neck straps

multifarious.

They give you something to hang on to other than the reins to save gobbing the pony.
They can be used, with appropriate training, to give an emergency brake.
They can be used to tuck your little fingers under to attempt to teach you to keep your hands still.
They sit in a useful spot for grabbing when an extra handle is needed. Grabbing a handful of mane works but I have found myself sitting on the ground with a big handful of mane and a bald patch on the horse.
 
We use them in the riding school when riders first begin to trot/canter etc to help give them some extra help balancing and also make sure the horses don't get socked in the mouth by unbalanced hands.
I have one on my own horse who can spook very suddenly and violently, and although I rarely use it, just knowing its there makes me feel better! Even though I've ridden for years and work with horses, am an instructor etc I still feel no shame in having a neckstrap! If the choice was to grab it and stay on, or fall off- grabbing it will always win!!
 
They are fantastic if you have a nappy horse that will go from reverse into crazy-forward-trot when you finally persuade them to go past the scary twig. ;) If you loop a few fingers under the strap, it means that you don't jab the horse in the mouth when they are finally being good and lurch forwards. :D
 
I love neckstraps! I just put one finger in it if I feel like the horse is going to do something silly and to help me keep my hands down and not jab the horse in the mouth. I also use it when at work and we get to the gallops, the amount of times I've had horses whip round when I've got my stirrups up short and I'd have hit the deck if I hadn't been holding the neck strap is ridiculous. Although I learnt to hold on by having one horse in particular throw in a buck then whip round straight away, he was my fave but got me off so many times until I learnt to hold on :rolleyes:
 
Nearly always wear one (only when doing dressage comp is it off!), if its good enough for someone who's been round Badminton then its good enough for me! My instructor puts one on all the horses and if i have it on physcologically (spl?) I feel better so never need it!
 
We always use them on youngsters, would rather have to grab the neck strap in an emergency than jab my horse in the mouth.
 
If its good enough for WFP ;). I tend to use a breast plate with a bit that goes over the withers but it has the same purpose more for my head than any thing but its there if I ever need it, always have one for xc now as I have learnt from past experiances that when the pony takes a majoy dislkie to something silly then shows this by dancing on his back legs its nice to have some thing to grab if needed.
 
Use one all of the time. They are brilliant for when the horses at work decide to just explode. Helps you to stay with the horse as it pings across the field
 
I like to use mine when going up a steep bank, it means I don't pull on his mouth and unbalance him :)
I remember a famous eventer (not sure which one) who said "I always have a neckstrap, the others make fun but I don't care!"
They're a good piece of kit :)
 
I started using one when i first got onto a race yard and it has always saved any potentially bad falls etc until the only time i did not use one (i was not allowed reins or a neck strap) on a breaker first time out on 60mph main road! Though not my choice i may add! This obviously ending me with a bad fall and a broken back! But otherwise i never think twice about having it for the 'just incase' moments :D
 
fizzer said:
We always use them on youngsters, would rather have to grab the neck strap in an emergency than jab my horse in the mouth.
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This.....especially when the horse is question is an arab who likes to throw shapes when excited:D

If its good enough for WFP its good enough for me.....

Its either known as an 'emergency handle' (daughter) or 's*** me strap' (me) in our house:D:D

Just to add.....they're useful for horses who jog on the way home.....a little tug on the neck strap when half-halting to steady is far far better than hanging onto their mouth...
 
Welshie Squisher said:
We call them granny straps in Scotland :D
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Oh we call them something far more descriptive (and less polite) over here :D

I use breastplates so I always have something to hang on to even if I don't have a martingale. I prefer to have a strap that's attached to something rather than just an old stirrup leather which will potentially move round the neck. I also use balance straps (if Anky can, so can I :(;)) and I have a "January strap) a bit further up the neck for this time of year when even the old sensibles appear to be on LSD.

