poles – 5 footsteps between each pole
Each set should be placed at opposite sides of a 10m circle

For the Canter Poles:

4 x poles
Placed on a 20m circle at 3 – 6 – 9 – 12 as if on a clock face

You should place your canter poles around the outside of your trot poles.

HOW TO RIDE IT

Riding the Trot Poles:

To ride the trot poles you want to make sure you have a nice forward trot with a good even contact on the reins to help balance your horse.

Start by riding a circle around the outside of the trot poles, encouraging your horse to bend its body around your leg
Once you establish a nice even rhythm, ride your horse into the first set of trot poles, making sure to keep the bend over the poles. You may find that your horse will struggle the first few times over the poles but if you can maintain consistency in your rhythm and contact, they’ll get there themselves.
After doing the first set of poles on each rein a few times, its time to complete the circle and include your second set of poles. You may find the circle a bit tight initially but again, once you maintain a consistent rhythm, your horse should flow through both sets of poles.
This is quite a tough enough exercise for a young horse who is still developing their topline so be sure to give your horse plenty of breaks when doing this exercise.

For the Canter Poles:

The canter element of this exercise is much more simple but equally as challenging especially if you have a horse who struggles to hold themselves together in the canter.

Similar to the trot poles, start by riding a larger circle around the outside of the canter poles to help establish a rhythm. You want to settle your horse into a nice forward canter with a slight bend through their body.
Once you’re ready, start over your first pole focusing on maintaining your rhythm and keeping your horse up in your hands to encourage them off the forehand as you ride the full circle of poles.
Do this on both reins while making sure to give your horse plenty of breaks.

Check out a quick video of Cosmo giving this Circle Challenge a go!

I definitely found the trot pole element of this layout way more difficult than the canter poles but I felt both myself and Cosmo settled into it in the end and we got some really lovely results. Our biggest problem with canter work is that Cosmo tends to lean on the forehand quite a bit so I sometimes have a hard time keeping him up and light in my hands. I definitely felt an improvement by the time we finished up with this exercise though.

Thanks for reading,

ORLA

A Winter Exercise Staple, Trot N Rock

Finally getting back into the swing of normal again, making a riding schedule and trying to stick to it has now become quite the challenge, I forgot how much I hated the winter. Trying to get on top of our exercises has also been something I have really missed.

This exercise, Trot N Rock was one I done quite a bit through summer months, or during the first lockdown shall I say, it was a great transition exercise as well as one that kept Dante’s mind very busy and occupied.

I always find it hard to plan and think of things to be doing exercise wise in the arena, without a plan in my head of what I need to be doing each day, I often find myself drifting in and out of plans. Creating these short effective exercises certainly helps, it also keeps my riding quick but effective, and well what more could you want now that the winter months are creeping in amongst us.

Keep scrolling for my Trot N Rock exercise, it is definitely one to start with so many benefits not too mention how quick and easy it is to set up.

The Setup

Well, for this exercise all you need for your set up is 3 trot poles, of course an arena or a quiet field would also come in handy. Quite simple. The distance between your poles can depend, for a pony 4 heel to toe footsteps, for a horse I tend to do 4 and a half heel to toe footsteps. Check out the vid below!

Your arena doesn’t need to be fully clear, but I would recommend clearing at least the half of the arena you are using. See below as to where your set up should be done and what it should look like before you start.

The Benefits

Helps improve Balance, Suppleness, Rhythm
Helps develop hind end muscles and horses core
Helps to develop horses eye, and improves his co-ordination
Helps keep your horses brain busy, less anticipation of the work he thinks he’s doing
Teaches your horse collection

How To Ride This Exercise

Step 1 – Do I need to tell you what step one is, or have you been living under a rock? The warm up is as critical as the exercise itself! No warm up, especially in the winter time will leave you with an accident prone and stiff horse… so be sure to get your 15 minute walk trot and canter in before you “jump” into any of our exercises.

