The issue of consumer choice occurred to me when I recently saw a well-known dressage trainer teaming up with a saddle maker to market a new dressage saddle. The question crossed my mind as to how many more new saddle designs does the world need and how buyers are supposed to sort it out?
I was recently in the market for some new hoof rasps and was surprised at the huge range of rasps on the market. It was so overwhelming that I couldn’t absorb all the details about each style, brand, and reviews by previous purchasers. I chose the easiest course of action by buying the one most closely resembling my worn-out rasps.
If you walk into any business selling horse gear or connect to any online tack shop, and you are faced with a huge range of choices of models, sizes, colours, materials, weights, etc. It’s all a little too much for me. I feel like a deer in headlights.
In my work, I use certain equipment that I have found suits me. The halters I use at home have been chosen after many years of using a huge variety of halters. The flag I have at home is the best I have ever used because of its perfect weight, length, and balance. The same can be said for reins, riding boots, sunglasses, and so on.
My point is that the choices I have made in the gear I use have largely come from many years of trial and error.
Working with other people’s equipment at clinics has made me aware that most people are not as fortunate as I am to be able to try a large variety of equipment and make informed choices as to whether to discard or embrace them.
I have often been asked why I don’t sell gear. I am always happy to tell people what I use and why. If they are interested, I'm fine with giving them a source where they can purchase the item. However, I won't sell them any products, and I won't accept sponsorship from businesses wanting me to promote their products. But I want to be clear that this is not a criticism of other professionals who make the equipment they use available to their clients and students. Many people are appreciative that they can find the right gear from their favourite horse person. But I'm not comfortable doing that.
Firstly, I don’t want people to think that because I sell it, everything else is junk. Some clinicians/trainers tell people to buy their product if they are going to work with them, or they attempt to emotionally blackmail people by telling them that the gear they sell is the best and only equipment that can help their horse. In my view, this is just wrong. If people believe the brand of equipment they use is going to make the difference between their horses going well and poorly, then I have a very good bargain on an Opera House in Sydney I’d like to sell them.
The second reason I don’t sell or promote my favourite tools is that what works for me may not work for another person. For example, I like the weight of the lead ropes I have at home. But I know that some women may find them too heavy and don’t fit so well in their smaller hands. The flag I use is perfectly weighted for me, but people who like the Parelli carrot sticks will find my flag too light and perhaps flimsy.
And lastly, it could be that tomorrow I will find a better saddle, or bit, or halter, or flag than the one I’m using or selling today. Then I will no longer be able to sell that product, honestly believing it is the best on the market.
It’s important that you use the gear that works best for you. However, the reasons why a person believes their gear works well have to be more substantial than because their favourite trainer or Olympic medalist has their name stamped on it.
This brings me to the related subject of sponsorship.
Corporate sponsorship is what enables professionalism in horse sports. Without sponsorship, there would be no large international competitions, professional competitors, or horse trainers with 5-star facilities. So it could be argued that sponsorship is a good thing. However, the downside is that because there is a commercial arrangement between horse people and businesses, the promotion of a product by a horse person is not always unbiased.
There are trainers whose names are linked to products that have nothing to do with their expertise as horse people. Some trainers have their trucks and trailers plastered with 20 or more logos of various sponsors. I know one trainer who had his name on a female shampoo product. Another trainer I know had a logo for a feed company on his trailer, but at home, he never used that company’s feed because he found his horses wouldn’t eat it.
When you are in the market for a product and are not sure what you should be buying, it’s very hard not to be swayed by the recommendations of a well-known horse person. When you attend horse clinics of a trainer you like, it’s difficult not to be tempted to buy the flag or halter they sell in the hope it will make all the difference to your horsemanship.
I think the only advice I can offer is to do as much research as you can before going shopping. Then decide on the important parameters that you want in the product (eg, if buying reins, you might look at stiffness, weight, buckle, split or one piece, length, thickness, material, cost, etc) and stick to your choice after becoming well informed. If you find a product that meets those requirements, then buy it, irrespective of whether it is sold by or associated with your horse idol.
I am considering selling a line of clothing.