Jumping in standing martingale - your views?

AndiK - Is this the pic you wanted to upload?
horseandhound.jpg
 
Many years ago I used to ride my arab in one. When she got very excited, and she loved her jumping, she would throw her head high, and this stopped me coming home with a bloody nose as she would on occasion hit my face.

As others have said, correctly fitted it is not a problem and I too prefer them to running martingales as they act on the nose and not the mouth. I wonder if this is the choice more amongst those of us who were riding in the 60s and earlier?

I also have on occasion used a market harborough - this was the only thing that kept my very strong TB mare in control when hunting.

With the current two, no need for anything.
 
For the record, I am 21.

Standing martingales have been used in showjumping for decades - indeed, their used facilitated the invention of the flash noseband - so that a horse with a drop noseband could wear just one noseband, rather than two - so they can't be all bad.

Yes, they are often far too tight, and I personally prefer a running martingale as they allow more human control over the action - the rider has no control over the action of a standing martingale once mounted. But the tack certainly shouldn't be condemned for certain horses, the same as any training aid.
 
My boy goes fab in one! He has a high head carriage and I hate running martingales.

As long as they are correctly fitted I think they are a good piece of tack.
 
If a martingale is required I would always use a standing in preference to a running where rules permit for all the reasons already mentioned. Look in H & H any week during the hunting season - there are pictures of horses jumping huge hedges & banks in standing martingales - no sign of any restriction whatsoever !
Are Market Harboroughs more fashionable now they're German Martingales then?
 
Damnation said:
AndiK - Is this the pic you wanted to upload?
horseandhound.jpg
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Yes Damnation!!! Brilliant thanks!!!

This is my boy jumping in a standing.... It does not restrict his movement.... Its not the best shot of us if I am honest, he had been a bit of a prat going into the water and I only brought this photo because it was the last competition we were going to contend in because I was going into hospital the week after for an op on my knee which rendered me useless for about 2 months...
 
Yes good thanks... It was about 3 years ago and it was cruciate (sp?) ligament re build.... I tripped over a show jump when teaching a little girl to jump and ripped it... Made a hell of a snap, thought I'd broken my leg.....
 
Standing martingales are fine to jump in, as long as they are fitted correctly,.

I would much rather see someone jumping in a standing than in draw reins :mad:
 
shysmum said:
glad you made a good recovery :)

Now where are we...... ah yes, draw reins.........hmmm. :rolleyes:
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Was glad I decided to have the op.... Knee was not stable at all before and recovery was quite quick.....

Draw reins are another aid (and I use the term loosely) that if used in the correct manner and just to aid schooling and correction could be useful. However, IMO, I think that with all of the modern tools out there there is no need for them..... Each to their own though....
 
Aaah. I've no intention of jumping in it, but my horse has started with what I can only describe as "head jittering" whereby he throws his head up and down in a nodding fashion. . . I rode an ex-racehorse that did this really badly but aaalll the time and it pulled my already back upper back and once yanked my hands so hard he pulled my neck muscles. I'm concerned because mine is an ex-racehorse too and will be really pi55ed off if he starts to do the same thing with such ferosity!

Standing martingale to put a stop to it before it gets underway properly?

And also, I don't like flashes but where can I get a drop noseband? He's started waggling his tongue out the side of his mouth when you're trying to apply brakes - he slows down when you use your seat but he slows down to the speed he wants which is generally not stop, so a little of contact would be magnificent if he didn't stick his out the side at me! I've not seen any in my local tackshop - do places such as Robinsons and Rideaway sell them? Will have to have looooook. . .
 
Whoopit said:
Aaah. I've no intention of jumping in it, but my horse has started with what I can only describe as "head jittering" whereby he throws his head up and down in a nodding fashion. . . I rode an ex-racehorse that did this really badly but aaalll the time and it pulled my already back upper back and once yanked my hands so hard he pulled my neck muscles. I'm concerned because mine is an ex-racehorse too and will be really pi55ed off if he starts to do the same thing with such ferosity!

Standing martingale to put a stop to it before it gets underway properly?