Step 2 – This exercise is so much easier to explain, I feel like I have already made a balls of the images! Start first by picking up your trot, you are looking for a nice rhythm not too fast, once you find it start by going over your trot poles. Do this a few times and be sure to change your rein often. Don’t leave it too easy so that your horse can anticipate the left and right turns. Focus on your turns before and after your poles also, aim for the centre and focus on staying straight through out the 3 poles

Step 3 – Once you are riding smoothly over the poles in trot, adding an element of canter to this exercise is what we shall be doing next, and no you don’t need to adjust them to canter poles. Your poles are placed down the centre of the centre or half way up even, when you are comfortable to progress to your canter, the aim is to canter 3 loops around each trot pole that you have placed down as per the image below. I would recommend practicing this a few times before we piece everything together. Dante looked at the poles strangely when he had to go through them opposed to going over them, you will be surprised on the strange things out horses look at!

Step 4 – You are looking for an active forward canter, your can begin with large circles, starting near the centre of the arena, progressing to the small circle, or you can go the opposite. Whatever suits your horse. Balance and rhythm is something you need to keep focus on, Sitting up straight holding a contact and riding from the leg will all benefit you in keeping the above smooth. Once you have mastered this, it is time to piece all of our above steps together.

Step 5 – Lets piece everything together, starting in trot and finishing in trot. BAM, I surprised you with a twist there! Pick up your forward active trot like in step 2 above, begin by coming over your trot poles in the center of the arena a loop on each rein. As you come over your poles the second time track left, you are now picking up canter in your next nearest corner. Now you are piecing in Step 3 and adding in your canter loops. Continuing until you have your 3 loops around your poles, using the same corner you picked up canter as a marker to transition back down to trot. Keep your forward trot when transitioning down, as you need to finish off by coming over your trot poles one last time and tracking right. In your next corner transition down to walk or straight to halt. Whichever your prefer and Viola, The Trot N Rock exercise is complete!

And there we have it folks, I have always wanted to say that in a room full of people… don’t even ask why! This exercise is so simple yet it has so many benefits that I am sure we can all gain from. You might only do it once and finish there, but you hit all the nails on the head and even manage to get two rein changes in at that too. It is also an exercise that gives you a sense of accomplishment when you finish your ride. I don’t know about you but motivating myself to ride in the winter can be a tough one. The cold is not my friend especially when you have to walk up and down the yard in the dark not to mention having to keep turning on and off lights..

Anyways I want you guys to give this exercise a go, it’s one I will be bringing back into my winter routine that’s for sure. We also love seeing you guys doing our exercises, be sure to tag us in any of your videos if you add it to your winter riding schedules!

Be on the look out for more pole workouts coming your way, it’s going to be a winter pole fiasco, I can just feel it in my bones! Pole work, gives you goal work…

Speak Soon,

Darielle

Fear of the Fall

For such a common eventuality among horse riders, this is something I don’t see too many people talk about. This sport we do is pretty high up there in the ‘dangerous sports’ category – a quick google search of the most dangerous sports will show you that horse riding (or sports involving riding horses eg. Polo, jousting, racing etc) is always listed in the top 10. This doesn’t surprise me one bit and I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you.

In most other sports, people are putting their trust in their own abilities to complete the task they’ve given themselves. They train hard to build their strength and skills to ensure they can perform their job. Yes, we equestrians need to do the same for ourselves, but there’s an additional element that is unique to our sport. We are choosing an animal as our partner. These animals have their own minds and they’re not afraid to remind us of that. Our horses are athletes and they demand the respect of being treated as such. They require immense care along with strict training and diet plans to ensure they are given everything they need to perform the tasks we ask of them. This is the element of our sport that provides the danger.

Some may compare a horse to a race car and yes, in the sense that a vehicle can have an unknown broken part which can malfunction at the worst possible time, there is an element of risk. However, at the end of the day, a vehicle does not have feelings. A vehicle cannot be in a bad mood. A vehicle cannot feel that its back is sore. A vehicle cannot feel the nerves of its driver just before a race starts. Horses feel all of this and more and just like us humans, they have the freedom and right to react to all of this as they see fit. This is where, in my opinion, our sport has no equal comparison. To make matters even more dangerous, we put ourselves in the position where we’re actually sitting on this animal’s back, 5 feet off the ground.

