GB2619040A

GB2619040A - Equestrian garment

Info

Publication number: GB2619040A
Application number: GB2207653.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Andrew; Thomas Nia
Original assignee: Testt Technical Ltd
Current assignee: Testt Technical Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-25
Filing date: 2022-05-25
Publication date: 2023-11-29
Also published as: GB202207653D0

Abstract

A force-transference garment 100 to be worn by an equestrian rider in use, comprising a first fabric portion 20 comprising a first material, one or more tensioning members 30 comprising a second material, wherein the garment is configured to be worn on at least a portion of the lower body including the legs, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member extends over the thigh towards the knee, wherein the fabric portion and the tensioning member are configured such that in use the tensile force acting through the fabric portion and the tensioning member are different, such as to bias the rider’s legs away from the sagittal plane of the body. Preferably the tensioning member also acts to rotate the legs outwardly about the hip joints. Preferably raising the knee relative to the hip increases tension in the tensioning member. The tensioning member might be a continuous element which connects between the two legs across the abs, buttocks or lower back. The garment may form riding breeches. Also claimed is a method of training such a rider by them wearing the garment.

Description

Equestrian Garment The present disclosure relates to a functional garment, more particularly, although not exclusively, to riding breeches to be worn by an equestrian rider.

Introduction

In order to become a proficient equestrian rider, individuals must learn to adopt a correct seated position in the saddle and associated posture. This not only helps better communication with the horse, but also mitigates the risk of injury.

Two important criteria of good equestrian position is to keep the back supple and avoid gripping the horse with the legs. Riders are encouraged to let their legs 'hang over' the horse and balance themselves using their seat and the stirrups.

Gripping the horse with the legs causes the rider to lift from the saddle This can alter communication of the seat aid with the horse. This is particularly a problem with novice riders who will instinctively clutch the horse with their legs and lean forward believing it will make them less likely to fall off. To correct this position the rider has to not only overcome this instinct, but also strengthen the muscles in the leg such as to allow them to adopt this position over extended periods.

Equestrian back braces are commercially available that restrict the rider's shoulder so as to maintain a straight back. However, these do not prevent a rider from leaning nor do they prevent the rider from gripping the horse with their legs.

Furthermore, these braces do not have to allow for dynamic movements meaning that they can be worn even when the rider isn't mounted.

It is the aim of the present invention to solve or mitigate one or more of the problems mentioned above.

Summary of invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a force-transference garment to be worn by an equestrian rider in use, comprising: a first fabric portion comprising a first material, one or more tensioning members comprising a second material, wherein the garment is configured to be worn on at least a portion of the lower body including the legs of the rider, the tensioning member extending across the thigh towards the knee, wherein the fabric portion and the tensioning member are configured such that in use the tensional force acting through the fabric portion and the tensioning member are different, such as to bias the rider's legs away from the sagittal plane of the body and/or saddle.

Where its understood that the sagittal plane is through the centre of the body such as to define left and right parts of the body, the biasing force acts to move the wearer's legs away from this plane thereby making it more difficult for the rider to clutch the horse with their legs when riding i.e away from the saddle.

The tensional force in the tensioning member, e.g. the mismatch between the fabric portion and tensioning member, may serve to open the pelvis of the rider.

The tension member may extend laterally across the thigh, e.g. from the hip or outer thigh to the inner thigh region or inside knee. The tension member may extend obliquely over the thigh.

The tension member may extend over the front of the thigh. The tension member may substantially follow the path of the sartorius muscle of the rider.

The tension member may extend beyond/below the knee, e.g. towards the rider's foot or ankle. The tension member may extend over the shin, e.g. over the front of the shin. The tension member may extend laterally/obliquely over the shin. The tension member may extend from the inside knee to the outside of the shin/ankle.

The tension member may follow a curved path from the hip or upper thigh towards the knee, shin or ankle. The tension member may follow a snaking path down the leg of the garment from the outside of the leg to the inside, e.g. above the knee. The tension member may return from the inside of the leg to the outside in the lower leg, e.g. below the knee.

A single/continuous tensioning member may extend down the left leg and/or right leg.

The fabric portion and tensioning member are integrated into the garment.

The tensioning member is preferably elongate in form. The tensioning member may be less than 10cm, 8cm or 6cm wide. The tensioning member may be greater than 1cm or 2cm wide. The tensioning member may be of the order of 1-5cm in width or 2-4cm in width. The tensioning member may be greater than 40cm, 50cm or 60cm long. The tensioning member may extend substantially the full length of one or both legs of the garment/rider.

