Hi… I’m Alison, and some of you may know me from the Confidence camps, but it’s been through the Dressage Day Camps with Tom Graham, that I have finally found my place in Equiteam.
My current riding partner is Hannah, a sweet IDX cob who I bought as a lightly backed 3-year-old. She is seven now and we’ve worked hard together, working through the British Dressage scales of Training and are currently competing at Novice level. We’re about to take our first steps into Elementary so having never competed beyond Novice, it’s exciting, especially because I’ve trained Hannah myself from the very beginning.
Now, I’m absolutely in the ‘conscious incompetence’ category of rider capability and very aware of some annoying hand habits I have and am often disappointed with photos – my hands are often, either both too high or, one is higher than the other. It just doesn’t look elegant! My coach is continually reminding me, often telling me ‘Stop fiddling’ or ‘lower your hands’ so I’ve tried the well-known technique of holding a crop between my thumbs while holding the reins but find this awkward and too easy to give up. Being completely honest, up until now, I’ve managed to get away with it!!!
Over the last year competing, however, I’ve noticed our scores were a little inconsistent, and one comment was being made repeatedly by judges – “inconsistent in the contact.”
That’s when I realised, if I want to improve and progress, I need to do something about this.
Now as I’ve mentioned, I am aware of my ‘issues’ and am frequently sucked in by the next, best training tool on the market – the stirrups that will put your leg in the optimum position (tick), the reins that will help achieve a soft contact with the horse’s mouth (tick) – none of them work alone! But now, the gloves that will keep your hands steady!!! THATS THE VERY THING I NEED!!!!!! So, again fell into the trap and ordered a pair (tick).
When they finally arrived, the doubts had already set in. “What have I done? They’ll never work! Totally wasted my money…again!”- my usual negativity…So they sat in my tack room for another three weeks!!!
When I eventually I decided to try them, I put them on for the last 10 mins of our schooling session, just to see what they felt like. (It hadn’t been a particularly easy session – Hannah had felt heavy and uncooperative, so I had nothing to lose).
Oh, my goodness, they felt weird!!!!
Initially, I felt quite restricted by them. However, a couple of ‘pings’ later, as they split apart (which obviously put my mind at ease, ‘in the event of an emergency’), I was pleasantly surprised to feel Hannah really start to settle into a much steadier contact. Her outline felt rounder, and she felt more connected generally, especially in canter (a few of you will know, this has been a particular struggle for us!).
I was quite impressed, but I can’t help but wonder if it was ‘just a good ending to a difficult session, gloves or no gloves?’ Anyway, I was impressed enough to want to try them again the following day especially since I had a lesson arranged – Just in case it was a fluke!
Before my lesson my coach and I discussed the gloves and why I felt they might help me. The concerns about the “quick release” were quickly dispelled and we got started. Very quickly, Hannah settled into that same steadier contact and rounder frame, with my coach quite impressed by the difference. I could feel a tension in my right arm and when I mentioned this, its apparently, my right hand has always been the one with a mind of its own – so the gloves were highlighting the imbalance and forcing my hands to work as a pair.
As the lesson went on, it became more and more apparent just how much my wobbly hands had been affecting Hannah’s way of going and by eliminating that inconsistency, we were both finding things a lot easier. Leg yields were better; canter transitions were improved; In general, her connection was better! All in one session! It was a real ‘eureka’ moment! And coach feedback from that first session with the Steady-Hand gloves….
“You need to live in them!!!!”
So that’s what I did…. every day I rode using my “Steady-Hands”. For the first few days, I was VERY aware that the inside of my forearms felt rather sore – nothing awful – just like you’ve been exercising muscles that haven’t worked for a while, but it eased after a few sessions.
I’ve now been using the Equisk Steady-Hands for a while now and am now so much more aware of my hand position, finding it easier and easier to replicate when I’m not wearing them which, of course, is so much better for Hannah.
Our last few competitions scores have shown a noticeable improvement, with no comments about the ‘contact’. However, I do find it a little difficult to gather up my reins while wearing the gloves…. I feel like a T-Rex, and I may also need a slightly longer schooling whip, but Hannah certainly isn’t complaining about that! Nor am I.
Now that my hand issues are finally getting under control, I am even more excited to continue our journey up the levels, but I honestly hadn’t appreciated just how much influence hand stability (or in my case, instability) had on our performance.
The Steady-Hand gloves have truly been a game changer for me and if you’re having similar issues, I would certainly recommend giving them a try if get the opportunity.
Alison
Well done Alison, your hard work is so noticeable and has been truly reflected in your scores.
Remember if you are an EquiTeam member you can get a discount code for these gloves by heading to My EquiTeam.
Lauren from Equestrian Fitness Scotland has also recently created a three part hand stability workout for members which is on the Fit to Ride with EquiTeam page.