I hope that by this point all you equestrians reading this are nodding your heads in agreement. I mean, when you look at all of this together you have to wonder what went wrong in our lives that we seem to have a death wish?! I’m not going to keep going on about the dangers of our sport, we all know that this hobby is a risk sport and we have consciously made the decision to partake in it. What I want to talk about is the fact that despite knowing all of this, we have decided to do this sport knowing there is a high chance we could die or, at the very least, end up in a wheelchair and yet, we continue despite having the fear of the fall. To be more specific, the fear of THAT fall.

We know that falling off is an inevitable element of our sport and a lot would argue that falling makes you a better rider and this is something I wholeheartedly agree with. The only way to learn is by making mistakes and unfortunately falling off tends to be the result of making mistakes while horse riding. The aim is to ensure you get back up and keeping going – something that is not always possible depending on how bad the fall was. But we know we at least have to try because we love what we do. Unfortunately the getting back up part is not always easy. Sometimes you physically cant because you’ve sustained an injury, other times it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back and we just can’t do it anymore.

Anyone who’s been following NBW over the last year or two will know that I’ve had my fair share of falls. From April 2018 to June 2019, I had fallen off Coco 6 times. Not all the falls were bad, for the first few I was able to get back up and keep going to an extent, but fall number 3 was particularly bad – enough for me to drag myself to A&E on Christmas Eve. This one really shattered my confidence and it took some work to build myself back up and to get back out jumping. Unfortunately after regaining my confidence, the falls just kept coming until my last one in June 2019 which resulted in a broken foot, and me being out of the saddle for an entire summer. By then I had reached a point where I realised I was no longer enjoying riding so I made the difficult decision to sell Coco.

Enter Cosmo.

Even though he was young, Cosmo was to be my brave companion. The first time I rode him ended up being the first time I jumped since the fall that broke my foot (which happened while jumping). I didn’t think that first time leaving the ground was going to be on a very green 4yo, but low and behold this gem of a horse took me confidently over a red roadblock and I made the decision that he was going to be my next horse. He’s been exactly what I wanted from a horse – brave, trusting and incredibly talented. However, being a 4yo (now 5yo) he of course still needs the correct training to ensure he becomes the horse I know he can be.

After my litany of falls the previous year, I was of course very aware that a fall from Cosmo was inevitable. I briefly mentioned before about the cause of a fall. A lot of the time, just knowing what caused the fall can be enough to get you back going again. If you know you did something that impacted your horse to make them stop at the fence then you know what you have to work on. Unfortunately not all falls have this explanation. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Sometimes neither of you did anything wrong. And this is what happened to me and Cosmo a few months ago.

We were doing some jumping at home over some small cross poles and Cosmo went for an off stride and ended up tripping over the fence. He tried his hardest but he just couldn’t get his footing and we both ended up going down. I flipped over his head, landing quite hard on my shoulder and I needed to keep rolling to ensure I got out from underneath him. We were both pretty shaken but thankfully we both walked away with no serious injuries. While I was well enough to get back in the saddle a week later, it took quite a good 3 months before I could jump again (partly due to the pandemic to be fair).

This fall was the one that I had feared the most. I’ve seen so many other horse and rider combinations take similar falls and they are always horrifying to watch. I’ve heard so many awful stories that I always dreaded it ever happening to me. And then it did. And despite the fact that we managed to escape physically unscathed, it was just as terrifying as I imagined. The ‘what if’ of the situation is ingrained in me and the possibility that it could happen again sends a cold shiver down my spine.

Our horses are our escape, the silencers of our minds for the few hours we spend with them.

This fall really got into my head. It was only when I really thought about all of this that I realised what an impact my recent falls have had on me mentally. Most of us do this sport as our hobby and our way of decompressing. Our horses are our escape, the silencers of our minds for the few hours we spend with them. But when fear and anxiety set in and you find yourself no longer enjoying your time in the saddle, or constantly worrying that you’re not doing what you ‘should’ be doing, it can really take its toll on your mental health. Something that I grew to accept was that I may get to a point where I decide that jumping just isn’t for me anymore. And if I do reach that point, that’s ok. As I know if I do make that choice, I’ll be happier in myself.