When the wearer dons the garment, the tensioning members become tensioned 20 which may form a lever in each of the wearer's legs causing them to move away from the sagittal plane of the body and from the saddle. The levers may generally be said to rotate about the hip joint.

Biomechanically, a number of muscle groups are involved in rotating the hips, in particularly the Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Minimus and the Sartorius muscle (which primarily acts as a synergist). It should be understood however that most of the muscles responsible for the rotation are proximal to the hip joint and therefore using the principle of levers, require a relatively large force to rotate. As the resultant force of the tensioning member may act on the leg distant from the joint, the force required to rotate about the hip is reduced. Hence it is ideal to have the lever force acting proximal to the knees. This is advantageous as it reduces the required tension in the tensioning members improving the durability and allows for the use of more practical and accessible materials, but it also means that the wearer can more easily overcome the rotational bias when they explicitly wish to do so, for example for walking around before or after they have ridden the horse.

The tensioning members may be tensioned when the garment is immediately donned by the wearer, or alternatively the tensioning members may comprise an operational and non-operational condition wherein the wearer lowers their hips relative to the knees, or brings their feet closer to the hips to activate the tensioning members.

The tension acting through the tensioning members and fabric portion may be modelled simplistically using Hooke's law, F= Kx wherein the tensioning force is F, the stiffness/spring constant of the material is K and the displacement/extension of the material is x.

The tensioning members and fabric portions may be made from materials having different elastic strength, resilience or stiffness. The materials may extend by substantially the same or different amounts when the user dons, or moves the garment into the operational condition. Using the above equation, where the displacement/extension of the different materials is substantially the same, the greater tensional force is achieved using a stiffer material for the tensioning member than the fabric portion. This means that the second material may comprise a less resilient or elastically weaker material than the first material.

Additionally or alternatively, the difference in the tensional force provided by the fabric portion and tensioning member in use may be achieved by configuring the garment such that the tensioning member is strained more than the fabric portion when worn and/or moved to a seated/riding condition.

This fabric portion and tensioning member may be joined in a way such that the tensioning member is pre-stressed.

The first material may be comprise from natural or synthetic polymers such as polyester or elastane or a combination of both. In particularly nylon, lycra or spandex.

The tensioning member may comprise a greater elastane content than the first material and/or may comprise a greater textile weight.

The garment may be substantially arranged to form breeches/trousers. The garment may extend from the hip/waist of the wearer to below the knee. The garment may extend to each of the wear's feet Garment may comprise foot straps that extend under the foot, and/or comprise an opening through which the foot is inserted when donning the garment.

The garment may be configured to extend up the torso of the wearer, e.g. up to the neck or shoulders of the wearer. The garment may comprise a back/torso portion that extends up across the back of the wearer. The back portion may or may not be in the form of a back brace. The back brace may comprise tensioning members that are configured to maintain the correct posture for the back and shoulders and to activate the riders core muscles.

The torso portion may comprise one or more tensioning member or a portion thereof. The tensioning member may extend to/over a shoulder and/or over at least part of the arm and/or over the chest of the wearer. An intermediate tensional member may be used to join the torso portion to the tensioning member of the breeches/trousers. The torso portion and leg portion(s) of the tensioning member may be unitary or continuous or directly connected for communication of tension therebetween. The garment may be comprised of separable parts, for example the back portion and breeches may be separated and attached together in use. Alternatively the garment may comprise integral/continuous leg and torso portions.

Each leg portion may comprise its own tensioning member(s) that is distinct from the other leg. Alternatively the tensioning member may extend from leg-to-leg, e.g. comprising an intermediate or bridging section extending between the legs. This may provide the means to balance the tensional forces in the leg. The leg-to-leg tensioning member may extend around and/or over part of the glutes, and/or may extend over the pelvic, groin or waist region.

At least a portion of the tensioning members may extend from the upper-thigh region of the garment, optionally from the outer-upper thigh region. At least a portion of the tensioning members may extend to the knee region of the garment, optionally to the inner-knee region. At least a portion of the tensioning member may extend across the garment such as to follow or mimic the Sartorius muscle of the rider in the overlying garment.

