04/05/2021
Top Tip Tuesday
I have said this before, and I will say it again... and again... and again... because it's so darn important AND it's so darn common!
🤓Check. Your. Leathers. 🤓
⭐️Don't check they're on the same number hole (these ones are!).
⭐️Don't presume because they're fairly new that they're ok (these ones were pretty new).
⭐️And don't think it's not important... because it IS.
Even the smallest amount of difference makes a HUGE difference to your horse.
Imagine you were giving someone a piggy 🐷 back, and they hung off one side, even just a little bit.... how much you'd have to brace and compensate for them being uneven.
🦄Think about your horse, as you ask for canter... you're expecting him to lift his inside limbs up to make a nice transition... that's a million times harder if you're hanging off that side - even if it's only by a few mm.
👇🏽
The best way to check them? Take them off the saddle, put your feet in the stirrups and check to see if the buckles are level... just like I am doing in this photo!
👇🏽
What can you do to help keep them even?
👌🏽Use a mounting block, don't mount from the ground.
👌🏽Make sure you ride evenly. If you mainly hack, change diagonals in trot regularly and change legs in canter, so you ride each 'side' evenly.
👌🏽Plus... swap them over (left to right, right to left) every time you clean your tack.
⭐️And, consider getting a really decent pair of non-stretch leathers. ⭐️
