Flashes on Bridles

r0450111

r0450111

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 October 2009
Messages
183
Location
hospital!
Visit site
Me and a mate were having a discussion about horses we've ridden ect and it ended up (as it always seems to!) meandering into a convo about what we would use tack wise on our own horses. I am pondering taking on an ex racer and said straight out i would rather use a plain cavasson bridle with a simple snaffle bit unless i HAD to use something else. My mate got abit odd and kept telling me that with a young horse or a horse who 'doesnt know what its doing' you need to have a flash to teach it to 'keep its gob shut'.

I have NO problem with using tack that is needed but does everyone use a flash on young horses? Should i be thinking that way than wean him back to a cavesson?
I mean i want to do abit of everything with my fella (if and when i get him). I will, i feel i should point out, have a fully qualified instructor ect about to discuss tack choices and if he does need anything changing it will be changed!
 
i have a 3 yr old who is rising 4, have never put a flash on him as he hasn't needed it. he rides and drives. i think less is better until u actually need to use it for the reason intended.
 
It totally depends on the horse and their way of going, I used to have a flash on my baby tb and might have to go back to it but at the moment I think he needs his teeth done so no way am I strapping his mouth shut. Once his teeth are done if we are still having issues then I would add a flash.

Then again I have just had to buy a stronger bit for jumping, instead of the loose ring French link I’ve got a egg butt French link Fulmer snaffle… :D

At work we don’t put flashes on our babies unless they need it, in fact I’m pretty sure that all of our baby tb’s have been broken and backed without nosebands…
 
Depends entirely on how the horse reacts to backing and the aids. I started riding my mare in a cavesson, added a flash when she got a bit gobby, now we are back in a cavesson and have been for 5 years. If I thought it was necessary, it would go back on as and when.

Had a bit of a disagreement with my instructor over this though, who advocated using a flash on everything, regardless of whether the horse opened its mouth or not. As the rest of the instruction I received was perfect, I decided it was easiest to put a flash on for lessons and then take it off the rest of the time!
 
thats what i thought. IF my horse needs a flash, i'll put a flash on him. The way my mate was going on, every single horse should have a flash on regardless. She made me feel kinda dumb for thinking that horses should only have the tack they genuinely need on.
 
Well having had a horse that needed a flash done up extra tight to now having three lovely horses that have no intention of opening their mouths I can say it is a joy not to use a flash and I have no intention of giving them something to have a go at opening their mouths against. One is a youngster and the other two are not but never have had flashes.

The less kit the better as far as I am concerned.
 
i have to use a flash on taz while out common riding, other wise he tanks off as he gets so excited and gets his tongue over the bit, but the rest of the time, he doesnt have one on unless, he tanks off with me and then it gets put on for him to learn some manners because he then remembers he cant get his tongue over the bit
 
If you need to strap the horses mouth shut....why not find out why he's opening it? ( not you OP....just a general statement there:D)

My rising 6 year old highland had a flash and a single jointed snaffle when I bought him....his flash and noseband had been tied so tight he has a few white hairs accross the front of his face.:mad:

Yep...he's been a bugger to bit ( big fat tongue) and he's driven me demented at times having to dismount and get his tongue back under the bit....but finally we have cracked it. NS double jointed snaffle and a nice padded cavesson.....job done- he is now comfortable, no more funny mouth business and evasion- no miserable pony.

I personally don't like flashes although I know they have their place.....I agree with you OP.:D
 
Personally, I'd always take the minimalist approach. I wouldn't use something on the horse unless it demonstrated to me that he/she needed it to correct a behaviour. Flashes and martingales are everywhere, but I wonder how many horses who wear them actually need them.
 
Presumably they do have their merits as so many people use them, a little like IW trailers, you see them everywhere, it can't always be just because it is 'the thing' can it?

I don't like, and have never possessed either of them, but that's just a personal preference. If a flash works for an individual then who am I to say otherwise?

Wonder how many people on here own either, or both?
 
Last edited:
Last time I had total choice of what a horse got to wear I was loaning a cob that I was told needed a flash and a martingale and a gag because she bolted. I'm not sure I would have the guts for it now but at the time I was 14, immortal and a know it all :P. I put her in a rubber loose ring mullen as that was what I had and no martingale or flash. She was lovely in it and when I tried her in a gag out of curiosity later on she tensed immediately and became very resistant so I think the mullen was better for her.

Generally I would start with the absolute minimum and build up IF it was needed and I couldn't find any other (pain/teeth/training) solutions.
 
IMHO, you should not need or use a flash while breaking in a youngster.
 
Flashes = Hate hate hate them!

Makes me so annoyed that in saddlers, every bridle I come across comes with a flash as standard.

I used one on my arab once - he was easy to stop but he was tense and miserable. I don't enjoy riding a tense and miserable horse - but maybe that's just me.

Flashes are a symptom of the quick and easy mind set of "if it doesn't do as it's told I should add more hardware". If a horse is tanking off - check teeth, check back and saddle, try different bits or try bitless (don't laugh - it can work amazingly), get some schooling.

Then - and only then, if the horse needs an active noseband, try an elasticated drop or a grackle (so the pressure is spread over a creater area).

Rant over!
 
Well, OK, I agree in part but they do have their place where a drop or grackle may not be suitable ;) I know someone who uses their flash for it's original intended purpose - to allow the attachment of a standing martingale while combining with the action of a drop :)
 
I have only ever had to use a flash on one horse, she was a little gobby when first backed (teeth were checked btw!), I gradually weaned her off it.

It depends entirely on the individual horse, personally I would only use a flash if I really really had to - trust your gut instincts.
 
milliepops said:
Well, OK, I agree in part but they do have their place where a drop or grackle may not be suitable ;) I know someone who uses their flash for it's original intended purpose - to allow the attachment of a standing martingale while combining with the action of a drop :)
Click to expand...

Absolutely right. Personally, I don't think they have any other use. I hate the way they are everywhere nowadays. So often you see them done up so tightly it's ridiculous.
I wouldn't use one on a youngster. If they're mouthy try another bit that they feel comfortable in rather than clamping their mouths shut on a bit they aren't happy in.
Older beasties that need a bit extra - if they need a drop then use one, correctly fitted, or a grackle.
While I'm being a grump - why does every other horse have a martingale?
I'm definitely a 'less is more' person. Less they wear, less I have to clean:)
 
i'm also a minimalist.
get a new horse and take everything off the bridle, inc. noseband. Have a ride and a feel of how it goes and work on from there. usually put a noseband on for aesthetics, it's rarely cranked shut as find it a source of tension and resistance rather than helping any issues which it might...
each to their own however.... if only horses could talk and tell us "well actually I quite like the handing snaffle, the grackle noseband is quite comfortable on the 5th hole and I promise I won't cross my jaw, and the browband to be a quarter of an inch bigger please - thanks"...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top