The garment may comprise a plurality of tensioning members on the leg portion such as to define first, second, and optionally third members, etc for each leg. The first tensioning member being described above (i.e. extends from the thigh to the knee). The second tensioning member may extend such as to follow the first tensioning member in sequence. The tensioning members may be attached endto-end and/or longitudinally aligned with the second tensioning member extending from the first. The second tensioning member may extend from the knee towards the foot. One of the plurality of tensioning members may form a hoop around the thigh region. Two or more of the tensioning members may intersect at one or more regions. The tensioning members may in use, comprise different tensional forces using the methods described above.

The garment may comprise an intermediate, belt and/or harness portion to balance the tensional forces in each leg against each other.

The tensioning force may increase the closer the wearer moves their legs towards the sagittal plane of the body.

The tensioning members may be substantially inextensible beyond a maximum elongation, e.g. such as to physically limit the amount of rotation of the knee's of the wearer beyond a given point.

At least a portion of the tensioning member may be attached to the fabric portion along one or both side thereof, such that in use the tensioning member is visible or hidden underneath the fabric portion. The tensioning member may be stitched to the fabric portion. Alternatively the tensioning member may be attached to the fabric portion at pre-selected regions, for example along the upper-thigh and knee regions. At least a portion of the tensioning member may not be attached to the fabric portion. At least a portion of the tensioning member may be able to move or slide with respect to the fabric portion when the wearer dons the garment or moves between the operational and non-operational condition. The garment may comprise eyelets for the tensional members to move therethrough.

The tensioning members may be adhered to the fabric portions using a glue.

The tensioning member may be joint to the fabric portion at an interface such as to form a seam. The tensioning member may extend between two edges of the fabric portion and are joint long interfaces. The interface may be formed by up turning the underside of both the fabric portion and tensioning members such that the interface projects away from the wearer such that it doesn't irritate them in use.

The garment may be substantially symmetrical about the sagittal plane.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a force-transference garment to be worn by an equestrian rider in use, comprising: a first fabric portion comprising a first material, one or more tensioning members comprising a second material, wherein the garment is configured to be worn on at least a portion of the torso and limbs of the rider, the tensioning member extending at least part way along the limbs and through the torso portion, wherein the fabric portion and the tensioning member are configured such that in use the tensile force acting through the fabric portion and the tensioning member are different, such as to bias the rider's limbs to promote symmetry of the limbs about the sagittal plane of the body.

Any preferable or optional features defined in relation to any one aspect of the invention may be applied to any other aspect wherever practicable.

The invention may facilitate an improved movement pattern of the rider to enhance the performance of the horse.

Workable embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a front view according to a preferred embodiment of the invention Figure 2 shows a rear view according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 shows a schematical front view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in use.

Figure 4 shows an example of two different pressure profiles of a rider on a saddle, one without use of the invention and the other whilst wearing a garment according to the invention. (we will send a different image) Figure 5 shows a schematic plan view of a garment according to a further example of the invention.

Detailed description of figures

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. In particularly, the figures show a garment comprising a set of breeches/trousers 100 to be worn by an equestrian rider in use. The breeches 100 are comprised of a fabric portion 10 that is arranged to substantially cover the lower body portion of the wearer.

The breeches 100 can be seen to extend from the wearer's waist towards the feet, such as to cover the thighs, knees and calves and comprises an opening 11 at the top for the wearer to don the garment and an aperture 12 at the bottom of each leg portion for a foot to protrude therefrom. The opening 11 is a hip/waist opening. The apertures 12 are ankle openings.

The garment comprises a fabric portion 20 and tensioning member 30. The fabric portion 20 generally is arranged into the shape of a trouser or breech. As explained below, the tensioning members 30 create a biasing force on the wearer that acts to move the legs away from the sagittal plane of the body.

In this embodiment, the fabric portion 20 is formed with a cut-out/cut-away portion that generally corresponds to an un-tensioned form of the tensioning member 30.

The tensioning member 30 is joined to the fabric portion along the interface such as to form seams along the opposing edges/sides of the tensioning member. As shown in figure 1, the tensioning member 30 extend from the outer-upper thigh region towards the inner-knee and then towards the outer-foot region. The tensioning member 30 is curved in appearance such as to resemble a partial s-shape on one leg and an inverted s-shape on the other. The tensioning member 30 is substantially symmetrical about the sagittal plane of the body.

