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Polo is a unique riding style all it's own combining useful traits from both english and western disciplines. Below is a breif description of our riding style with a breakdown of what concepts may be familar to you and your horse and what may be new.
Tack
Saddle: English, a polo saddle provides the rider close contact with his or her horse. A forward, deep seat and high
pommel are typical.
Bridle: English, usually made of wider, sturdy leather to withstand rigors of play. Double reins are used for added
control and to aid in quick stopping need.
Bit: Western or English, most bits used have shanks. A pelham bit is one of the most commonly used. Gag bits are
also seen.
Other: It is important to wrap a polo ponies legs to protect from the following: should a mallet or ball strike a
mount's leg, over reaching or clipping when going at high speeds or suddenly stopping, and to lend support
to liagments and tendons in order to prevent other injury.
Wrapping can be done with traditional polo wraps or by the application of Sports Medicine Boots (SMB). Some
players prefer to use a combination of SMB on front legs and wraps in back. Open front jumping boots can also
be applied over thin polo wraps on front legs for added protection. Some players also like to use bell boots to
protect the coronary band which wraps leave exposed. This is especially popular in Indoor Polo where there are
frequent "scrums" (many horses bumping into each other when the ball is dead).
Steering (Hands, Weight, Leg, and Seat)
Neck Reining: Western, left hand used as rider must carry mallet in right rand.
Weight: Using weight to stop or steer your horse is something that should be inherent to all riders. Sitting
deep in you seat should result in your horse slowing pace or stopping all together. In polo this is often
exagerated. Meaning if you slam your weight down in the seat your polo pony is very likely to slam on the
brakes. Many a new polo player has ended up on their mounts neck when trying this out. Older, seasoned
horses are especially skilled as they know this trick so well!
Leg: Both Western and English, the rider moves the horse around with leg pressure which may be more
commonplace in english riding, but Stirrups at lenght more usual in western ridining. This is also
why most riders wear western spurs.
Seat: Varies for moment to moment. Many players like to hit standing up in the saddle. This is similar to
english two point (since your legs are still in contact, but your rear "third point" is not) however the
rider will stand straight up, instead of the typical forward jumping position. It is also common to see
riders post the canter when conditioning horses. If nothing else this is an excellent way to build balance.
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