I also know that I definitely haven’t gotten there yet. I have had a few lessons over the last few months which have shown me that I still love jumping and Cosmo is far too talented to not be jumping. I still have a lot of fight in me to push through these confidence issues. I’ve done it before and I can do it again and I’m too excited to see where me and Cosmo could go to give up just yet. But knowing that I can decide to take the pressure off myself and just enjoy my horse brings a sense of relief but also a sense of determination, when I realised that I’m not quite ready for that.

For anyone else who may be struggling with similar fears, doubts, anxiety; just know that you can decide to do whatever you feel is right for you. If that means giving up jumping for a while then so be it. If it means stopping riding altogether and just spending some quality time lounging in the field with your horse, then that’s ok too. Just do what you know is the best thing for you and you really can’t go wrong.

Thanks for reading,

ORLA

Youngster Exercise Series – Straighten Out

As you may be realising, Cosmo has a bit of a straightness issue so I came up with this series of poles to help work on this problem. It’s relatively simple but enough for a young brain to get to grips with.

WHAT IS THIS EXERCISE GOOD FOR?

Straightness
Rhythm
Seeing a stride

HOW TO SET IT UP?

For this exercise you’ll need pretty much your full arena and the following:

For the Trot Poles:

Two sets of 3 x trot poles – 4 and a half footsteps between each pole
A pair of straightening poles set up either side of both sets of trot poles

For the Canter Poles:

One set of canter poles – 6 strides, 4 large steps per stride
A pair of straightening poles at the start and end of the line
Two wings/blocks at the half way point down your line

Your trot poles should be set up on the long-sides, while your canter poles should be set up down the centreline.

HOW TO RIDE IT

The straightening poles within these layouts will ensure your horse goes over the poles as straight as possible however there are other things you can do to help get your horse there:

If your horse tends to drift to one particular side more than the other, then consider cutting your corner on your approach or turning a little later. This will help ensure you’re straight by the time you hit your poles.
Keep your hands wide to provide a type of tunnel contact between your hands and the horse’s mouth.
Focus on keeping even pressure on your horse’s sides with your legs.

Check out some GoPro footage of me and Cosmo giving the canter poles a go…

Cosmo’s weakest gait is canter so we can sometimes struggle to even get through a set of canter poles without breaking to trot but he did quite well with this one all things considered. I’ve definitely seen a big improvement in Cosmo’s straightness since starting these exercises so do give them a go if you’re having the same problems as me.

Thanks for reading,

ORLA

5 Equestrian Products I Am Obsessed With

Remember me? It sure has been quite a while since I put some keyboard to interweb! I am back and what better way to re-enter the horse blogger world than to give you a list of my top 5 Equestrian products I am obsessing over at the minute.

Keep reading to find out, be warned, I am a bargain hunter with some things, I love a good bargain and a good long standing product… get the credit cards ready!

Toggi – Sticky Butt Jods

How was I so late to this trend?How Have I been secretly missing out on the amazingness that is sticky arse riding jods? They are the best thing since sliced bread. If you dont have a pair of sticky butt riding jods, go buy a pair ASAP!

I got mine out of curiosity shopping in Holmstead, I have been going through that “I dont feel safe” in the saddle phase and thought I would try out a pair to see if they helped me feel that bit more secure whilst riding. Holy Mother of god they done just that. I dont think I can ever go back to riding without them.. Now I also dont think its correct to suggest you need these jodphurs to feel safe when riding, but as you get older you will try cling to the hope of something keeping you that bit safer when you ride… its all about those false sense of securities for me, they keep me sane!

Toggi have produced a fantastic product for just €59.99,They are comfortable, affordable, dont give you a camel toe and are very pleasing on the eye to look at a fine product for us equestrians, Being the first time I have worn the brand Toggi I am quite happy to now invest all of my money into their products going forward!

