Tota Comfort System Offers Continuing Advancements In Equine Performance Gear

For Charles Tota, owner and operator of the Wellington-based tack shop the Dressage Connection, the comfort of horses is his top concern.

“There is no shortage of advancements in places where tack can be continuously made more comfortable for horses,” said Tota, who has made it his commitment to the horse industry to continue to make advances in tack design to make horses more comfortable while performing.

The United States Equestrian Federation recently changed the wording of its national rule book to read, “The object of dressage is the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education.”

In recent years, the incorporation of the idea of horses being “happy athletes” has infiltrated into the judging and training methods used by horsemen in all of the international disciplines due to the increasing scrutiny of the public toward animal mistreatment.

As a direct result, the products Tota has been designing are contributing to this wave by allowing trainers and riders to still condition horses to maximize their athletic development by eliminating any unnecessary conflict caused by uncomfortable equipment.

“Twenty years ago,” Tota recalled, “people used one saddle for every horse that they rode. Can you imagine making a group of 10 people all wear the same pair of pants?”

Since then, custom saddle fitting has become popular, and more recently, custom designed tack, both services that Tota offers out of his shop.

The latest in the line of Tota’s designs include his sternum relief girth. The horse’s sternum runs between the front legs where people have been tightening the girth for centuries. With riders needing to have their saddles essentially immobile on the horse’s backs in order to promote even the slightest of the rider’s aids and weight shifting to be interpreted by the horse, there have been plenty of girths designed to be tight and sticky to the horse’s body. This means that there is a lot of pressure on the horse’s sternum. “Imagine wearing essentially a tight belt around your chest,” Tota said. “Especially for anyone who is mildly claustrophobic, that can easily raise your anxiety level. The same is true for the horse.”

The basic concept of this new girth is that there is a channel cut from the center of the girth right over the sternum so that you can feel confident in tightening it to the point where the rider would need the security, yet the horse can still breathe comfortably. All involved can work feeling confident and comfortable.

A similarity in design from this sternum relief girth is another advancement in the bridle design, where a similar channel is cut from the top of the headstall of the bridle for relief from the sensitive poll area of the horse.

“There is essentially no end to the tweaks we will continue to make on the tack to keep trying to make it secure and, therefore, effective, but at the same time not putting pressure on any sensitive areas of the horse,” Tota said.

Every other Olympic sport continuously designs equipment for the athletes that enhances performance. The difference with equestrian sports is that there are two athletes to consider, and Tota is working to make sure that no matter which discipline — dressage, jumping and eventing — that the equine element of the partnership shares equally in the comfort of performance gear.

For more information, visit www.totacomfortsystem.com.