----- Original Message -----

From: Lida Pinkham

To: undisclosed recipients:

Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:19 PM

Subject: [AERCMembersForum] Breast collar recommendations?

OK more newbie questions. I think I'm narrowing down on the heart rate monitor setup I want. I really like the idea of the wearlink receiver strap and I just need to decide what basic monitor I want that will work with that receiver. So thank you to everyone who shared their recommendations. I would love any others if there are more.   But my next questions is about breast collars. I think I have decided to use my dressage saddle instead of my western saddle. It is lighter, synthetic, more comfortable for me and about the same for my horse. We just did a 12 mile ride this weekend and his back was not sore at all. But, I don't have a breast collar for that saddle and plus the one I have for my western saddle is a more fancy western style that goes over the shoulders. I think the style that most endurance riders use will be more comfortable for trails.   I like this one I found on the Long Riders Gear site Zilco: http://www.longridersgear.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=83_30&products_id=66   Has anyone had any experience with their products? Any other products you would recommend or good sites to checkout.   Thanks again everyone for your help!   Lida

You can't go wrong with Zilco.



I didn't think to say this before, but... you do not need to spend all

this money when you're just getting started!  You don't need a heart

rate monitor at all, right now it's more important to learn to listen

and pay attention to your horse.  And as long as your dressage saddle

is comfortable and fits, you may not even need a breastcollar.  Do you

have serious hills where you are??  Does your saddle ever slide back?



This sport is about comfort and fitness, not technology and fashion,

no matter how it may seem sometimes.  ;-)



-Sharon L. in Maine







Quoting Lida Pinkham <lidapink@...>:



> OK more newbie questions. I think I'm narrowing down on the heart

> rate monitor setup I want. I really like the idea of the wearlink

> receiver strap and I just need to decide what basic monitor I want

> that will work with that receiver. So thank you to everyone who

> shared their recommendations. I would love any others if there are

> more.

>  

> But my next questions is about breast collars. I think I have

> decided to use my dressage saddle instead of my western saddle. It

> is lighter, synthetic, more comfortable for me and about the same

> for my horse. We just did a 12 mile ride this weekend and his back

> was not sore at all. But, I don't have a breast collar for that

> saddle and plus the one I have for my western saddle is a more fancy

>  western style that goes over the shoulders. I think the style that

> most endurance riders use will be more comfortable for trails.

>  

> I like this one I found on the Long Riders Gear site Zilco:

>

http://www.longridersgear.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=83_30&products_id=6\

6

>  

> Has anyone had any experience with their products? Any other

> products you would recommend or good sites to checkout.

>  

> Thanks again everyone for your help!

>  

> Lida

>

>

>

>>>>>Also as Sharon said - if your saddle stays in place without a breastcollar,

you don't have to spend the money for one.



I was recently riding with another horse whose rider came off and the saddle

turned. The horse bolted and ran a mile or so back to the barn. When I got there

the saddle was on the horse's side, being held there by the breastcollar which

kept it from going completely under the horse. The horse had a bad rub from the

breastcollar, but the saddle was unharmed and the horse wasn't badly injured. I

prefer to not crank my girth up extremely tight so  with no breastcollar or

cupper this would be a risk for me. This was the first time I saw how important

the breastcollar could be to save an expensive saddle in the event of an

accident.



Angie McGhee

____________________________________________________________

The difference is clear. Click now for a great laminating machine!

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Well - there are good and bad points for everything.  I ride with one, but I've seen a horse tearing back and forth through a ride camp with the saddle held on *just* by the breast collar - the girth was loose, and the saddle was hanging off the side, flopping around and totally freaking the horse out.  

I do firmly believe in breastcollars for safety... look at any picture

of me and my horse, and you'll see I use a breastplate and crupper (I

ride treeless).  My comment was because it sounded as if she thought

she had to buy an HRM and biothane tack in order to begin

conditioning.  I figured, if she's been riding without a breastplate

for all this time, and she's just getting started, she doesn't have to

change anything until the need presents itself.

-Sharon L. in Maine





Quoting Barbara White <barbdoug2@...>:



> Not only can a breast collar save an expensive saddle as Angie said,

>  it can also save a life.  There was a major accident several years

> ago at a 100 miler.  A horse went berserk when his saddle slipped

> under his belly, and he crashed into other horses, seriously

> injuring two riders.  One of those riders had to be taken out by

> helicopter for surgery.  A breast collar may seem like a nuisance if

>  your horse doesn't need one, but after that accident I became a

> believer in my horses wearing breast collars regardless of their

> need for saddle slippage.

