I've had a change of heart Re: Draw Reins !

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Harveysmum

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I am the biggest hater of draw reins ever, or should I say was!

Now I still don't think that they are suitable as a replacement for good basic riding but I have to say I really do think they were a god send and I don't know what I would have done without them the other day.

I shall explain; A good friend of mine was supposed to be having a lesson on my horse with a very good well known dressage instructor, however a day before the lesson she had a fall and couldn't go. I decided I would go anyway and take him myself. Everything was fairly normal and the lesson was on a clinic at my yard so no where to travel. Tacked up and went into the arena as normal to start warming up when my horse went absolutely beserk at some people playing tennis in the distance. Now he does some times shoot off but it's over in seconds and my instructor has just told me to ignore him and ride forwards through it. This time however he was bolting off, rearing up vertically, spinning around all sorts, to the point where I couldn't do anything with him. I finnally got him to settle or so I thought, only to find that he had got himself in to such a state that he was just bolting at everything catching me out and unbalancing me. At times he was just dangerous and I had no idea what to do as I couldn't get my leg on him to calm him down. The person who was teaching me suggested (just for the lesson) to put him in draw reins and work on making him focus on my leg rather than everything around him. Now as I said before this I hated draw reins but I was desperate so I went along with it. Well it was fantastic, because he couldn't get up his head up to bolt I was able to keep him round and push him sideways every time he was naughty and without giving him a negative reaction could just make it harder to be naughty. By the end he was perfect and because I think in his mind he had no choice but to listern to me when he was scared he now respects my leg and any time he gets tense I can just move him sideways and take his mind off it.

I had a fantastic instructor but with one session I have solved a problem that's been holding us back for several months now.
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yes i also was dubious about them but hey have infact helped with my mare under the advice of 2 instructors and are continuing to improve her canter work at the moment..
 
i use them everytime i school my mare, in the right hands and used correctly they are a perfectly accepatable training aid.

its when they are used incorrectly that they are very dangerous and can cause all sorts of problems.
 
Used correctly and for the right reasons they are invaluable, they help a horse focus and give a rider more control if necessary- mistakenly, some people think that they are to teach a horse to go in a correct outline!
 
I tend to go through phases of using them, ie if my horse starts snatching the reins - just lets him fight against himself, then when i take them off, as long as i am quick enough with my reactions, he doesnt snatch.

Could have done with them today though as we had the hedge trimer to contend with whilst schooling...didnt achieve that much!!
 
I also hate draw reins! It just seems to be that people use them to force their horses onto the bit and it produces a hard contact and a horse doesn't learn to work from behind. However I am v tempted to try it with my boy who has a tendancy to throw his head up, hollow, halt and rear! Do you think draw reins would help? My worry is he also has a tendancy to do huge fly bucks and by encouraging him to put his head down might encourage the bucks...
 
if your horse rears you need to be looking at why, as its obviously an evasion/or pain of sorts, i definately wouldnt advise draw reins. My horse can rear when stressed out or having a 'paddy', i would never in a million years use draw reins on him, it can make them rear even more and can cause them to go over backwards. Its VERY dangerous.

Have you had all things like teeth/back/tack checked and done i take it?
 
draw reins are ok, in the right hands for occassional use.

I use them on my young horse ecery now and again when he realises im tired and leans on me!!!

it just make him realise im in charge!!

Dont agree the amount that showjumpers use them.
 
completely agree with Morgan4eva. Draw reins encourage completely the wrong muscles to develop and discourage self carriage in the horse.

Also, would not use them on a rearer - they will still go up, but will be much more likely to lose balance go over. Very dangerous.

The only time I have seen them put to good use is with control issues, i.e. the horse throwing his head up and bolting off. Also, if a horse is ignoring it's rider, they can be used to re-assert the riders authority i.e. the rider will be able to keep control thus allowing him/her to use their seat and legs more effectively. A short spell with draw reins can really assist with these issues, but are not a good way to get your horse to work correctly in the long term.
 
I use draw reins occasionally but I picked up a trick from my instructor that I prefer. Instead of going down through the legs and attaching to the girth mine go from my hands through the bit then attach to the girth either side just under my leg. This way they are still very effective but are more like side reins than tugging the head down.
 
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