Call me intrigued - I’ve been looking at the CC breastplate with the T hand grips. No exact NEED for it, but I wonder how different it is from the old school “crop across both hands under the thumbs” method of creating quieter hands? My issue is more of the open fingers/lengthening rein variety (reins with the rubber stoppers fixes that pretty well) so I am just curious if anyone has used one of these and if it does… well anything 
Thoughts?
I bought this last year. I use more because my horse can be spooky and/or strong. So holding the T grips helps me keep my seat secure and I don’t end up fighting with him. I don’t use it all the time. I will just have the T grips hooked together acrossed his neck. Lately he has been very strong at the canter so I only hold the T grips when I canter. My only complaint is I feel the grips are too big for my hands. It just feels like I cannot close my hand around my reins.
I think it runs big. I have a 16 hand OTTB who I wouldn’t say is super refined but he’s also not a tank. I have a full size and I have the breast collar on the last hole and it’s still loose. He doesn’t need it to hold the saddle in place so I don’t care. The leather is really nice.
It’s a fantastic aid. I’ve used it and talked about it with very accomplished riders who rave about it. Some like it as a tune-up for their hands. One told me that it helped her stay on during a naughty sideways moment by a baby. In short it’s worlds apart from crop in thumbs, which itself is a fine exercise.
ETA: Agree with @arbeegirl about the nice leather. For that quality I’m surprised that it’s not priced much higher.
Do y’all find that the change in mechanics carries over to when you’re not using it? I wonder if it’s a crutch you could come to rely on, having the neck to pull against.
Just musing here, and tempted to try one if the opportunity presents itself.
I don’t find I depend on it. I just use it as tool when I need to use a little something. I have a grab strap on my saddle which would use but it changes your hand position too much. This device keeps your hands in a much better position.
Wanted to bump this thread in case there are more reviews or observations? @fivestrideline articulated my exact question–can you recreate the feel after dropping the toggles? I want to learn, I don’t want create a crutch.
I’m sitting in the back of the struggle bus when it comes to my arm/hand connection to the bit and despite understanding consistent and steady connection, I just cannot seem to achieve it!
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