Draw reins..

I think they can be both. I ride in them for about 10 minutes a few times a week. My horse though is fit and physically strong and well schooled. I don't do it to keep her head as I don't need to, I use them to help with transitions. However I have seen them used badly a few times.
 
hi i did a post not so long ago about schooling in draw reins, and some lovely person suggested i tried using a harbridge aid instead. i have tried it and find its wonderful and agree with Madam it really helps when working on trasnsitions. i think its a bit easier going than draw reins as its got elastic at the ends so bit more forgiving. but over all i think its more about the long term benefits. i try to work little and often with the harbridge.
 
I find the bungee rein is just as effective and the horse is not fixed into an outline, more encouraged and it means as a rider you can concentrate on sending them forward in to the contact
 
My dressage instructor likes me to ride with draw reins for 10 mins at the start of a sesh - must say they REALLY work for me and P as we are both very good at "setting" and this starts us off very light and that continues through the session
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We do not put them between the legs though, they go either side to the girth straps.
 
I was only asking because I've used them at Lucy's (years ago) on a young horse and Gillian D advised me to use them on my old trak (5y.o) but then someone had said 'why bother? Its just a quick fix'!
 
Ok Just going to copy and paste what i've just posted in PG so here goes:

In my opinion drawreins cause more tenseness in a horse as it will often feel constricted and will cause them to break at the third veratabrae instead of the poll. A horse that resists or shows tensness in drawreins will be using its muscles in pretty much the same way as rollkur work, but this will be exaggerated by stiffness in the jaw and poll from being held in.
I'm sorry but I've seen to much abuse from drawreins to ever advocate their use. People use them to achieve an outline rather than to relax the jaw and for this reason i would much rather see a harbridge being used as it is so much more forgiving for the horse - Of course the ideal would be no gadgets at all and i'm sure thats something everyone aspires too!
 
I have used them for a quick fix, in a horse which wouldn't accept the bit without throwing his head up. Two short sessions and he was transformed. (he was a well balanced horse anyway and regularly scrored in the low 30's BE Nov, just had a mental block about submission).
I would possibly use them with an older horse for remedial work, or if a horse was a struggle to soften. Would be a last resort though. Sienna throws her head a little in her trot/canter transitions, which is a common sign of an unbalanced horse. Using DR doesn't solve the problem. Correct riding & schooling does that and I am a sucker for punishment.
 
Like anything what suits one doesn't always suit others. Solly goes really well in them and i have found that they really help us both. They haven't been used as a quick fix and i don't ride in them for long periods of times, maximum 20 minutes once or twice a week. Like anything they can be abused but i have seen people in a normal snaffle do more harm than good. I like the Harbridge as well, the bungee i found useless.
 
Do you want to start a fight???! A little bored today perhaps?!
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It always seems to kick off when this is brought up. I use them occasionally, if I think they'll help with a problem. And yes, I'll jump in them too if I think they'll help.
 
never used them so no idea, although i have a horse who looks like a giraffe most of the time & have often been told to use them.

as i never have used them & i don't know how i refused to stick them on, might ask my instructor though
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I was advised to use them on my boy for a short period to get him to accept my authority - v long story but I struggled to decide cos of all the negative attitudes to them - ended up using them for 3 weeks and found it amazing to feel how he should be going under me & to really feel him work - however - draw reins came off & up his head went again which is down to me & my crap riding...so to be honest - still on the fence!
 
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Do you want to start a fight???! A little bored today perhaps?!
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No..cheeky!
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Genuinely interested!
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personally i hate draw reins. they give no flexibility whatsoever. The horses head is pinned down with no way of escaping if its hurting. The rider controls the length (or bend in the neck) and when ive been to shows and seen showjumpers jumping in them and warming up i feel sick.
I use a harbridge and there brill! they have elastic to allow flexibility and work as the riders hands 'should'. So yeah...im harbridge all the way!!!!!!
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i ride in draw reins occasionally, as my horse is very difficult(i can ride him tho) and he refuses to accept that i am the boss. i only use them for 10 odd mins at a time, i personally think its better (in my case) to use them than be constantly fighting my horse. i would also jump in them, if needs be.
 
I have never had any problems riding in draw reins. All this stuff about the horses head being pinned in annoys me. Its only pinned in if the rider uses the DR's too short. Draw reins do have their advantages and they have a place in my tack room.
Ive been having a few problems recently with my mare being really silly ans spooky. I put the draw reins on for 1 session and she was an angel. Her head wasnt pinned in and the draw reins only came into use when they needed to.
 
I think a set of draw reins can be one of the most useful and versatile bits of kit in a tackroom if you know how and when to use them. Equally they can easily be over used and badly used but this does not make the bit of kit fundamentally bad.
 
Hi

In my opinion they are neither a quick fix as the horse is pulled into position and will then be highly unlikely to be able to work through from behind...and the long term effect of that is that, as soon as you take them off the horse will not be connected as he wont be used to being connected nor understand the aids and he is likely to be very hard in the hand.

So I don't recommend them! It might be different if your horse persistantly puts his head in the air and runs off or something like that but I'd stay well clear if you can.

Diana
 
But you don't have to use them to pull the horses head into position, used as an aid to maintaining the correct position and to concentration so that they only come into play if the horse puts his head up, like a runnning martingale but with more precision and used only to help with a specific problem they can be very useful.
 
Im not sure I entirely agree with your coment. When my horse first came to me I rode her in draw reins for quite a while as she was really difficult. I do occasionally ride her in them now. She has just gone out and won her first elementary test 9 marks ahead of everybody else so I must be doing something right.
 
Agreed! It is the people who do not know how to use draw reins correctly that utter and splutter and give them a bad name. I do not they should be used unless one has a truely independent seat, otherwise they can be open to abuse. I certainly know how to use them correctly and I shall always have some in my tack box.
 
so, how is the best way to use them?

i never have & wouldn't without a instructor showing me but i am interested in hearing about them
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does anyone have a pic of them being used properly?
 
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... he is likely to be very hard in the hand.


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Sorry for double posting but I HAVE to address that statement as I entirely disagree with it! IF a horse has been ridden incorrectly with draw reins then certainly it MAY be hard in the hand, but equally any horse that has been ridden with a hard hand will end up hard in the hand!!! Personally I find draw reins can go a long way to make a horse one hell of a lot softer in the hand, and I know some rather good trainers who completely agree with that!
 
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does anyone have a pic of them being used properly?


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Well it does not really work like that as what is correct for one horse at the precise moment in time is not correct for the next horse. With all training aids there is no absolute right and wrong because every horse is different and is at a different level of training but simply they should not be applying any pressure when the horse is holding it's head in the correct position for it's level of training, at this point the riders hand on the normal rein should be the only contact. This is why they need to used only by riders with experience of them or used under instruction from people who know how to use them.

Hope that helps.
 
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