Archives

360 240 Cowan Cavalletti for Horses | cowancavalletti.co.nz

Cowan Cavalletti will be a Equidays.

Cowan Cavalletti will be at Equidays, 18-20 October at Mystery Creek, Hamilton. Tammy Cowan will be there to listen to your training needs.

The Cowan Cavalletti stand can be found inside the auditorium at P76. Cowan Cavalletti are also available for instructors to use in clinics during Equidays.

There is a chance to win three stackable Versatile cavalletti in Aqua Royall Marrakech design and two white poles, valued at $675 at the NZ Horse & Pony magazine. All subscribers to the magazine go into the draw to win this set.

There is the option to order products online before October 7th and pick up orders at Equidays.

360 240 Cowan Cavalletti for Horses | cowancavalletti.co.nz

Who hasn’t worried about their horse getting hurt when cantering over poles on the ground?

The Cowan Cavalletti ‘Soft Pole’ minimizes the risk of a horse getting injured during training.

When Rob Ehrens, Olympic show jump coach for the Netherlands was in New Zealand he told Tammy at Cowan Cavalletti that she needed to have a soft pole in her range of equestrian training products. Soft poles are used widely in Europe to train a horse where to put their feet and to direct them where to to go. They are light for a rider to move about, ours are only 1.6kg each and safer for a horse if they stand on them they are not likely to stumble.
They can improve a jumping style: develop a nice bouncy jump at a fence by placement of Soft Poles before and after as part of the canter stride.
Encourage a horse to approach a jump centrally: use two soft poles to channel a horse towards a fence by placing one end of a soft pole on the fence and the other on the ground.
Some horse lift their feet higher over soft poles compared to regular wooden poles. They certainly do not want to touch the poles as the ends of the pole lift off the ground when stood on.
They are so easy to use because of their weight. People can carry many when setting up a course. You can even fit a number of poles cars.
At Cowan Cavalletti we set about making a robust New Zealand Soft Pole, able to withstand our rain, mud and UV rays, while being stylish. We used the most robust type of PVC, the most robust outdoor marine foam and the most skilled workmanship in welding the PVC to keep out the moisture. Even our labels have special coatings to protect it against UV light.

360 240 Cowan Cavalletti for Horses | cowancavalletti.co.nz

A Different Type of Horse-Power!

Cowan Cavalletti is pleased to stay within our equestrian sphere, in having the naming rights of the Cowan Motorsport New Zealand team race car. Like all equestrian pursuits the sports people have lots of learning’s, and fluctuations in emotion from sheer panic, exhilaration, despair and joy. The race series they have entered is the budget, Le Mons series, commonly known as the Lemons 12 hour, or 24 hours endurance series. It’s a tongue and cheap fun series for motorsport enthusiasts. Cowan Cavalletti rides the rollercoaster of emotions following their journey. Follow them on https://www.facebook.com/cowanmotorsportnz/

360 240 Cowan Cavalletti for Horses | cowancavalletti.co.nz

A Favourite Exercise Using Cavalletti

Lizzie Green, top New Zealand Eventer takes us through how to set up a simple cavalletti exercise using three Original Cowan Cavalletti.

361 240 Cowan Cavalletti for Horses | cowancavalletti.co.nz

The Trick to Jumping Skinny’s

Lizzie Green takes us through how she trains her young horses to jump skinny jumps. There are no options for jumps to fall down in the cross country phase of Eventing, so Lizzie likes to start her horses by giving them confidence but also the option to make mistakes in the initial stages of training. Cowan Cavalletti has designed a jump for Lizzie to help with this training – its aptly called the Skinny Lizzie!

1024 512 Cowan Cavalletti for Horses | cowancavalletti.co.nz

What is a Cavalletti?

Cavaletti (also spelled cavalletti, singular (rarely used in English) cavaletto[1]) (Italian: “little horse”[1]) are small jumps, originally made of wood, used for basic horse training. Most consist of rails that are about 4 inches (10 cm) wide, and 10 feet (3.0 m) long.[1] The rails are inserted into fixed standards, usually made in an “X” shape, that commonly are designed to be placed at one of three preset heights ranging from a few inches off the ground to a maximum of about 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm). However, in informal terminology, even ground rails without standards are sometimes called “cavaletti.” Modern designs can be made from various types of molded plastic and PVC pipe as well as wood. They can be used both for ground training with the handler working a horse on a longe line or at liberty, or while a rider is mounted on the horse. Cavaletti are used by practitioners of both English riding and western riding. Similar obstacles of lighter weight materials are used with dogs in dog agility and canine physical therapy.

Cavaletti were invented by Federico Caprilli and designed to help a horse improve its balance, adjust its length of stride, and to loosen and strengthen its muscles. They are often used in sets of at least four to six placed in a row, but have nearly unlimited ways they can be configured. Used at their lowest placement as ground rails or at a level no more than about 12 inches (30 cm) high, they can be set to encourage a proper length of stride. By being set closer or farther apart than a horse’s natural stride, they encourage lengthening or shortening of the stride. Used as a “gymnastic” in conjunction with other horse jumping obstacles in a training ring, they help teach the horse how to approach a fence at the proper rate of speed and length of stride.