Draw reins and horses backs

[Paint it Lucky]

I have recently spend several weeks getting a mare back into work after she had been off for a long time due to lameness related to a bad back. She is a sensitive little mare (tbx) and has always been prone to back soreness, she is used in a riding school and is fine with lightweight/balanced riders but when poorer riders get on and bounce around on her they make her back sore and so make her lame.

So knowing this when I was fittening her/schooling her again for work I spent a lot of time encouraging her to stretch down and work from behind in a long low outline and doing various exercises so as to strengthen her back, and she quickly became very easy to ride and easy to get to work correctly if you just encouraged her to stretch.

Well now she is back doing RS lessons. The school is a lot more careful about who it puts on her now but she doesn't always get brilliant riders. But so far in every single lesson she has worn draw reins. The yard owner insists she must wear them so that she doesn't get a bad back. But I never once used them whilst fittening her and she works beautifully without them. She is the sort of horse who if 'asked' to go on the bit but someone just pulling on the reins will just tense and resist them, you have to ask her to stretch down first, from which frame she finds it easy to then work round (she has quite a low set on neck). Even riders who have never used two reins before or even learnt how to work a horse in outline are now being made to ride her in draw reins in order to 'protect' her back. But I am worried this will infact have the opposite effect as the riders won't be able to work her properly in them and so could make her back sore again.

What do you think? (Sorry this is so long!)

 

[monica987]

I agree with you, eapecially with poeple who have not used them before or arent experienced or know how to use them, and maybe acceptable once of twice but not EVERY time, if used that mush when take off she might explode (what i was always told) and if they are too tightly held then she will go tense and i imagine that they will if they are inexperienced then she will tense overbend and then i guess it would make the back worse...

 

[NewHeights_SJ]

I think work with draw reins has to be carefully done, its not that im against them, used correctly i believe they can be a grat training aid, BUT more often they are misused by uneducated riders....they often pull the horses head down rather than actually working them correctly...

Not only that, but as far as i know it can be more detrimental to the horses neck and back. Not only can it lead to problems where they become heavy on the fore, and never learn to engage behind so well.... but the pain caused from being pulled into a forced position can actually cause neck and back problems.

 

[Bosworth]

Absolutely categorically unacceptable. Draw reins do not help the back they merely pull the head into an outline, but do not actually encourage the horse to work from behind. In order to use her back she needs to use her back end to power along, forget the front as that will come round when she is working correctly from behind.

I would insist that under no circumstances is anyone to ride your horse in draw reins. These will cause her to use her neck not her back and will actually make her worse as she will probably bend from the poll only tensing up through the neck and damage her back

 

[icestationzebra]

I'm quite shocked that a riding school is teaching people to ride using draw reins. If the horse is not suitable for novice riders then it shouldn't be used in their lessons - not just strap it's head down

Probably the reason it got a sore back in the first place.

 

[pixiebee]

Im sorry but I HATE draw reins-all their purpose is, is to pull the head in falsely and make it look 'pretty'
it does not help the back and does not encourage the horse to work from behind. the instructor should know this.

 

[lastresort]

Im mixed with this. I had a horse that had neck problems from being ridden in draw reins excessively but i use them very occasionally with my youngster not to get him to put his head in as he does this naturally but to take a contact. It does help him and my trainer ( international event rider) reccomended it and if anyone knows she does. But she would also agree used wrong and they do more harm than good, as with my previous horse and his old owner

Again its like with everything people have their own views what works with one doesnt always work with another.

 

[ruthsimms]

I'm quite shocked that a riding school would allow clients to ride with draw reins, particularly if they're not experienced enough to know how to use them correctly. When I was riding school ponies I wouldn't have had a clue what to do with them.

I use them occasionally for the first part of a schooling session, paricularly when my boy has been a bit spooky and it's hard to get his attention.

 

[chestnut cob]

Is there a particular reason why you have to have her used in the RS lessons? If it's just that you're on working livery there I would personally be looking at moving to another yard. Your horse shouldn't be being worked in draw reins without your say so, and certainly not with RS clients. I would be fuming!

 

[Paint it Lucky]

Sadly she is not my horse so I don't have any say in the matter! I do keep my own horse there but he is not in the schhol. The yard manager asked me to ride this mare to gte her back into work as a favour for them. I didn't mind when it was just the 'experienced' riders using draw reins on her (though surely they should be able to ride without them?), but now everyone is using them! She isn't an overly hot ride so I don't think she'd blow up from wearing them too much but then who knows! I am not a big fan of draw reins but do think they're useful in some situations, but I would certainly never use them all the time and certainly never let inexperienced people ride in them. I am very annoyed about this!(in case you can't tell!), I am sure they will just end up with the same problem they started with.