Why I don’t like the Pessoa

Why is the Pessoa considered an amazing tool for working a horse?

As with all things, at Equestrian Movement we have a strong opinion on it, because we have tried it many different times, with many different horses and seen many different horses who have been trained with that tool or that style. 

So when I say I don’t like the Pessoa, I’m not saying it from a place of “I’m better than that”. I’m genuinely saying I have used it and don’t like the results I get and here’s why: We are assuming that just because the horses head is tied down and its bum is under that its working correctly.

And I believe 100% that this is the biggest problem in the horse industry at the moment. Why we are seeing so many horses with behavioural issues and soundness issues. And it’s being encouraged because it’s being rewarded!! The overall outline of the head being down and rotation of the pelvis is given the higher marks at competitions. But then we wonder why our horses break down and we can’t keep them in work!

Every horse I see work in the Pessoa is leaning into the inside shoulder. All their weight is in the shoulder of the direction they are being worked. 

This is not self carriage. 

This isn’t balance. 

And it certainly isn’t setting your horse up for a long career of soundness, especially if you are going to add concussive exercises like showjumping.

Every horse I see work in the Pessoa is rotating the pelvis to engage instead of transferring the weight into the haunches. See previous paragraph!! If our horses are on the forehand and not transferring their weight into their haunches, any “engagement” created is a false engagement created by rotating the pelvis instead of flexing deeper into the haunches. 

Again this doesn’t set our horses up for a long sound career. Most often these horses will be sore and tight through the lower back, making them buck out especially into the canter transition. They will also struggle to maintain forwardness. They won’t be able to lift through the shoulder or carry themselves uphill so the transition from self carriage to collection becomes nearly impossible. These horses are often given up on because their trainer thinks they have reached the limits of their potential. 

Because the horse is leaning into the inside shoulder and rotating the pelvis their development is dysfunctional and unbalanced, so they are likely to have a lot of issues when developing self carriage. When it comes to work in a frame they will suck behind the bit, flex away at the third vertebrae instead of the pole, and be hollow through their back. Even though their head looks to be in a frame, it is impossible to achieve true frame in the pessoa system because the pieces of the puzzle that create a true frame (weight in their haunches, balanced evenly into all 4 legs and engaging and lifting through their core) cannot be done correctly.

And I get the logic behind it. It’s why I tried it in the first place. If the horse is worked in a frame then it will develop the muscles to hold itself in a frame and so must be working correctly. 

But here’s the kicker: if the horse is worked into a frame from external forces, the resistance of their body to this force engages the wrong muscles. A true frame comes from the horses slowly engaging and refining their own balance and core. 

Unfortunately there is no quick fix to establishing a working frame and if you truly want to excel with your horse, you need to put the time and effort into the foundations here in developing the balance and self carriage. 

Check out our awesome program that does this for you