Available to buy Here

Packhorse.ie Mane & Tail Silk

I think I have gotten my point across quite aggressively with this product over on my Instagram the past few weeks. Dante mane is just gross. It is a big huge afro bush that I struggle to maintain half of the time, until this beaut came along. I was kindly gifted this product, but if It didn’t work or if I felt it wasn’t worth the money it certainly would not of made the list!

For €8.99 and for the amount you use at a time, this product is a grooming kit must have. So easy to use, I dabble it on my Penny’s hair brush and whisk it threw Dante mane one or two times a week, depending on his state, But It lasts and keeps that mane shiny for days.

Available from Packhorse.ie

Decathalon Synthetic Riding Boots

I absolutely hate spending “big bucks” on those essential riding items. It just destroys my soul and I have no idea why. Riding boots are something I wear every single day without them I cant begin to image how a, stupid I would look and b, the damage I would do to my feet.

After a lot of research and trying to find the cheapest riding boot available to buy online, some dodgy things did appear on my search bar.. anyways I have always shopped for essentials in decathlon but riding boots was never a thing that came into my mind when I thought of them… until I tried a pair on one day in their Dublin store.

Not only were they comfortable and not too awkward on the eye the cheap price label kind of put me off buying them for a number of week.But I couldnt get the thought of them out of my head I just said F*ck it, whats the harm, I will buy them and if there shit I will use them for something around the yard, for €60 I just couldnt go wrong

Jesus lads, I bagged myself a bargain, they are perfect. They wash well, havnt marked as of yet and they are comfortable. My teeny tiny calves fit into them also, and on bad days when my leg are feeling chunky the zipper has a wide elasticated side so I can squeeze the legs in and still walk around and ride in absolute comfort.

I cant recommend these enough, and people are quite pleasantly surprised when I tell them where I got them and how cheap they where. Add it to the Christmas wish lists lads.. omg did I just say that?

Available to purchase HERE

Equisoc Socks

If Equisoc have them, I want them. I am obsessssed. This review doesn’t take much as these socks are top class quality. And not to mention the gorgeous fun prints tend to bring out the young horsey girl vibes in me, they just cant go wrong with anything in my eyes.

We were gifted socks here at NBW, but if I didn’t like them I wouldn’t wear them. I am a fussy betch when it comes to socks, Anything too chunky, my boot doesn’t close, anything not long enough and I get all weird thinking my socks are falling down inside my boot… yes I am weird.

Equisoc socks just hug your legs in all the right places, not to mention the cushiony sole to keep your tootsies riding and walking around on little foot pillows. (yes i did just say that) If you haven’t got a pair yet, what is wrong with you? They start at €9.99 for a two pack pair, super cheap, super affordable.

Available to buy in store at TRI Equestrian or Ladychapel Stores

Enbarr – After Work Bar

I am a sucker for Enbarr products. Not only because they smell delish or that they are environmentally friendly.. the products just simply do exactly what they say on the tin. During lockdown, and during those hot summer evenings, The After Work Bar was the perfect addition to my evening cool down routine after I rode, poor Dante does not do well in the heat.

They have little knobbly heads that get right into the groves of your horse, right into the muscles also contains peppermint which apparently really helps cool down your horses muscles, not to mention that it makes their coats very very shiney. Oh and one last thing, the smell if to dieeee for! Its worth the purchase alone for the gorgeous smell, its not everyday you go home not smelly of horse Sh*t*!

I have it on my list to buy another few bars, mine in down to it last legs!

Available to buy HERE

If you follow us on Instagram I am sure you have already seen the story content of most products mentioned , I just cant get enough of them, literally obsessed… have I said that enough?!!

Have you got any products you just cant live without? Let me know in the comments below… are you even a real Horse Hun if you cant control yourself when it comes to buying new products like all the time?

Until next time buckers,

Darielle

ReinRite Exercise Series – The Turn Table

It has certainly been a while, writing up blog posts the last while has been something I have neglected, but I am back! You may have noticed that I have been using my reinrite products a lot in terms of bringing Dante back into fitness since lockdown. Before lockdown we rode in our ReinRite Training Aid once a week, this kept Dante on his toes, it also encouraged him to self carry properly.