>

> Barbara

I sure wouldn't ride in the canyons (or probably anywhere else) without a breast

collar, however, having read the Tevis rules many times over, and starting the

ride 3 times (completed once, 3rd time was the charm)I've never heard or read

any rule about tack of any kind, nor was my horse checked for a breast collar.

It would be impossible to check for a breast collar at the start, since it's in

the dark and a huge number of horses are starting pretty much at the same time.

But still, I agree with Hope, if you're going to ride Tevis, better have a

breast collar.



Kathy



--- In AERCMembersForum@yahoogroups.com, hope lundquist <wwho20@...> wrote:

>

>

> More on Breast Collars: Ride Managers can also put in their Ride Rules that

you MUST have a breast collar

> on your horse. The Tevis Cup Ride has that rule. No Breast Collar, No Start.

They examine every Rider before

> the Rider can enter the Start area. It was not always that way.  What changed

was a very serious accident

> caused by a Rider who did not have a Breast Collar on his horse. The other

rider was forced off the trail & had

> to be airlifted to a  hospital. If you have any future plans to some day try

the Tevis, now is the time to buy

> and use your new breast collar

>

> Hope Lundquist/west

>

>From: hope lundquist wwho20@... speaking about Tevis rules requiring

all riders to have a breast collar.



>If before about 2004 it was not in their rules.



I was unable to find any such rule in the 2009 rules on the Tevis website:



http://www.teviscup.org/forms/2009_rules.pdf



Can somebody show me where in this document there is a rule requiring a breast

collar?



The only "equipment" requirements I noticed were the one requiring some kind of

hoof protection for the horse/equine, and an ASTM/SEI helmet for minors.



Have I missed something, or is this "rule" somewhere other than in the online

rules.



kat

Orange County, Calif.

I rode Tevis in 2005, 2006, 2007 and there was no rule regarding tack. There was

no tack check on ride day. There is no mention of any equipment requirement

anywhere on the website or in the magazine, other than the helmet for juniors

and hoof protection for equines.



Kathy





>

> >From: hope lundquist wwho20@... speaking about Tevis rules requiring all

riders to have a breast collar.

>

> >If before about 2004 it was not in their rules.

Hi Lida,



First, WELCOME!  It is always nice to "see" new faces, both here and on the

trail.  We all hope you enjoy and have fun in our sport since we all love it so

much ourselves.



Following up on Sharon's, Elizabeth's and Maryben's comments about gear, you

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff.  Condition in the

gear you have now.  After you've done several 5-7 hr conditioning rides (mostly

at the walk - you are going for the time out, not miles or speed), you will have

a very good handle on what MUST be replaced and what works just fine.



As for heart monitors, I use just a stethoscope and prefer them.  They don't

need batteries, are always right, and are inexpensive.  I know only two reasons

to use a heart monitor. 1) If you are hard of hearing and 2) To keep track of

your horse's heart rate coming into a vet check so you know how far out to drop

to a walk.  Those who use a monitor to "see" when the pulse gets "too high" are,

in my opinion, just getting in their own way.  The high rates can scare them

into dropping back too soon (during conditioning) and they learn to depend on

them too much.  As Sharon said, it is far more important to listen to and pay

attention to your horse... and once you acquire the skill, you don't need a

heart monitor to tell you when your horse needs to slow down.  I was on a trail

ride with some friends when one of them started voicing concern about her heart

monitor's readings.  They were erratic but she couldn't tell anything from them.

   I got off and used my stethoscope on her horse and discovered that it's pulse

was very irregular and the heart was missing a lot of beats, far more useful

than a bunch of numbers all over the place.



So hold off on buying "stuff" till you've ridden enough conditioning miles to

KNOW that you need something other than what you already have.  And especially

don't worry about clothing.  Whatever you condition in is fine for the rides.

In fact, it is BETTER to ride in what you use at home to condition because you

know that it will work for you.  If you are comfortable in some beat up old

sweats, don't get a fancy, schmancy new pair of riding tights and riding undies

for competition only to discover 15 miles out that they rub the crap out of the

back of your knee, or the crotch holds sweat and rubs your privates raw.  If you

must buy new riding pants, be sure to test them on one of the aforementioned

LONG conditioning rides before you take them out on the road :)



And remember the old maxim.  NEVER change any of your gear the day of a ride.

That one little mistake has cost hundreds of riders and horses untold misery.



--

Diane Trefethen

AERC #2691

West Region

Thanks everyone for all of the feedback & the welcome!



Lucky for me I have been trail riding for years so I have most of the gear I

need. I do appreciate that y'all are a practical bunch and want to save me some

money!



I used to do short rides in my dressage saddle years ago and I don't ever

remember it slipping. However, my western saddle did slip on very steep hills

when I used a wool pad, but I have a non-slip pad now that we both like better.

