draw reins?

laura_nash

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I've never been a fan of draw reins, or gadgets generally, and certainly doesn't sound like a good idea for OP. However I used to ride out with a lady who was an amazing rider on her homebred (slightly mad) TB mare. She would occasionally pop draw reins on the mare if she was fresh or it was windy etc., and the difference when cantering in the fields was noticeable. I only saw her actually use them once, they were usually just sitting on the mares neck with a knot in. I assume the mare knew when they were there.
 

ester

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That's interesting. See, I have used them - and find them not particularly useful. But I think there are many, many people who throw up their arms and declare them the work of the devil without having any experience of them at all. And for what it's worth I find the market harborough to be even less useful.

Would you mind elaborating? Why you used them and why they were not useful? I'm just being nosey and rate what you say ;), certainly not up to using them myself.
 

Merrymoles

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I have used them but am not a fan as reverting to "gadgets" when schooling makes me feel like I have failed.

My horse does turn into a giraffe at times and has been a different ride since I put him into a running martingale for hacking so I am not an anti-gadget snob but, in the school, I want to achieve proper self carriage and that means lots of work. We have it for the odd moment but then it goes to pot but I am not in any rush and know it will come with time. He has a tendency to lean on my hands at the best of times and I tend to half halt and then chuck the reins at him when he does it and let him work it out for himself so draw reins would be counter-productive.

Someone on our yard does use draw reins virtually all the time - horse is often overbent...
 

Cortez

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"Would you mind elaborating? Why you used them and why they were not useful?"


Sure: I was riding a number of very difficult horses for a senior trainer (in Germany, a long time ago), which had a variety of evasions. For some of them he advised using draw reins for a short period to cut down the options for escaping from the contact. I did as I was advised and it DID work for a short-term fix, but the underlying problems were still there and I found that in the long run the only way to tackle the problems was to ride them properly. So they helped in the early stages, when I suppose they would have been considered dangerous, but didn't ultimately shorten the training process. I haven't used draw reins for 15+ years, and wouldn't go to them now, nor recommend them.
 

BBP

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I've often wanted to stick draw reins on mine. After all, wouldn't it be nice if he plonked down 'on the bit' and had a pretty arched neck and ponced along with no effort from me.

And then each time I figure, well hang on, surely he goes along bent to the outside, hollow and inconsistent because I am riding badly and he is reacting to my riding. So surely by shoving draw reins on him I'm not fixing the problem, I'm just building up tension and frustration in him. So every time, I close my fingers, lift my hands and soften my elbows, put my leg on and try again to be a better rider. I'm not a natural rider, I don't find it easy to have good hands but I won't stop trying and I certainly won't blame him for it. In fact I've gone the other way the last 4 weeks and taken the reins completely off the bridle, I'm riding with just a rope around his neck 3 days out of 7. If he can be soft and swinging through his back like that then I know it's my hands causing the problem.

Now I know he has EPSM im even more glad I never forced a sore horse into an outline.

I will admit though that I have used draw reins when doing canter work on big strong eventers and they helped me as a small lass maintain a bit more control when they got full of it.
 

Hedge_pig

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If you had pain in your arms you where not using the draw rein correctly using the rein to drag the horses head in and then fix it there is no more the right way to train a horse than sawing left right on it's mouth in a snaffle is .
You need to be trained to use draw reins and you need to be at a stage in your training were you can feel self carriage and the difference between a horse in self carriage and one that's not and is fixing on it's forehand .

I know that, it was many years ago and at the time I trusted my instructor and just wanted to learn. It was only when I started training with a classical dressage trainer that I realised why it had always felt so wrong. As I said, I wouldn't use them on my mare as I'd rather take the time for her to learn self carriage, I have no interest in gadgets or shortcuts.
 

SouthWestWhippet

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I have a very hot, sharp, mare who I was working through the classical dressage training lines. We became completely stuck at the canter transition where she would repeatedly throw her head violently up, often hitting me I the face. I had numerous lesson and all areas improved other than this one which was a complete block for us.

Basically because the violent head toss would unbalance me, I wasn't able to sit and ride her forward enough to show her a better way of using herself and we got stuck in a cycle.

