Stitched in Time…

Having spent many, many hours developing and producing Equiseat Aid myself, it’s been an absolute pleasure and so satisfying to watch many of the riders I work with and teach, see and feel the benefits of using Equiseat Aid. It’s also so amazing to be able to experience the benefits for myself and throughout the entire Dennis Eventing team.

So imagine my joy, heading out for a competition with a feeling of confidence. Having cut, sewn, stress-tested, re-cut, re-stitched and stress-tested over and over again, I found myself experiencing that feeling as Team Dennis Eventing ventured out to a British Dressage competition recently.

We were armed with Equiseat Aids and it was to be the first time we’d wear them in a BD event. What an amazing time we had. We could not have been more pleased with our horses; they were calm, obedient and most of all they felt so, so level in their ridden work.

Let me introduce you to our boys; Bordergrove Halifax (Castle to his friends… so called because he’s a strapping boy!). Castle is an 8 year old who we own a half share in at Dennis Eventing. He has a fabulous temperament, albeit a little sharp (we all know that feeling right!). I find that Equiseat Aid is literally a life saver on this horse. Why? Because he has a bad habit of dropping the saddle over to the left; he’s definitely had a weakness that way, though he is and always has been completely sound.

For Castle however, this habit has formed over time and it makes it very hard to get him to connect up the left side of his body. He tends to have more contact in the right rein, but Equiseat Aid helps him establish straightness almost immediately and I can really feel his mood is happier and calmer. Without Equiseat Aid, when he drops me to the left, he becomes very tight and drops behind the bit. With Equiseat Aid I can simply let the seat aid do the work and naturally, I stay much more central.

And then we have the magnanimous Django. Django and I have a longer-term partnership and I’ve been using Equiseat Aid with this horse for a longer period, during which time he’s become more established.

Django

Django is a fantastic example of how Equiseat Aid can help retrain a rider and horse’s muscle memory over time, that underpin bad habits. For example, with Django, I had a tendency to sit off to the right, collapsing through my left side and gripping up with my left leg. This habit has massively decreased over the last year and by using Equiseat Aid repeatedly during training, he no longer wants to sit me off to the right. Again, as a result the difference with this horse is remarkable; he is so calm and settled.

And last, but by no means least we have Eric The Red, our petite ginger (by name and nature) thoroughbred who Kate has worked so hard to produce from a youngster up to 4*. Kate won her first dressage competition on Eric this week, of course wearing Equiseat Aid.

Eric is a tricky character; he really can drop the saddle off to the left, which makes it nearly impossible to ride him through a test. And it’s a perpetuating monster for Kate; the tighter he gets, the worse the saddle moves over. But because Equiseat Aid has helped Kate establish a centralised, balanced seat, this has drastically reduced saddle movement, leaving Eric a much straighter and happier horse and giving Kate the pleasure of experiencing a drastically improved and calmer performance with Eric over time.

Of course, it’s hugely important to recognise there are many other key elements to successful riding, but the difference of being able to maintain a stable and balanced seat with Equiseat Aid is so tangible.

I also recognise that not every rider, wants to compete in BD, BE or indeed at any competitive level. In fact, one of the best ways to optimise the benefits of Equiseat Aid is to wear every time you do ridden work with your horse of any description; whether it’s hacking, schooling, training or competing.

Equiseat Aid is a rider aid that has been developed and produced as a result of years of training and competition riding. It’s a beautifully simple product that delivers amazing results.

Why not take up the Equiseat Aid Challenge with us and see and experience the benefits for you and your horse:

  • take a look at our Equiseat Aid story and ‘How to’ videos for more information
  • send a short profile video of you working your horse to vickie@equiseataid.com
  • we’ll review the video and offer you a free 15 minute phone consultation
  • if you purchase Equiseat Aid and do not feel the difference for you and your horse within 10 days, we will happily refund your purchase cost*

* profile video of Equiseat Aid in use with your horse to be reviewed before refund applicable.

* refund purchase cost does not include any delivery charges