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Veterinary

Equine training aids: can they really improve performance?

02 November 2020
Clinical
13 mins read
02 November 2020
Volume 4 · Issue 6
Figure 2. Horse working in a Pessoa training aid.
Figure 2. Horse working in a Pessoa training aid.

Abstract

The use of training aids within equine training programmes is well established with professional, amateur and recreational riders, and horse owners. However, the claims of training aid manufacturers that the aids promote equine muscle development, gait characteristics, proprioception and the horse's biomechanics have not been evaluated scientifically. Evidence of the impact of training aids on equine behaviour and welfare is also limited. As a result, there is a limited amount of resources available to horse owners, trainers and veterinary professionals wishing to take an evidence-informed approach to the use of training aids. This review considers factors that operators should evaluate when using training aids and explores the evidence base available to help support an ethical approach to equine training and rehabilitation.

Equestrianism is popular worldwide, with millions of horses and riders participating in competitive horse sports and non-competitive leisure riding (Williams and Tabor, 2017). Across equestrian disciplines, training aids have become commonplace pieces of equipment that can be found in the tack rooms of professional, amateur and recreational horse owners alike. Yet, despite their popularity and the anecdotal claims of their beneficial effects made by manufacturers, a limited number of studies has evaluated the impact of training aids on equestrian performance.

Horse riders, owners and trainers have a moral and legal duty of care to engage in practices that optimise equine health and welfare, and that promote ethical equitation practices (McGreevy and McLean, 2005). This responsibility includes ensuring that tack and equipment, such as training aids, are used in an ethical manner that does not endanger the safety or welfare of horses (or the human handlers or riders involved) (Hawson et al, 2010; Williams and Marlin, 2020). However, to be able to develop and use ethical and sustainable equestrian practices, riders and handlers using training aids require a fundamental understanding of how to use these aids correctly, how specific aids function and their action on the horse. Alongside this, knowledge of the potential impact of different pieces of equipment on equine welfare and performance is also required to enable selection of the right piece of equipment to achieve set training or rehabilitation goals, and to be able to use the equipment safely (Waran and Randle, 2017; Williams and Tabor, 2017).

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equestrian sport
horse training
rehabilitation
schooling
lunging