I used draw reins twice on her, just through the transition to stop the violent head toss. Because she didn't do it, I could then help her with her balance and show her a smoother, more comfortable way for both of us.

I'm sure a better rider would have been able to fix the problem without draw reins but in this situation as a very short term fix to a specific problem, it really helped both of us. i think there is always a time and a place for getting a bit of help with a problem, even from a training aid. It is when people use them to create false outlines or to force the horse to go in a way they are not ready for, or with ignorance, that problems arise.
 

PonyIAmNotFood

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I have used them on a horse that would spin and run. They only came into play when he tried to throw his head and spin. Worked while they were on him, but the clever lad knew when you didn't have them and carried on! Seen them used very badly on a riding school horse who was becoming a handful. They were literally used to put force on the front end, crank the head in and make it so he had no choice but to behave. Awful things.
 

oldie48

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Surely everything we put on a horse has the potential to do damage eg mild bits used harshly, saddles that don't fit, bridles that are too tight etc etc. I do become rather dispirited reading some posts that suggest that horses only go badly because they have poor riders and correct riding will immediately improve the horse's way of going. Very few horses have the benefit of being started and ridden on by people who really know what they are doing so they frequently arrive in new homes with some issues. It takes a lot of skill and buckets of patience to correct ingrained habits and if people use the odd gadget to help them especially if it's to deal with a potentially dangerous habit, like chucking the head up into the riders face, then they have my sympathy. I've never used draw reins but I have used a correctly fitted market harborough to very good effect. I always use a running martingale to hack out, don't need it 95% of the time but it's come in useful on the odd occasion and it only comes into play if the horse is playing up. I use side reins when I lunge. Of course it's horrid to see these "gadgets" used incorrectly but it's also horrid to see sore backs from badly fitted saddles, mouths ruined by harsh bits or indeed mild bits that are used harshly when the horse would have benefitted from something a bit stronger used more gently. Sorry to rant a bit, but I think this blanket condemnation of "gadgets" is a bit naive.
 

YasandCrystal

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There is no shortcut to correct and proper training. It takes patience and time and if you have neither don't have a young horse. It can also take money if you need the help of a good trainer. There is no 'quick fix' unless you want a spoilt horse.
 

PrettyPonie

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There is a time and place for everything! I use them on my Clydie/TB because he has a natural head carriage like a teapot so I use them for correctional purposes only and this is around once a month max. It helps me a lot mainly because due to one of my legs being rather weaker than the other I find it difficult to correct without the draw reins, and after doing a session with them he has much better contact and self carriage. I definitely wouldn't use them on young horses though, I prefer a Market Harborough on young ones as it is a less artificial gadget (in my opinion) more info on it http://www.equestrianandhorse.com/training-equipment/market-harborough.html
 

Cortez

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All tack is a "gadget" that allows us to control the horse, I have no problem with that. If you need extra stuff to help with poor riding skills (which is what some of you seem to be saying, perhaps I'm wrong?), then I do have a problem with that. Why not just get better at the riding instead of adding straps and pulleys? And for those who think that running martingales, market harboroughs, etc. have no effect when not being in play, 'fraid that's not the case. In fact I'd rather be in control of the effects (as in the judicious, educated use of a draw rein on occasion).
 

Tnavas

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I have a theory about draw reins - if you are a good enough rider to use them you don't need them...

Great theory!

OP try a standing martingale to protect you face. Fitted correctly they are very useful.

If you must use a gadget to hold his head down force ably the use a Market Harborough, they have a point where they no longer have an effect. The trouble with draw reins is that they have no point where they aren't having an effect on the horse.
 

godfreyy

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I have a rising 5yo who likes to ride round like a giraffe. I occasionally school him in a bungee in order to encourage him to lower his frame. I've noticed him starting to work with a longer and lower frame even when it's not on. I find that bungees are quite good as they don't force them to round into an outline or into a certain position - if he wanted to ride like a giraffe in one he still could! - and I have found the encouragement it gives him has also given him confidence that he doesn't require to go round with his head in the air to balance and that he can rely on me to balance him when he doesn't fight me. He's only young though, so we don't use it for long when we do ride in one but he does have a better general way of going with that added light encouragement from the bungee!
 
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