the big test
Horseware – Easi-Up Stirrups
The company says: The first mechanical product developed for riders, giving the option to look at horses that are a hand and a half taller than the one you are currently riding. The stirrup itself is lightweight, weighing in at just 560G. The stirrup, and its drop down mechanism give you an additional six inches. Lightweight high quality die cast Alloy Construction frame with a shock absorbing Nylon plastic footrest. Black/Grey. One Size. RRP: £99.95.
www.horseware.com
Our tester, Caroline Mosley, says: As someone with short legs and giant horses, these stirrups were extremely useful and so easy to use! Simply press the red button and the arm drops down, use it to mount up (it’s the equivalent of dropping your stirrups down 6 holes!) and hop up. Once in the saddle, put your weight in the stirrup and the arm swings back up and clicks into place! No fiddling around and, if you have a horse that doesn’t like to stand, you don’t have to fiddle around sorting your stirrups out. Really handy for hacking or TREC. My only negative is that the mechanism is only available on one stirrup (the other stirrup is weighted so it matches well and is comfy) and riders doing TREC often need to mount from any side, so having the mechanism on both stirrups would be awesome!! But it’s a minor complaint really as it’s still a really handy piece of kit for everyday hacking. Love the clever design, very useful for anyone having to mount from the ground.
GroomAway – Clean & Restore Saddle Soap
The company says: A traditional, and much favoured product that softens and conditions leather. For use on all saddlery, harness and leather items. Provides a protective finish and leaves a clean, nourished finish. Non-sticky so no marking hands or clothing. 400g. RRP: £8.00
www.flyaway.ltd.uk
Our tester, Maria Phillips, says: A traditional hard soap that has the feel of glycerine. I used it on all my saddlery and leatherwork and a tub went a very long way! I applied it after first removing any grease and dirt from my tack and used a sponge immersed in a warm water that had most of the excess water removed. Not too soapy, it absorbed easily and left my tack feeling soft, clean and supple without leaving any greasy residue or marks on my clothing. Having used a soft saddle soap of another brand for a long time, I must admit this product is not as easy to use. However, from a quality point of view it is an excellent product and does what’s it says on the tin.
Harry Hall – Cottage Craft Comfy Web Lunge Rein With Markers The company says:
11 metres with handle loop & high quality anti-rust trigger clip and 10m, 15m & 20m markers. Allowing you to work your horse on varied size of circles when lunging. Black/Grey. RRP: £22.00
www.harryhall.co.uk
Our tester, Gillian McMurray, says: My lunge reins go back to the year dot so I was pleased to have the opportunity to trial a new one. This is made from double thick, tubular webbing and is certainly very soft in the hand. It is also an inch wide which I found easier to get a good grip of than a wider one.
The line is of a generous length with another metre of material past the 20m mark. It has different coloured markers at 10, 15 and 20m intervals, which is an innovative idea and this helped to make sure that the pony made similar sized circles on both reins.
I think this would be particularly useful when lunging in an open grass area, as opposed to an arena, in order to work the pony evenly on whichever size of circle was required for the exercise. A very useful addition to training equipment.
www.theequinesite.co.uk Equine Page 37
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