In the example shown a single, continuous length of the tensioning member has a central region around/spanning the Left and Right posterior iliac spines (PSIS) and extends along the left and right legs creating an equal tension that slightly laterally rotates and abducts opening the hips. The tensioning member runs around the medial thigh of each leg, across the medial aspect of the knee and attaches to the lower third of the lateral aspect of the lower leg, e.g. whilst maintaining a consistent tension along its length.

Figure 2 shows the rear view of the garment. The tensioning member 30 extends around the buttocks, gluteal region or lower back, spanning each leg. The tensioning member 30 can also be seen to curve around the knee regions. As will become apparent below, the tensioning member 30 portion that covers the glutes provides a means of force transference such that the portion of the tensioning member 30 of the left leg is held in tension against the tensioning member 30 of the right leg. Although in this embodiment it is understood that there is one continual tensioning member 30 that extends from knee-to-knee (or ankle-toankle), it should be understood that that need not be the case and in alternative embodiments, the tensioning members 30 of each leg may be distinct and separate from another such that they are not joint around the glutes. In such examples, the discrete tensioning members could be attached to a belt, waist band or other intermediate member to resist movement longitudinal movement of the tensioning member at the top of the leg.

In the embodiment shown, the fabric portion 20 is comprised of a first material and the tensioning member 30 is comprised from a second material. When not being worn, both the tensioning member 30 and fabric portion 20 are not stressed (i.e. there are no tensional forces acting on either the first and second materials). The first material may comprise an elastic material, e.g in the form of a conventional material used for jodhpurs. The first material is typically elastic to maintain a close fit with the leg of the rider. However the elasticity of the first material may be uniform, omnidirectional or in a hoop direction around the leg such that it does not contribute significantly to the desired effect of the invention.

The second material used for the tensioning member 30 has greater elastic strength, resilience or stiffness compared to that of the first material. The greater resilience of the second material applies in the longitudinal direction of the elongate tensioning member at least. The resilience of the tensioning member in the normal direction may be the same or different from the longitudinal direction.

Therefore, as the garment is loaded under tension, the fabric portion 20 and tensioning member 30 can extend/expand by the same amount in the longitudinal direction. However, the resilience of the tensioning member 30 is greater than that of the fabric portion 20 and will resist extension to a greater extent, thereby creating greater tension (elastic stress) in the longitudinal direction when strained. This directional tension is used to generate an improved positioning of the user by opening the pelvis so that the rider sits lower in the saddle.

The fabric portion 20 is generally formed to be worn tight on the wearer such that simply donning the garment will put the tensioning member 30 under tension. As shown, the tensioning member 30 appears to mimic the position of the sartorius muscle (i.e. moving from the upper thigh to the inner-knee region).

Figure 3 shows a schematical front view of an equestrian rider wearing the garment in use. The tensioning member 30 acts to bias the wearer's knees away from the sagittal plane of the body.

When viewed form the front, each leg can be modelled as a lever that is pivotable about the hip joint. The axis of rotation 40 for each leg in this plane is modelled as being parallel to the sagittal axis (i.e. coming out of the page). However the hip joint is not a pin joint but rather a ball and socket joint that allows for multiple degrees of freedom, including swivelling of the leg about a vertical axis and rotation of the lag about its own longitudinal axis. For convenience, an axis 41 is shown on each leg such that it extends between the upper-thigh towards the knee.

The resultant components of the tension in the tensioning member 30 can be described as either or both of: (1) force 42 acting perpendicularly to the axis 40 and/or biasing the wearer's legs outward/away from the sagittal plane 43 of the body; (2) a rotational component 44 about the axis 41 of the leg acting to twist or swivel the leg.

Either or both of such resulting forces can be described as opening the hip or pelvis so that the rider rides deeper in the saddle.

In use, when the wearer dons the garment, the tensioning member 30 extending across the rear of the wearer is loaded under tension by the lower portion of the body (i.e. waist, glutes etc). As the tension acting through the tensioning member 30 will be substantially uniform, the tension is transmitted to the whole tensioning member 30 including the portions proximal to the knees. The resultant force acts to move the legs away from the sagittal plane 43 and rotate the upper leg, thereby opening the hips and helping prevent the wearer from clutching the horse at the knees.

