Why the soft wobble devices?

[lehughes]

Morning,

Why do you think tight and loose rope walkers, Cirque du Soleil performers, or ballet dancers don't use the soft wobble devices to train for balance?

Having been in the ballet and done pirouette on point we never would train on any device other than doing the exact task many times to get great balance.

I still can Rolla Bolla and juggle with great balance which is very different that standing on a mushy surface damaging the delicate joint receptors.


JK

[lehughes]

I love your questions!

So, I personally feel that there is a gross over-utilization of inflatables. Maybe because they look like fun. Maybe because the dogs struggle a wee bit and so owners / practitioners think it must be a more challenging exercise. Maybe because Fitpaws came out with an ingenious marking tactic in order to sell more product.

I also think that in wanting to use inflatable equipment so badly, people blow past the basics, and dogs are being thrust onto balls, peanuts, and discs with poor motor control, insufficient proximal or distal stability, and quite often axial skeleton dysfunctions… which, if not addressed, could create poor movement patterns, lack of progress, or worse, deterioration of a condition.

I cannot juggle. I’ve never tried a Rolla Bolla. But if I get in the zone, I could tree pose for hours! (Okay… maybe only for several minutes. I like to write my charts in tree pose.)

Cheers,

Laurie

[Kriszty]

Huh. So interesting reading this, as it mirrors my recent thoughts.
I have been in agility a long time.. 18 years, have put 3 agility champions on dogs, many national wins, dog of the years etc. I have ALL of the inflatable gear. And it is all in a cupboard gathering dust.
Decided the risk of injury using this equipment, even 'properly' was too high. Particularly to soft tissues. So now, when I do 'Body Awareness' it is all on the flat (or using solid surfaces). Mind you, I don't do NEARLY as much of this as I used to. Used to do 15mins/dog 3-4x/week.. I do live on acreage though and its very hilly and rocky. So I think they get it naturally.. with some targetted additions (backing up and down, and sideways up hill). Its not a popular view point in agility though!
Kriszty

[lehughes]

Thanks for your conversation contribution! You are right, it's not a popular view point.
But we really do need to learn to question everything.
That is how we learn more!

Margarine was once considered healthy.
Smoking was thought to be a healthy way to relax.
WonderBread had 8 essential vitamins and minerals (yay! 8! Real bread has more incase anyone didn't read the sarcasm!)

So, maybe some balance work is okay... but perhaps it's all blown up to be too much of a panacea for ever ailment and/or conditioning program.

Thanks for chiming in!

Cheers,

Laurie