Does it annoy you?

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Tia

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Following on from MM's post; does it bother you when you see horses wearing flashes/grackles/cranks or martingales or breastplates or any other type of NORMAL tack (not gadgets) when you know that these horses don't really need them?

I couldn't care less personally. If someone thinks their horse looks fabby in a running martingale then so what? It isn't interfering with the horse's going and neither are any of the nosebands mentioned above. If the horse is working correctly then these items of tack won't even come into play, so no big deal if the tack is on or not.

What do you all think? If it bugs you, can you tell us why it bugs you?
 
It doesn't bother me and it's never my place to judge. The one thing I can't stand however, is over-bitting horses as that DOES come into play with their way of going
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as you and i know, Tia a horse/pony hasnt a clue if its wearing a flash/crank/cavesson/drop or any other type of noseband..

it's the idiot on the end of the reins tat makes the REAL difference.

so in answer to your OP...no, it doesn't bug me in he sligtest what any of my ponies NEED...
 
It doens't really bug me, it's up to the rider/owner what tack they put on their horse! BUT what does bother me is when the rider puts their own saddle on a horse they are riding...A saddle is fitted to the horse not the rider!!! (something that a lot of the french do - and it really bugs me
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.....except in western riding
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Well I don't know the foggiest about western riding so that puts me to shame
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but grackles and martingales and the like don't appear in western either, do they?
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I see so many horses in running martingales which are on too short. Usually the showjumping semi-prof clique. So many bright saddle cloths and sheepskin half pads, loose pony tail, stripe on hat, all the uniform and fashion. To go with this, they have a running martingale as though it is necessary, sometimes it isn't.

What annoys me is that when they are on a bit short, the horse feels the pull most of the time, they need bit of movement up and down on their head for the fence, not only this but they are "leaning" on it upwards and learning to go badly. This makes their muscles develop upside down.

With some decent schooling a lot of them would not throw their heads up, perhaps even just by taking away the martingale- full stop? see how it goes...

We bought one of those horses and taking it away worked wonders, just a few weeks with no martingale, the head has started to become quite still after a few rides waving it around waiting for the pull to happen!

Have you seen Ben Maher jumping? No martingale and round and deep relaxed into the fence.
 
Ah not quite correct - an English saddle, correctly fitted, should be fitted to the horse AND the rider.

I only ride in my personal western saddle and every one of my horses go out in this saddle if I am riding her/him.
 
Rarely do they use a noseband in western, only if using a tie-down which is like a standing martingale. We do have "martingales" over here but they are not the same as English ones. The running martingales are on a pulley system - I like this; I have one and once in a while when I am asking certain movements that the horse is not familiar with I find that by putting one of these on it helps the horse understand a bit more fluently.
 
Not usually. I tend not to use any piece of tack if it isn't necessary - although a martingale neckstrap is a handy thing for kiddies to grab!

I'm not sure how you'd know if a horse does (or doesn't) need the normal extras?
 
As long as the tack is fitted and used correctly, then no. I hate seeing badly fitting flashes (too loose, too tight, wrong side of bit, and worst of all - cavesson too loose for a flash) and the like, but if it doesn't harm or hinder the horse then it's the owner's perogative to use whatever tack they want. However, I do like to see people trying to keep tack minimal and schooling maximal.
I must confess though to being an "over-tacker" especially when it comes to boots!
 
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Ah not quite correct - an English saddle, correctly fitted, should be fitted to the horse AND the rider.

I only ride in my personal western saddle and every one of my horses go out in this saddle if I am riding her/him.

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Not worded right...I meant with school horses....
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At my riding school people bring their own saddles and put them on the horse without thinking twice about it.
 
Well you can generally tell just by looking at the way the horse goes. The thing is, if it doesn't need it, then it won't do anything anyway so it really doesn't matter whether it is on or not.
 
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It doens't really bug me, it's up to the rider/owner what tack they put on their horse! BUT what does bother me is when the rider puts their own saddle on a horse they are riding...A saddle is fitted to the horse not the rider!!! (something that a lot of the french do - and it really bugs me
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Could it be that the french you see are lucky enough to have butet saddles, which have latex flocking, so as they warm up they mould to the horse's back and then go back to the original shape when off the horse, thus meaning that if it is the correct width, it fits anything?

Oh, and in answer to the OP, nope, couldn't give a stuff, life is too short to get wound up about what other people do unless it directly affects me.
 
I think alot of additional tack is uncalled for,I loath some of it too!When I had my TB mare and kept her on full livery at a very good yard,where YO was into eventing he was of that opinion and would tell the handful of liveries he had(As most where event horses he used)to remove items of tack if they where uncalled for,I was told my mare needed a flash! The problem is that these items,seem to end up as some sort of fashion accessory and seem absurd that the horse did not need them in the first place!I ride my cob in either a full cheek french link or egg butt snaffle,with a workman like bridle and his saddle of course......and my only 'accessory' is my irons which are the bendy type,which help my knee not seize up!
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oh, and I'm incredibly lazy and find tacking up a chore, so only ever put on what's necessary. Usually that's a bridle with no noseband, and a saddle. Each of G's little riders have their own stirrups and leathers, because I always forget which hole each one has, so it's easier for me to just swap leathers over..
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I have to say that this is why I ride bareback and in a halter such a lot - purely down to outright laziness, particularly if I am riding a few horses in succession.
 
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Could it be that the french you see are lucky enough to have butet saddles, which have latex flocking, so as they warm up they mould to the horse's back and then go back to the original shape when off the horse, thus meaning that if it is the correct width, it fits anything?

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That is SUCH a good idea. I use a memory foam pad under A's saddle and it does the same job (I assume, from your description)
 
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Could it be that the french you see are lucky enough to have butet saddles, which have latex flocking, so as they warm up they mould to the horse's back and then go back to the original shape when off the horse, thus meaning that if it is the correct width, it fits anything?

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That is SUCH a good idea. I use a memory foam pad under A's saddle and it does the same job (I assume, from your description)

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Isn't it? Trouble is, they come with a beautiful price tag to match! Having sat on a jump version, I covet one so badly, but cannot afford one...they cost more than my first lorry did!!
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I would guess the memory foam does a similar job except for the fact that presumably the saddle has been used on different horses and therefore has moulded to at least one, and thus will have pressure points where the flocking has settled? I suspect it does much the same thing though.
 
no nosebands for me.
tia,does a one ear bridle come without a throat lash?
would a full size western bridle fit my cob who has a large head and ears?
 
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