Turning to figure 4, there is shown two pressure maps/profiles of the contact between the rider and the saddle. The pressure profiles are taken from beneath the seat bones of the rider, i.e. being indicative of the pressure felt through the saddle by the horse. The left-hand side shows the profile for the rider without use of the invention and the right-hand profile shows the difference achieved by use of the tensioning member to open the hip/pelvis. In the right-hand profile it can be seen that there is generally a reduced loading through the seat bones.

However, perhaps more significantly, there is a more even distribution of loading between the left and right seat bones where the invention is used, as compared to the left-hand profile, where there is a significant offset between the left and right seat bones. It has been found that this asymmetry in a rider can have a significant impact on performance. Use of the invention can provide for a more even distribution of pressures, i.e. closer to being symmetrical, when the horse is moving in a straight line. Often minor asymmetry can go unnoticed and use of the invention can help correct such asymmetry even when it is not readily apparent to the rider or an onlooker.

As well as mimicking the sartorius muscle of the rider, it has been found that use of the tensioning member described herein can stimulate and facilitate the action of the sartorius muscle in a rider (which is primarily a synergist). That is to say, repeatedly adopting the deeper-seated and/or more symmetrical position in the saddle using the tensioning member can improve the rider's ability to adopt this position unaided in the future.

Turning to figure 5, there is shown an example of a development of the invention, in which the tensioning member 30a is extended and passes over a torso of the rider. The tensioning member 30a may pass over either or both shoulders of the wearer such that greater tension can be applied. For example, when a rider adopts a correct posture, the tension in the member 30a may be communicated from the shoulder down across the torso region and along the opposing leg of the rider. In this way, the rider may feel the feedback of the tension being applied and may help the rider further adopt a correct position and interaction with the saddle.

In the example shown, the tensioning member 30a is integrated into the torso portion of the garment 100a, e.g. such that the garment includes a vest-like element or a suit for the wearer. In other examples, the tensioning member 30a may comprise one or more strap extending from the breeches that can pass beneath the rider's conventional vest or other article of clothing over the torso region.

In further examples, the tensioning member, or a further tensioning member, may extend along the arm(s) of a rider, i.e. passing at least part way along the sleeves of a garment worn on the torso of a wearer. For example, the arm potions of the tensioning member could depend from the tensioning member arrangement shown in Figure 5. In other examples, the arm tensioning member could be separate from the tensioning member 30 for the legs and could extend around the rider's torso/back so as to ensure equilibrium between left and right arms. Much of the preceding description herein relating to a rider's leg positioning may have equivalent considerations for the rider's arm positioning in terms of the symmetry of the rider.

Additionally or alternatively, the tensioning member could pass beneath the foot/heel of the rider such that the tension can be applied from beneath the foot.

The tensioning member could thus form a strap, loop or the like around the underside of the foot.

The length of extension in the tensioning member has been investigated in an example of the invention according to Figures 1 and 2. The length of the tensioning member was 126cm when at rest. When applied to the rider, the extended length of the tensioning member was 204cm, thereby representing an extension in length of approximately 62% in use. In different examples, different leg length may require different length of the tensioning member. Using different materials, i.e. having varying resilience, may also affect the desirable extension in use. It is generally suggested that an extension of between 10% or 20% and 80% may be suitable. An extension ratio at the lower end of this range may be easier to accommodate in a garment using conventional manufacturing techniques.

The tensioning member described herein is integrated into the garment in that it is permanently affixed to the other material of the garment and/or cannot be removed without damage to the structure or integrity of the garment.

In some examples, the fabric portion of the garment does not form a complete garment and the tensioning member 30 is stitched along opposing longitudinal edges to opposing edges of the fabric so as to form the complete garment. In other examples the fabric portion of the garment may be a complete garment, e.g. breeches, and the tensioning member is stitched over the underlying fabric layer to provide additional tension in the appropriate area of the garment. The tensioning member may thus overlie or underlie the fabric layer.

In some examples, a tape may overlie the interface between the tensioning member and the fabric panel of the garment. Thus any stitching may be trapped beneath a tape layer. The tape may be attached over the interface using an adhesive. The tape will typically be elastic in nature and may contribute to the resilience of the garment in the longitudinal direction of the tensioning member. In some examples, an adhesive tape of sufficient strength could avoid the need for stitching. The interface could be an entirely bonded interface.

The fabric/first material of the garment may comprise polyester or nylon, e.g. a majority of the material may be polyester and/or nylon. The fabric/first material may comprise a minority of elastane (e.g. spandex or lycra), e.g. to provide the required elasticity.

