Equimech

UPDATE: MONDAY NIGHT FULLY BOOKED
🚨 NEW RIDER CONDITIONING CLASSES 🚨
⚠️Two separate groups on Monday & Thursday evenings
📍 Location: Equimech
📅 Start: Thursday 17th September and Monday 21st September @ 7pm
👥 All levels welcome

📲 Find out more or book your place here:
https://Equimech.as.me/FaceToFaceGroupClasses

This programme is specifically designed for riders and blends:
✅ Equipilates
✅ Strength training
✅ Mobility work
💪🐴 You’ll build:
✔️ Better balance and body control
✔️ More security and precision in the saddle
✔️ A stronger, more connected riding position

Equestrians are always short on "me time"!
Coordinating exercises to include several muscle groups shorten our training time. If you're struggling to find the time to train off horse and need help with a rider specific programme or more accountability to stay on track, get in touch. 🙌

OBJECTIVE TOPLINE MEASUREMENTS
Why, how and who should take them?

We talk a lot about a horse having a “good topline”, but how do we know whether the horse is actually developing and maintaining functional topline musculature under the saddle? Answer – We measure

WHY?
Because the topline is dynamic.

One of the changes we commonly look for is a loss of muscular volume and functional tension around the base of the withers and underneath the front of the saddle — potentially producing the shape you can see in the red outline in the video. 👇

Our goal is to see the horse able to lift, engage and maintain functional muscular support through the back, represented by the green outline.

Using the VBR measurement methodology, we would expect to see measurable changes in the horse's back profile following ridden work — including approximately 1–1.5 cm of lift at the base of the withers and around 0.5–1.5 cm of widening after approximately 20 minutes of riding.

These measurements provide us with an objective way of monitoring how the horse's back is responding to ridden work. If the expected change isn't occurring, that doesn't automatically tell us what the problem is — but it does give us a reason to investigate further.

HOW TO MEASURE?
The VBR methodology uses a Flexicurve to objectively record the horse's cross-sectional profile at specific points along the back. Measurements are taken at the tree-point and stirrup-bar positions — approximately 5 cm and 15 cm behind the scapula respectively for an ErgoX2 of Sweden saddle.

The cross-sectional angle behind the shoulder is also assessed. We use approximately 90° as a reference, with angles below 75° considered a potential concern, indicating a flatter profile and reduced functional muscular development in this area.

The longitudinal profile of the back is also measured from the shoulder towards the deepest point of the back. Within the VBR system, approximately 20–21 cm is considered the reference range, with 16–19 cm classified as short and 22–24 cm as long.

These measurements give us something that photographs and visual assessment alone cannot: Objective data that can be compared over time.

WHO SHOULD MEASURE?
At Equimech, we take these measurements before and after the ridden section of our E360 Rider–Saddle–Horse Assessment.

The measurements form just one part of our overall assessment — they don't tell the whole story.

And importantly, we encourage riders to learn how to monitor their own horse.

Why? - Because the Rider–Saddle–Horse relationship is dynamic.

Waiting until the next saddle check — perhaps six or twelve months later — means potentially missing changes that could be identified much earlier.

Riders have the power to take regular objective measurements to help them spot trends, monitor changes and ask better questions about why their horse's back is changing.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?
VBR have produced a free Horse’s Topline Guide which can be downloaded from the VBR Education website.

The measuring sheets and Flexicurves are available to purchase from the accessories section of the ErgoX2 of Sweden Webshop.

When it comes to the Rider–Saddle–Horse relationship, what we can measure objectively, can help us understand what we see.

📢RIDERS!

Before you lift weights...
Before you have your saddle assessed...
Before you have stirrups fitted...

Ask yourself - Is my body actually working the way it should?

Many of the problems we see in the saddle don't start with the saddle, the stirrups or a lack of strength.

They often begin with how the rider moves.
🔹 Limited mobility
🔹 Poor stability
🔹 Asymmetry
🔹 Inefficient movement patterns
🔹 Previous injury compensation
🔹 Reduced body awareness

When weight training, if these issues aren't identified and addressed first, you risk strengthening dysfunctional movement patterns rather than improving them.

Likewise, a saddle or stirrup can only be truly optimised for the rider who is sitting in it. If that rider is compensating because of restrictions or imbalances, the equipment may be adjusted to suit the compensation rather than addressing its cause.

That's why our Rider PT Programmes, ErgoX2 of Sweden Saddle Assessments and Ryde® Stirrup Fittings, begin with a Rider Biomechanics Assessment.

By understanding your form, function and movement first, we can:
✔ Identify the underlying causes of many riding difficulties.
✔ Produce a truly rider-specific strength & conditioning programme.
✔ Optimise saddle and stirrup set-up to support more efficient, balanced movement, rather than simply accommodating existing compensations.
✔ Help create a more balanced partnership between rider, saddle and horse.

Our goal isn't simply to make changes.
It's to make the right changes.

Because the best outcomes happen when the rider, the saddle and the horse work in harmony.

🚀 CAN WE HELP NICCI GO ONE STEP FURTHER? Watch to the end and decide for yourself...

Nicci and Casper are already achieving fantastic results, having qualified for the Amateur Championships at the Dublin Horse Show next week. But like many successful riders, Nicci knows that performance is built on the small details.

She has embraced our E360 Rider-Saddle-Horse philosophy by ensuring every part of the partnership is working together:

✅ Riding in an ErgoX2 of Sweden Confidence jumping saddle, professionally selected and fitted for both horse and rider.

✅ Completing an Equimech Rider Biomechanics Assessment, with a personalised programme of corrective and activation exercises.

✅ Maintaining her strength, mobility and stability through our weekly Rider Conditioning classes.

✅ Continuing her training at home with access to almost 100 workouts in the Equimech Video library.

Yesterday, Nicci and Casper returned to Equimech to trial the new Ryde Adjustable™ stirrups.

Could one final piece of the puzzle make an even bigger difference to comfort, balance and communication?

🎥 Watch the video and let us know... what differences did you notice?

Wishing Nicci and Casper the very best of luck at Dublin—we'll be cheering you both on! 🍀🐴

NEW SOLUTIONS IN THE EQUIMECH PORTFOLIO!

We now also "Assess & Address" with Ryde®

Try the world's first fully adjustable stirrups, Ryde Adjustable™ or Ryde Align at Equimech.

On site fitting and trial now included in our "E360 Rider-Saddle-Horse Assessment", as a no cost option. Also available as a standalone "Rider Biomechanics Assessment & Fitting".

Click the Book Now button on the Equimech page for further details and current appointment availability.