I try to pre plan my exercises before I jump in the saddle, this way we get the most out of our training. Pole work is of course our number one focus. I came up with the “Turntable” exercise out of frustration of getting up and down and adjusting trot poles to canter poles and so on.

Keep Scrolling for the layout, the set up & how Dante rode it. Don’t be worried either if you don’t have a ReinRite Training Aid, the exercise can be down without also for everyone who prefers not to ride with Training Aids at all, I dont judge!

The Set Up

You will need a number of poles for the set up of this exercise, 7 to be precise. I also used my Jumpstart Showjumps Pole raisers to raise the poles, but they can be laid flat or you can use jumping wings if you prefer either.

See the images below for the layout in your arena. Preferably, I would have the rest of the arena clear to give you extra space to warm up.

The distance between the poles are as follows:

A = 2 strides, walking from the center of your poles, so 10 large walking footsteps

B= They are bounce strides, so I walked out 10 toe to toe footsteps.

The Benefits of Using Reinrite

Better Control over the poles
Can focus on your riding position in more detail
Your horse works correctly, and is encouraged to hold themselves correctly
I always find that while riding in the ReinRite it encourages me to hold the contact, without it on I have an awful habit of dropping it.

The Benefits of this exercise for Your Horse

Improves your eye for a stride
Control in the rhythm
Improves both horse & riders approach to poles
Works your horses hind end
Focus on the riders position
Bending & flexing your horse around your leg

How To Ride This Exercise

Step 1: As with all of our exercises, we recommend a thorough warm up before starting. This will insure that your horse will not pick up any injuries.

Step 2: I began this exercise in sections. Your aim is to get everything done in canter, but doing it in trot was the first step I took. Start with the curved poles. Trot around and over them off both reins, you are looking for a consitant flow in your horses rhythm. No stumbling over poles or half strides before. Once you are happy with the you can start bringing in you two outside poles.

Step 3: Continuing on from your curved poles, incorporate the two poles on the outside of your exercise. Again you are looking for a nice consistant flow with an even rhythm. Follow the image below, you will now begin to see why I called this the Turn Table exercise. Your horse is being constantly challenged in the direction they are moving! You should be able to count your horses “trot” strides between poles each time you ride from pole to pole. This is a trick I use for knowing when Dante is keeping a consistent rhythm in his movement.

Step 4: Once you are comfortable with the above, it’s time to progress to the canter. Ride the exercise exactly the same as in step 2 & 3 outlined above but only moving from trot up into canter. Once you are happy with how your horse worked, I gave Dante a short walk break to stretch out. It is nice to give your horse rests, and breaks to process the entirety of the exercise

Step 5: We are now moving onto our poles down the middle of the arena. This is the third part of this exercise, the last piece we need before we stick it all together. Picking up canter, ride into your poles as if they are not there, crazy I know but try it and see how it works! It is your job to ride your horse into the poles, it is not your job to lift your horses legs over them! So if they hit or knock then, just start again. Once you are happy with how your horse is working, you can then piece the entire exercise together.

Step 6: To piece our exercise together, I have put the image below as to how it works. Beginning by canter over your poles in the center, Turning left over your single pole which bring your around to your pole on the opposite side of the arena, finishing up over your curved poles. It sound like a lot, but it flows well once you get into it. It is a tough exercise so if your horse finishes well once on either rein I would finish off on that good note.

That exercise was quite a difficult one to explain considering the amount of turns it has, so if I have confused you work from the images! It is a very beneficial exercise and can be used to focus in on all those small things we want to improve in our horses way of moving.

Don’t forget, if you don’t have a Reinrite you can still give this exercise a go, it can be done with or without. If you want to simplify it slightly you can adjust the poles in the centre to trot poles and complete the entire exercise in trot. I always like to have variety in my exercises,I can never be certain with Dante’s moods so I try to cater for them all!

Let me know if you gave this one a try on your horse and if you did be sure to tag me so I can see!

Happy Riding,

Darielle