Here am I, prepared to have plenty of "in case" attachments to stop me from hitting the deck/smacking the horse in the gob/training it to carry me thru transitions without shifting me, and yet I teach plenty of novice riders who think it's somehow demeaning to use a neckstrap :confused:
 
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I use an old stirrup leather. Not the best pic but this gives you an idea. As others said it's just something to grab if you need to.
 
The saying when I was a child at our Pony Club used to be "if it's good enough for Marietta Fox-Pitt..."! WFPs mother was our DC and I would never have dared turn up to a rally without one. WFP has done an admirable job of promoting the use of neckstraps since then.


Now I'm in my 30s and people at my yard often mention that I always wear (a) a hairnet and (b) a neckstrap on the horse. Well if you'd been in my pony club you would too is pretty much my response.

Old habits die hard.....
 
they are a godsend, we (and a lot of horses) should be really grateful to WFP for making it acceptable to have 1 there to grab instead of the reins...
I use old stirrup leathers with the end taped down after the buckle, different lengths depending on thickness of horse's neck, as I prefer to have the neckstrap quite loose so i can carry my hands in the usual place but have 2 fingers of 1 hand under the neckstrap in case of a sudden whoopee-doo moment on a youngster. It saves their mouth big-time, and because you go with them instead of getting left behind if they do a 0-60 manoevre in any given direction, because you don't sock them in the chops, you are then usually spared the "OWWW" indignant excalation of airs above the ground etc...
I use a neckstrap even when I also have a breastplate on the horse, I know a few people who've broken fingers in the top piece of the breastplate (got them twisted against the withers I think) but because the neckstrap sit more forward, I think that's less likely to happen.
 
I used one many moons ago (often bareback as you do when young) in a mixture of hair brained and sensible riding... :)

First thing I did when I re entered the world of horses after a mahoosive break was buy an extra pair of stirrup leathers so I had ye old faithful neck strap...
 
I use on a old stirrup leather. Use it every single time I ride my youngster at the moment, just keep two fingers slipped under it, it has saved me many a time. I can actually stay on top when his shoulders and head disappear from under me now rather than being left hanging round his neck before being deposited onto the floor.
 
I used to use one, but I forgot to hold onto it so took it off! I also found it uncomfy to hold and found I felt less secure when holding onto it but it did stop me from accidentally jabbing on her mouth.

Now I just use a leadrope as I find it easier to hold and comfier, I just use it when I'm doing stirrupless, bareback, or tackless work, just as a kind of 'security' thing.
Most people I know find neckstraps really helpful, and I do, I just don't use one all the time like they do.
 
I worked for WFP many many years ago, and got the neckstrap habit there. Feel naked without one now!

Incidentally, although it seems that most think of the neckstrap as a safety handle, we used it primarily as a stopping/slowing down device. All the Fox Pitts horses were hacked out on the buckle end of the reins, and we used the neckstrap rather than picking up the reins at all. The only time we took a contact was for fast work, and even then - we still used the neckstrap to bring them back. It was always very interesting to see new horses arrive, who had been used to being ridden up to the bridle all the time. Took a while for them to cotton on, but you could feel them getting more relaxed, and more able to cope with being in charge of their own balance. It was also really good for us - completely takes away the urge to reel in the washing and hang off a horses back teeth. The oly downside was that it gave the horses 100% unconstrained ability to launch people into orbit! I reckon we all fell off at least once a week!
 
Use one all the time. Feel naked without my seatbelt. I galloped racehorses for 12 years. None of us felt like sissies or grannies because we used them. Have saved horse's mouths and stayed on because I had one. Does not mean I'm a useless rider as some seem to think.

Terri
 
I use a breastplate for xc, but after the last experience where the beast leaps out of nothing, I decided it's too far down his neck to be practical - a leather further up his neck would be easier to grab in a tricky situation.

I don't tend to use one at other times, but my beasts aren't the explosive types ;) I use a breastplate for horseball though as I need something to cling onto when I'm picking up the ball. The cocky teenagers and guys who throw themselves off at full speed with both hands are mad :D
 
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