But I started using a breast collar with my western saddle so I am not sure if

it slips anymore or not.



But the dressage saddle is more comfortable for me and from all the reading I've

done, it sounds like you need what is most comfortable for both you and your

horse. I got the western saddle a few years ago when I started to do more trail

riding because I thought it would be more comfortable for my horse (more surface

area) and would give me more stabilily for those spooks.



But my horse rarely spooks on the trail and if he does he pretty much spooks in

place. And so I am trying out my dressage saddle. And my last ride in my

dressage saddle was 12 miles and his back did not seem sore at all. So I am just

going to monitor how he does. But I didn't have a breast collar for my dressage

saddle and just figured it was a safety thing as many of you mentioned. I have a

borrowed one from a friend right now. But maybe I will try a few rides without

it and see how it goes.



As to the heart rate monitor. I've tried taking pulse with my fingers and with a

stethescope and I have not had much luck with either. With the stethescope I

would just start to think I heard his heart beat when fly would land on him and

he would shake and all I would hear is hair rubbing against it. Also, they

really hurt my ears. I have small ears and I even have problems with earbuds

that you use for listening to iPods or cell phones. When I asked one of the

riders who volunteered to help me learn more about endurance, she suggested a

heart rate monitor. Another was going to try to help me with finding his heart

beat with a stethescope, but we never got to it.



My horse has a history of heaves (long story there, but no heaving for over 4

years now that I know how to manage it) and so I want to be extra careful with

his conditioning to be sure I don't push him too hard too fast without knowing

it. Since I am new to the sport and I have never done anything so challenging

with my horse, I am afraid I won't know what is too much. I'd rather take it too

slow than push too hard. Seems like a heart rate monitor could save me some

expensive vet bills in the long run. I am hoping it will help me learn to read

my horse better. I do see the importance of getting to know your horse because

technology is not always reliable!



Thanks again for all the great feedback! I am really looking forward to learning

more about the sport. I have 2 15 mile CTRs planned to start - 1 in August and 1

in September and hope to be ready for a LD ride in September. If all goes well,

we'll try another in October.



Wish me luck!



Lida



--- In AERCMembersForum@yahoogroups.com, Diane Trefethen <tref@...> wrote:

>

> As for heart monitors, I use just a stethoscope and prefer them.  They don't

> need batteries, are always right, and are inexpensive.  I know only two

reasons

> to use a heart monitor. 1) If you are hard of hearing and 2) To keep track of

> your horse's heart rate coming into a vet check so you know how far out to

drop

> to a walk.

--- In AERCMembersForum@yahoogroups.com, Char Jewell <ban_zus@...> wrote:

> Where you do live?

---

Thanks for the reminder, I don't think I introduced myself to this group. I

recently joined a bunch of CTR/Endurance groups.



Currently, I live in the Indianapolis area. I have only been here for 2 years.

Befor that I was in Northern Maine for 3 1/2 years and before that North

Carolina for 11 years. I went to college in Pennslyvania and grew up in

Connecticut. :-)



I grew up riding and showing horses in Saddleseat Equitation. I rode a morgan

and a saddlebred. My mom and my sister showed appaloosas. Believe it or not, I

trail rode my morgan all over the place in a cut-back saddle and double-bridle

and had the BEST time. I still can't believe I did it. One of our favorite

things to do was ride down to Dairy Queen!



I went for about 10 years without owning a horse - too poor through college and

after graduation, but I kept riding - whoever who let me ride their horse for

free! I was very interested in dressage and started taking lessons.



I bought Doc to be my dressage horse, but my horse was really not that into it.

I also had some problems with him spooking and running away from me so I realy

got into Parelli Natural Horsemanship and loved it. I did a little trail riding

as well. But after I moved to Northern Maine where there are very few shows and

only 2 dressage instructors in the whole county that I knew of, and more trails

than I could ever ride, I decided to move to trail riding. Doc was much more

enthusiastic about trail riding than he ever was in the dressage arena. So I

thought maybe we should try distance riding. But we moved from Maine before I

could really get started. I went and watched a CTR in New Bruswick while I was

there and it looked like fun!



So now I am finally settled in Indiana and looking forward to learning more

about the sport! I just joined the AERC and have contacted one of the local

mentors and have ridden with her twice. So far, I think my horse is really going

to like it!



Here are a few pictures of us riding on the trail...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lidapink/TrailRiding



and some more general photos, including a couple dressage pictures...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lidapink/WhitehallSDoctorJoe



I also have a few pictures on Facebook. If you are on there, let me know and

I'll add you as a friend.



Lida