Essential Kit Bits!

A padded roller & TWO lunge lines.

I do an awful lot of long reining with my horse, Freddie, and as a result a padded roller is an essential bit of kit. A roller is effectively a massive belt that sits behind the withers and under the stomach like a normal girth, but it has metal loops in various points over the sides and back to attach training aids to. I don’t personally use training aids at the moment, but it means I can safely long-rein without a saddle by threading the two lunge lines through the lowest loop and attaching them to his bit.                                                                                                                 

A dually halter. 

Like a lot of horses, Fred can be quite strong on the ground if he is in a situation he’s unsure of or he’s feeling extra fresh – for example when loading into a horsebox or being turned out in winter. A dually halter (created by Monty Roberts) works by having an additional rope strap over the nose that tightens when the horse pulls, creating tension and giving the handler a little more strength behind them. It’s incredibly important to be aware of how this halter works before using one, and to never ever tie up to the nose strap loop, always on the standard headcollar loop underneath. Freddie is built like a tank and when he’s over-excited can forget himself, so a dually helps keep us both safe on the ground without causing too many pressure points like a chain halter may do.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Equilibrium Tri-Zone Impact Boots 

I personally am not a fan of booting horses up to their eyeballs every second of their lives; however there are occasions when every horse may need to wear some boots. I invested in some tri-zone impact boots made by Equilibrium Products and have never looked back! They are super lightweight, breathable and hard wearing. I’ve struggled to find boots that are breathable around the horses’ legs, which is really important as the soft tissue structures in the lower leg (tendons and ligaments) overheat VERY easily and can become damaged, but the Tri-Zone boots allow a good amount of airflow to reduce this risk.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

A Race-Safe back protector. 

Now, not everyone likes to wear a back protector – and that’s okay! It’s personal choice after all. That said as someone who does wear one, and is a little “vertically challenged” (I’m 5’3 on a tall day…) I really struggled to find a comfortable body-protector that wasn’t too long in the back. Race-Safe have a wide range of protectors that can even be specially altered to fit riders of different shapes and sizes. With adjustable elastic threading on the sides and separate blocks rather than one large sheet, the Race-Safe is easily the most comfortable body-protector I’ve ever worn. It helps me to feel safe whilst also not being hindered by a bulky, ill-fitting suit of armour!