Tactical Tack Check

Introduction:

Welcome back to our "Exercise of the Week" series, tailored for classical jumping enthusiasts. This week, we're focusing on an often overlooked but crucial aspect of training: ensuring your tack and equipment are just right. Inspired by Bill Steinkraus's checklist point, "Get your tack and equipment just right, and then forget about it and concentrate on the horse," this exercise aims to enhance your awareness and ensure you're a good "load" for your horse to carry. This exercise is essential for both budding and seasoned equestrians, underscoring our commitment to ethical and compassionate training methods.

Why It's Great:

This exercise isn't about setting up poles or jumps but about improving your awareness and ensuring you and your horse are working in harmony. By focusing on your equipment, you can train your horse to carry equal weight on each leg more effectively. The major benefit is increased awareness, leading to better training and a more balanced ride.

Equipment List:

- Your usual riding gear: boots, saddle, stirrups, bridle, gloves, reins, and any other tack you use.

Setting Up and How to Do It:

1. Saddle Check:

- After your ride, immediately check the saddle for sweat marks to determine if your seat was centred.

- Ensure the seam of your breeches aligns centrally on your bum to confirm correct seating.

2. Stirrup Leathers Comparison:

- Remove the stirrup leathers from the saddle.

- Hold them at the buckle end and compare the holes side by side to ensure they are level. Do NOT rely on the stamped numbers!

3. Rein Length Check:

- For those using reins with stoppers, hold your bridle at the bit rings.

- Extend and compare both reins to ensure the stoppers are sewn at matching intervals.

4. Gloves Examination:

- Regularly inspect your gloves to check for uneven wear, which may indicate an imbalance in your contact.

5. Boots Assessment:

- Examine your tall boots for matching wear marks, ensuring your legs are positioned and used symmetrically.

6. Bonus checks! :

- If your horse wears a rug with leg straps, double check to ensure they are the same length. A crooked rug will cause compensatory movement patterns.

- Make sure to take the girth off your saddle when not in use, don't leave it wearing on the same holes in the points. Next ride, refasten it both sides alternately and equally

Tips for Success:

When purchasing new stirrup leathers or reins (or anything that should be the same left and right), ensure that holes and stoppers are level. Surprisingly (and disappointingly) this is not often the case with brand new gear. Check in store before you buy.

If you find your reins have uneven stoppers, most can be safely unpicked because they are added after the reins are constructed. No stoppers are better than uneven stoppers.

If you find that your stirrup leather holes are uneven, (and you have enough "spare" holes) your saddler can shorten them at the buckle end to make them match. This also prevents excessive wear on the section the stirrup presses when riding. For longevity of new leathers, purchase ones that are too long in preference to ones that are too short. Once they have signs of usage, get them shortened at the buckle for many more years of safe riding.

Conclusion:

Incorporating these tack checks into your training routine is a step towards achieving excellence in classical jumping while maintaining a strong, respectful bond with your horse. By ensuring your equipment is just right, you can focus more on training and less on adjustments, fostering an environment of mutual trust and respect.

For more insights and tips, follow our blog and stay tuned for next week's exercise!

The Philosophy of Less

My philosophy is simple: Less is more. It's a principle that runs counter to much of what we see in the competitive equestrian scene today. Yet, it's a philosophy that has guided many riders to achieve remarkable success, often with resources that might surprise you.

Thank you so much for being here!
Until next time,
Merindah