Playing with Pivo- Part Two!

The Backyard Horse Blog

Whoot, whoot! I got my Pivo device to work properly. Last post, I showed a few video clips taken with the Pivo when I couldn’t get it to rotate. Now I have some clips to share of the Pivo working in all its glory.

Pivo really is a cool little device. As long as it tracks me properly, it records everything from start to finish. When I have a person take video, they don’t record every single segment of my ride. If you’ve ever held up a camera for a long time/stared into a little screen, you will know what a pain that can be. The Pivo gets the good, the bad and the ugly in equal measure without having to wear out your human video photographer!

Thanks to Pivo, I now have some nice footage of Shiloh in his foxtrot (takes him a minute to get, but you can hear when he goes from his flat-walk into the foxtrot). This is about as good a foxtrot as we can do at this point. Good job, Shiloh.

From online Pivo reviews, I understand that it does sometimes loose track of the horse. In my longest 37 minute clip, it lost me three times. But not for very long. It always picked me back up the next time I came into view. Here is an example:

The Pivo also does a good job of tracking me from further away. In this next clip, I take a little walk outside of the round pen. You can see the Pivo lose me behind a tree but then pick me back up on the other side.

I am SO excited to get full videos of my rides for learning purposes. I can watch the whole video multiple times while taking in different aspects with each separate view.

Maybe one time I will concentrate on my horse’s expression to get a sense of how he might be feeling about our work together. Another time I will hone in on gait identification to more clearly see when my horse is going in and out of his foxtrot. A different time I will focus on my own position and aids. During another viewing I will concentrate on our general presentation as a team. The possibilities are endless.

The videos taken with Pivo also have real potential to show differences over time. I unfortunately have hardly any early videos of Shiloh and me, but I was able to see progress by comparing a short clip from 2019 to a recent one.

This first clip was taken by a kind friend in 2019. I wanted to document how quietly Shiloh carries a flag (I actually got more than I bargained for as I hadn’t anticipated the wind would change directions like it did!). Anywho, if you watch Shiloh’s body instead of the flag, you will see him pacing. Both pairs of legs on the same side are moving almost in unison. The rhythm is more 1-2 than a correct walk rhythym of 1-2-3-4. Note that he is so stiff that there is almost no head nod.

In this second video taken with my Pivo device this month, you can see a decent 1-2-3-4 rhythm with a head nod at the walk before he starts gaiting. There is actually a big difference in how he used to move compared to now. A difference that I hope will contribute to his soundness and longevity as a riding horse.

Lest you have concerns, I won’t blog about the Pivo during every future post (although I will incorporate relevant video clips from time to time). But I wanted to emphasize that the Pivo really is a nifty little gadget that has the potential to add a lot to one’s horsemanship journey.

Even if you don’t ride, you could record any groundwork you do with your horse like lunging, trick training, liberty work, trailer loading, etc . . . Interesting to observe your own body language and watch how your horse responds.

If you’d like to learn more about the Pivo, I highly suggest googling “Pivo horse review.” Lots of equestrians have made really detailed You Tube videos, written posts, etc . . . that show you the different kinds of Pivos, their features and how they function. Many of them review the Pivo Silver version, but I have the Red version which is less expensive and slower. The Backyard Horse Blog has no affiliation with Pivo, other than being a happy Pivo user. 🙂

Published by The Backyard Horse Blog

11 thoughts on “Playing with Pivo- Part Two!”

  2. I enjoyed watching your video clips and exploring and explaining how the pivo works. I’ve only heard others talk about them but not seen them in use at my stables. I mostly trail ride my horse but can see such wonderful uses for them. I grew up riding Hunter/Jumpers, how cool it would have been to have something like this back in the 70’s, Lol ~ we didn’t have such things. Enjoyed your blog!! ~ Diana 🐴❤️

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    1. Yes, ha! How I would love to have video of my riding as a child “back in the day.” I’m often late to the party when it comes to getting new technology as I usually don’t understand the appeal. But I have to say that I’m pretty pumped about Pivo. Thanks for watching the clips and glad you enjoyed the post!

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  3. I enjoyed looking at the clips. I have not really looked at the fox trot before. It looks very comfortable. Interesting to see his pacing at the walk and then relaxing into a nice 4 beat walk in another video.

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    1. Thank you, Anne. A relaxed, evenly timed foxtrot can be quite comfortable. I think the Pivo is going to be helpful to me in helping Shiloh to find his foxtrot more consistently. The hardest part right now for me is setting him up for a good transition, where he is stretching forward over his back rather than tightening his back causing his neck to raise and his nose to sling up into the air and that dreaded pace to appear. I’m hoping he will connect that act of stretching forward with feeling better through out his body, but that habit of stiffening is pretty ingrained. I do the same things with my shoulders- any physical effort causes me to round and tighten. I have to consciously remind myself to position my shoulders down and back, both on and off the horse. I am very sympathetic to how hard it is to let go of negative tension when it is such an automatic response.

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      1. Well,we all have things with ourselves and with our horses that we have to deal with. Biasini would love to have his head between his knees and go around like a western trail horse. But with an effort on my part and half halts every second stride he can come up with a round neck and look like a dressage horse. And I am always having to sit up and straighten. It helps me a lot that my coach has me giving half halts that are just me bringing my shoulder blades together. Anyway nice to see your video.

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      2. I gleaned that idea from your blog videos about using the shoulder blades as a half-halt aid and have begun incorporating it in my rides to try to help Shiloh re-balance when his gait gets out of time. Helps me to loosen up my shoulders and not lock them down in a rolled forward position too. And I love having a quick and quiet aid I can use that doesn’t involve pulling on his face as he is not a fan of rein pressure. So thanks to you and your coach Belinda for that tidbit!

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  4. boo hoo, for some ridiculous reason the clips aren’t coming up on my computer. (maybe I should invest in a new computer first, lol. ). It sounds like you had fun with it though, was Shiloh curious about it. Horses can be so cute with new things. I look forward to seeing your pony adventures hopefully the clips will load soon & or next time. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

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    1. Bummer that they wouldn’t play for you. I have the same problem sometimes with other people’s videos. Shiloh WAS curious about the Pivo. I have some footage of his sticking his nose right on the camera and fogging it up for a moment. 🙂

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