I ride my horse over poles and in water to help him with picking up feet/building those muscles so that when I collect him I can get slightly better gaits. My question is - has anyone tried any of the gimmicks used in the gaited/saddlebred community for leg action?
I know that I cannot show in any of that gear, but I’m wondering if riding with weighted bell boots and such could help my horse by muscle memory.
Thoughts/Experiences Welcomed!
Leg action does not equal a horse moving well from behind. Proper training will achieve this.
Not to mention whatever damage it might cause to the legs.
Of course, but proper training won’t change a horses tendencies for leg action. I’m wondering if anyone has had any success with using minimal weights to create a “natural” flashier gait.
I’m not looking to go over the top, just wondering if it’s something that can be used in moderation just like any other tool/exercise?
Why do you want leg action? A horse can snatch up their feet but that doesn’t mean they are taking more weight on to the hindend. While ASB fans would take offense, most that I see are traveling very out behind. Through boots and/or training they have a lot of hock action but it is very up and down rather than stepping forward and under the body like you want in a dressage horse. It’s hard to see how weighed boots would be value added?
What muscles would possibly be affected? The biceps? I find the notion of muscle memory here to be inconceivable.
I agree with the above remarks. I feel like it would have similar consequences of someone trying to run with leg weights. It causes the stride to change and unnecessary strain on the joints, not only by the weights themselves but by the unnatural movement created in order to keep moving without tripping. It promotes poor form…
No, because when you ride in water or over poles, all four legs are affected by the conditions, which means the hind end would match the front end. I don’t think you’d want to put weighted bell boots on hind feet since you generally want a quick hind leg in flight, so with only weighted bell boots in front, you have no guarantee the hind end is working better than normal.
Besides water and poles/cavaletti, I find trotting in tall grass and doing a big trot up a long but gradual incline the best thing for improving the trot - because you are strengthening the muscles in the hind end at least as much as the front at the same time. Then when I ride in the arena, I school 5 or more different trots asking for different muscles to do more work. I found additional gears in my horse’s trot when I got him really strong in the half steps (which took about a year) and schooled the piaffe. I now have access to much more cadence and suspension in the collected trot, extended trot, and now passage.
The height and jump canter is only going to improve by improving the engagement and collection.
Agreed that when I see saddle seat riding, it mimics collection in the front but is strung out behind. Big fore leg action, trailing hocks, hollow back. I realize some dressage horses at upper levels do tend to move like this at an extreme extended trot, but it is not ideal.
OP says they want to use bell boots to improve action at collected gaits. If part of the goal of collection is to get the horse light in front, I can’t think that weighting the front feet will help.
Also saddle seat horses aren’t meant to have any lateral mobility.
Who knows, though, it might be useful for getting toe flick. I wonder if some dressage people are already quietly using weights at home?
But I think you’d have to use them all the time so the horse rebounds and pops the leg up when they come off. I don’t think they build good muscle or real gaits.
We’re doing dressage here which is all about carefully and methodically bringing out the natural ability in each horse.
When a horse is ridden well within a good training plan, no tricks or gimmicks are needed.
Stick with the tried and true training methods. You and your horse will both be better for it.
The bell boots I see have 5 oz weights…some as high as 16 oz’s (ie. 1 lb)
My horse (1200 lbs) has had mud clods in his feet that weigh more than that.
This is not on the same scale as runner (120 lbs ?) with weights on their ankles (2-4 lbs).
Having been around saddlebreds that have used these minimally weighted bell boots, I can tell you they are used to build muscle and stamina. The key is to not go overboard. They are usually used for short periods of time during the main workout and they are not used everyday. Start with brief periods and work up. They ‘can’ improve range of motion…but for some horses they have little effect.
They do not create collection, and they will not make the horse use its back correctly.
OP, you sound reasonable. Moderation is the key, proceed accordingly.
Of course it will. What do you think dressage training IS?
It won’t make a more flat mover a leg flinger, but if dressage is done correctly the horse starts to have more bend in all hind leg joints and in the knees.
I used to have a horse who wanted to be a front-end flinger. My instructor would ream me for allowing her to do that, as it was incorrect. She wasn’t moving from behind & over her back when she flung her front end around. Once I learned how to not let her do that, we were able to progress beyond 2nd Level.
I would think that the weighted front bell boots would encourage flinging at the expense of correct throughness.
Exactly.
Yes, proper training will give you more lift, suspension, and flair.
Weighted boots will give you lameness issues, and a false sense of fashion.
5 oz weighted bell boots will not cause lameness, nor create leg flinging.
They are also not a substitute for correct training, and will not suddenly create a ‘10’ moving GP horse.
I would not. Hind end makes the front end. raised cavaletti might be more of a thought. good luck.
I have seen it done. But the weights (IIRC 1kg) were in the front and back and they were only used occasionally, by a professional.
Thank you for the responses! I appreciate how the dressage community truly has a heart for the horse.
I’ve seen a trainer use those petal bell boots - they clack! And it did create more action. But it was frantic rushed tense action. I’m not sure I’d consider it “useful” in any training way.
Ground poles/cavaletti are probably a better training tool if you are trying to get the horse to pick up its feet more? Lateral work actually helps too…
Just fyi, weighted bell boots are used to speed up the movement in the front end, not add “motion” Also used to build shoulder muscle in some cases. Stretchies are used to increase the range of motion in the shoulder.
If you want bigger movement, go find some hills and build muscle, then go do ground poles.
ASB’s used to use their back and step under themselves, till trainers started using shortcuts. But I see similar issues in Dressage land as well.
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