To find out about upcoming clinics at Pengraig and elsewhere – click here
For individual PI sessions at Pengraig – book your session here
PI – our Posture Assessment Indicator – provides information on the rider’s position and balance as well as their rein contact
Sensitive sensors give continuous feedback of your weight distribution – whether you are sitting with equal weight in the Coronal plane (left and right), and the Sagittal plane (front and back).
This information together with photos/video footage of your position allows us to determine how far you are from the optimum.
Iterative adjustments can then be made to bring you closer to the optimum position.
Once your balance and alignment has been checked you can try measuring your rein contact. Now you can check if one of your hands is stronger than the other, how much your contact varies when rising to a trot and whether you throw the contact away after applying a half halt.
The pictures below show the initial rein contact – the pressure applied to the reins. This allows you to determine if your rein contact is equal, or if you favour one rein more than the other. The displays are coloured, blue is very little or no contact, green is contact, amber is beware that contact is becoming too heavy and red is much too hard a contact. The left display shows the contact in the left hand, the right display box shows the contact in the right hand and the middle box shows the discrepancy between the two.
Initial Rein Contact
Rein Contact after adjustment
Once the rein contact has been checked and adjusted at a halt, the rein balance can be measured at a rising trot. How does the left/right balance and front/rear balance change as you post.
The graph(s) show the minimum and maximum contact during rising trot. Ideally one should strive to have a consistent contact that doesn’t change during the rise and sit phases of the trot. In other words the min and max figures should not be significantly different. The yellow line represents the left hand and the black line represents the right hand. Ideally both hands should have the same contact.
The second graph shows how your left/right and forward/rear balance is affected as you post.
Rein Contact at a Rising Trot
Alternatively you can see how good you are at applying a half halt. Can you apply the half halt at the right moment in time and release the contact back to parity. What difference does it make if you use your back muscles or only your hands?
Finally you can try riding in our virtual ménage. This allows you to try using weight aids and body position to steer PI around a series of challenging ménage patterns. This enables you to determine how much reliance you place on your reins!
When you have mastered some of the patterns at a walk, see if you can maintain your balance and still apply the correct weight aid at a trot.
A report of your initial and adjusted positions along with screenshots of your virtual ménage session is produced and emailed to you.
Add-on Options
Rider Biomechanics Lesson
- Now that you have learn’t how to sit correctly on PI why not add on a Rider Biomechanics session to take what you have learnt and immediately apply it to riding your own horse in our menage. Stand alone Riding Biomechanics lessons are normally £50 for 45 minutes, but if you combine the lesson as an add-on to a PI session then a 45 minute lesson is only £30.
Pilates Session
- So maybe PI has shown that you do not sit perfectly straight, or are not perfectly balanced. You are able to spend time readjusting your position on PI to learn what it feels like to sit correctly, but if your balance or position is compromised by muscle asymmetry the chances are that next time you sit on your horse you will probably revert to your old riding position. It takes time for the body to recalibrate its muscle memory and it is too easy to revert to what feels correct and comfortable. By far the best way to retrain your body is to spend some time developing muscle strength and flexibility to improve your posture and this is best achieved using a range of Pilates exercises. If you add-on a Pilates session to your PI session you will be shown how to correctly perform a number of Pilates exercises specifically targeted at those areas/muscles of your body that need attention. Stand alone private Pilates lessons are normally £50 for 45 minutes, but if you combine the lesson as an add-on to a PI session then a 45 minute lesson is only £30.
PI Clinics at your yard
PI is a complex machine and is not easily transportable. However we can bring PI to your yard for sufficiently large enough groups. We need certain facilities to be able to operate PI and these are listed below. Please note that the full range of features may not be available when PI is operated away from Pengraig. In particular if there is insufficient space the rear Coronal camera may not be utilised. See below for the space requirements necessary for each option.
Please note PI has a maximum height limit of 6’ 2” (1.87m) and weight limit of 15 Stone (95kgs).
PI is fitted with a WOW VSD seat saddle with a flat seat, which is used for all PI Taster & group sessions.
Prices
Posture assessments for individuals on PI are only available at Pengraig.
Please note that a 45 min. session on PI only allows a brief taste of all of its capabilities. Depending on your initial posture and balance we may only have time for the initial measurement and corrections and to measure your rein contact at a halt. If you would like more extensive analysis and time to practice your weight aids in the virtual ménage we would recommend at least a one hour session.
At Pengraig
| 45 min PI Session | £50 per person |
| 60 min PI Full Session | £60 per person |
| 90 min PI Session | £80 per person |
| 45 min PI/45 min Own Horse | £80 per person (inc day DIY stabling at Pengraig) |
| Other durations | POA |
Transportation of PI to your own yard is possible based on there being a minimum of 10 hours assessment(s).
PI takes approx. two hours to set up and calibrate on site and requires two people to operate fully. So in addition to the above prices, travel will be charged at 0.45p per mile and local accommodation for two people will be required for one or more nights (depending on duration of clinic).
Required Facilities for operating PI at your yard
Indoor clean room with flat and level solid floor – min. door aperture 75cm
Room must be accessible, on ground floor and near parking to facilitate unloading
Mains electricity (240V, 50Hz)
Good Lighting
Heating (during cold weather)
Secure facilities (as PI is left on the premises overnight)
In order to operate cameras we need a minimum space around PI of:
Upcoming Clinics
| Date | Place | Clinic | More Info |
| 16 & 17 July 22 | Newport | PI | 45 Min sessions spread over 2 days |