And also, I don't like flashes but where can I get a drop noseband? He's started waggling his tongue out the side of his mouth when you're trying to apply brakes - he slows down when you use your seat but he slows down to the speed he wants which is generally not stop, so a little of contact would be magnificent if he didn't stick his out the side at me! I've not seen any in my local tackshop - do places such as Robinsons and Rideaway sell them? Will have to have looooook. . .
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Not sure I would use a drop with a standing martingale... there is nothing wrong with flashes. They are not to strap the horses mouth shut but should be tight enough to stop the mouth from opening if you see what I mean... My Ex racer does the exact same thing... mouth open and tongue lolling around. I have got him in a flash and he is fine...
 
Evelyn said:
The correct name for this is a Market Harborough - German Martingale is a modern name.

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Thankyou Evelyn :)

Where I live if I asked for a Market Harborough I would get blank stares;)

I used the term German Martingale in the same way I call coloureds paints, headcollars halters, and rugs blankets, foals of either sex colts, and stallions studs. It is merely force of habit, I sometimes forget to translate back to English for this forum.:o
 
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I wouldn't personally but then I don't use martingales on my exracer! They didn't work with him, something for him to fight against!
 
Gingerwitch, I don't know if it is so much an 'outcry'. I asked whether jumping in a standing martingale is safe and acceptable, having seen it at an earlier competition.

I was personally uncomfortable with seeing it because I worried that it would affect the horse's ability to stretch over the fence. However, being more of a 'dressage diva' myself I asked the forum what the general consensus was.

I am reassured to hear that provided the standing martingale is correctly fitted then it is not only perfectly safe to use, but in some instances actually improves safety (certainly for the rider). I still shudder to think of the damage that can be caused by one incorrectly fitted, but then that applies to all manner of tack and gadgets in the hands of novice, inexperienced or impatient riders and trainers.
 
AndiK said:
Not sure I would use a drop with a standing martingale... there is nothing wrong with flashes. They are not to strap the horses mouth shut but should be tight enough to stop the mouth from opening if you see what I mean... My Ex racer does the exact same thing... mouth open and tongue lolling around. I have got him in a flash and he is fine...
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You can use a drop noseband with a standing martingale but you will need to use a cavesson as well to attach the martingale to. Arguably this is the reason flash nosebands were invented but in order for the flash to do the job of a drop the cavesson has to be tightly fitted. So if you don't want a tightly fitted cavesson, with the attendant problems, then a loose cavesson and drop noseband are an option.

Drop nosebands are certainly for sale in most of the online tackshops.
 
jemima_too said:
You can use a drop noseband with a standing martingale but you will need to use a cavesson as well to attach the martingale to. Arguably this is the reason flash nosebands were invented but in order for the flash to do the job of a drop the cavesson has to be tightly fitted. So if you don't want a tightly fitted cavesson, with the attendant problems, then a loose cavesson and drop noseband are an option.

Drop nosebands are certainly for sale in most of the online tackshops.
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I see.... I meant that I would not attach a standing to a drop but if you were to use a drop in conjunction with a cavesson and attach the standing to that then I could not see this being a problem. But I would wonder why a flash was not being used in that instance....
 
The flash noseband was developed purely so that standing martingale and drop noseband users didn't have to have two comlete nosebands on their horse - got rid of a set of straps.

Modern flash nosebands aren't really strong enough for the standing though. At one time the top noseband was an inch or more wide and strongly made. The flash strap was sewn on to actually mimic the setting of a drop. Modern ones don't lie as well as the old style. Pic below as to what they used to be like.

FlashNoseband.jpg
 
Evelyn said:
Modern flash nosebands aren't really strong enough for the standing though. At one time the top noseband was an inch or more wide and strongly made. The flash strap was sewn on to actually mimic the setting of a drop.
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You can still get pretty decent flash nose bands. I have one of these nosebands
22520082213Stubben-Padded-Flash.jpg
 
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Evelyn said:
The flash noseband was developed purely so that standing martingale and drop noseband users didn't have to have two comlete nosebands on their horse - got rid of a set of straps.

Modern flash nosebands aren't really strong enough for the standing though. At one time the top noseband was an inch or more wide and strongly made. The flash strap was sewn on to actually mimic the setting of a drop. Modern ones don't lie as well as the old style. Pic below as to what they used to be like.

FlashNoseband.jpg
Click to expand...

I love your diagram! Did you draw it especially for us? That's awesome!
 
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