The tensioning member may comprise a greater content of elastic fibres/materials than the fabric portion, e.g. a greater elastane content. The tensioning member may comprise a greater fabric weight than the fabric portion, e.g. being thicker or having a greater fibre density. The tensioning member could be knitted or woven.

In some examples, the tensioning member could comprise an elastic sheet polymer material or tape having elastic fibres therein. In other examples the sheet polymer material may display sufficient resilience itself and may be stitched or bonded into the garment, e.g. using an overlying tape over the interface with the fabric portion.

The above embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and should be understood to be non-limiting. For example, in alternative embodiments the garment may comprise a plurality of tensioning members, where the tensioning members in the right leg our not connected to the left leg. Each leg may comprise a plurality of tensioning members where the elasticity of each tensioning member is unique/bespoke for the rider. Furthermore, the garment may comprise a back portion comprising a back brace wherein the brace is used to both maintain/correct the postural position of the back and further used to provide a means to tension the tensioning member of the legs.

Additional tensioning members may be used on the rider's torso to facilitate/promote correct alignment of the torso in conjunction with the benefits of using the tensioning member(s) described herein.

Claims

Claims 1. A force-transference garment to be worn by an equestrian rider in use, comprising: a first fabric portion comprising a first material, one or more tensioning members comprising a second material, wherein the garment is configured to be worn on at least a portion of the lower body including the legs, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member extends over the thigh towards the knee, wherein the fabric portion and the tensioning member are configured such that in use the tensile force acting through the fabric portion and the tensioning member are different, such as to bias the rider's legs away from the sagittal plane of the body.
2. A force-transference garment according to claim 1, wherein the tensioning member extends obliquely across the thigh from the outside of the upper thigh towards the inside of the knee.
3. A force-transference garment according to claim 2, wherein the tensioning member biases at least a portion of each of the rider's legs to rotate outwardly about their respective hip joints.
4. A force-transference garment according to claims 2 or 3, wherein the tension in the tensioning member acts to provide a lever from the outside of the upper thigh to proximal the rider's knee.
5. A force-transference garment according to claims 2-4, wherein raising the knee relative to the rider's hip joints creates increased tension in the tensioning 30 member.
6. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein the elastic resilience of the first material is less than the second materials are.
7. A force-transference garment according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the tensioning member is elongate in form and the resilience of the second material is greater than the first material in the longitudinal direction of the tensioning member.
8. A force-transference garment according to claim 7, wherein the second material has a greater Young's Modulus than the first material.
9. A force-transference garment according to claims 7, wherein the tensioning member is less than 4cm wide.
10. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member extends at least part-way around the inner-knee of each of the rider's legs.
11. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member substantially follows the path of the Sartorius muscle across the leg of the rider when worn.
12. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member extends across the sagittal plane of the rider such that the tensioning member extends from knee-to-knee.
13. A force-transference garment according to claim 12, wherein the tensioning member extends over the lower abdominal region, buttocks or lower back of the rider.
14. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member extends below the knee down the shin or calf muscle towards the rider's ankle.
15. A force-transference garment according to claim 14, wherein the tensioning member comprises an opening or loop configured to receive the rider's foot in use such as to tension the tensioning member.
16. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein the tensional force acting through the tensioning member increases as the rider moves their leg towards the sagittal plane.
17. A force-transference garment according to claim 16, where in use the tensioning member prohibits the rider's leg from moving closer to the sagittal plane beyond a certain point once the tensioning member is fully extended.
18. A force-transference garment according to any of the previous claims, wherein at least a portion of the tensioning member is stitched onto the fabric portion.
19. A force-transference garment according to claim 18, wherein the tensioning member is stitched into the fabric portion along two predetermined regions of each leg.
20. A force-transference garment according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the tensioning member is stitched interstitially between two opposing edges of the fabric portion.
21. A force-transference garment according to any preceding claim, wherein an interface between the fabric portion and tensioning member is covered by a tape.
22. A force-transference garment according to any previous claims, wherein the garment comprises riding breeches.
23. A force-transference garment according to any previous claims, wherein each leg comprises a plurality of tensioning members.
24. An equestrian training and/or competition garment comprising the force-transference garment of any preceding claim
25. A method of training an equestrian rider, comprising the rider repeatedly wearing the force-transference garment according to any previous claim.