Standing Martingales

I cant see the ponit in them one bit i think there more harm than good and are more of a saftey net for people who have horses that are either to much or to strong for them. As for the fitting of one i hear what most people say about it only coming into play when the horse raises its head up to a sertain point..... right, So what does a running martingale do.. answer, excactly the same but with out makeing most horses freek out. Why not use some draw reins for schooling at home or warming up at a competition at least if things get frisky you just let them slip through your fingers. No offence to anyone but i bet if you looked at the small minorety of people that use them at shows or where ever, 9 out of 10 of them would be people that were over horsed or with no breaks what so ever or horses with a high head carrige probably because they wernt happy in the briddle or with the bit and had crap hands and bye strapping its head down made them feel better and safer. Les is more.
 
I would never tighten it more than what is a correct fit. I do not work like that.
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Thanks.
 
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I cant see the ponit in them one bit i think there more harm than good and are more of a saftey net for people who have horses that are either to much or to strong for them. As for the fitting of one i hear what most people say about it only coming into play when the horse raises its head up to a sertain point..... right, So what does a running martingale do.. answer, excactly the same but with out makeing most horses freek out. Why not use some draw reins for schooling at home or warming up at a competition at least if things get frisky you just let them slip through your fingers. No offence to anyone but i bet if you looked at the small minorety of people that use them at shows or where ever, 9 out of 10 of them would be people that were over horsed or with no breaks what so ever or horses with a high head carrige probably because they wernt happy in the briddle or with the bit and had crap hands and bye strapping its head down made them feel better and safer. Les is more.

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Hmmm, not sure I agree actually. If anything, when I was feeling overhorsed, it was at that moment I took the standing martingale off (actually, I never had it on - her last owners did, but I neever put it back on) We went right back to basics, and have built ourselves up over the next three years. She has improved massively, but she does need a SM for jumping. It is something she will never not need when it comes to that.
A RM does not do the same. It applies pressure on the bit, therefore the mouth/poll, so if anything, hard hands could be felt more with a RM then a SM, which does not come into contact with the bit at all.
I have never actually seen a SM being used other than on the hunting yard I got my horse from, and in polo, so I would not know how people use them at shows.
Less is not necessarily more. I stripped down to the bare basics, and in my horse's case, less was certainly not more. I do not use tack irresponsibly nor do I use it for the sake of being fashionable. I use it because it is needed, and is often only a temporary measure. e.g a grackle. She is now back in a cavesson and has been for months, and we are both a happy non-jaw crossing partnership now.
 
Personally I'd never use one. Too restrictive IMO, especially for jumping in. I just think proper schooling should fix the actual problem rather than using a gadget to try and deal with it.
 
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Personally I'd never use one. Too restrictive IMO, especially for jumping in. I just think proper schooling should fix the actual problem rather than using a gadget to try and deal with it.

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neither of the pictures shown in the thread have the horses being restricted. and those are both decent sized fences. so if it is correctly fitted, surely they are not restrictive.
You can school a horse as much as you like, the excitement of jumping that brings on a bit of silliness just isn't going to leave some horses.
 
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I cant see the ponit in them one bit i think there more harm than good and are more of a saftey net for people who have horses that are either to much or to strong for them. As for the fitting of one i hear what most people say about it only coming into play when the horse raises its head up to a sertain point..... right, So what does a running martingale do.. answer, excactly the same but with out makeing most horses freek out. Why not use some draw reins for schooling at home or warming up at a competition at least if things get frisky you just let them slip through your fingers. No offence to anyone but i bet if you looked at the small minorety of people that use them at shows or where ever, 9 out of 10 of them would be people that were over horsed or with no breaks what so ever or horses with a high head carrige probably because they wernt happy in the briddle or with the bit and had crap hands and bye strapping its head down made them feel better and safer. Les is more.

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pmsl - i personally invite you to ride my horse to a fence without one.
until you have seen people riding their horses in one why make comment??????

my old boss PENNIE CORNISH (heard of her maybe???)
jumped estranged all its life in a SM.
They regulary ride horses in them - at shows and at home.

if you dont like them then fine - but maybe use a better argument to state your point then saying people that ride in them cannot ride their horses as that is complete tosh.
 
We used to use one on a hunter over big hedge country when he needed his head and neck more than anything. He had it on because he almost broke noses a number of times without! It was fitted so loosely it only came into effect when he threw his head back sevrerely and quickly. Not a fan of any martingales tbh, but they do have their purposes when used correctly. Would rather see a correctly fitted standing than one of the hundreds of ill fitting running martingales I see on a reg basis!!!
 
My horse is jumped in an elasticated one, and have a attachment just in case. A correctly fitted standing is far better than a running. Ugh, hate runnings...with a passion..
 
Interesting . . . in some schools of thought they're considered "standard" emergency equipment, like a stick, which should never come in to play in ordinary circumstances but is there in a pinch if needed. An SM adjusted correctly (with the head in a natural position the strap should at least touch the throatlatch area) shouldn't interfere with a horse's jump or it's natural head carriage (needless to say it has NOTHING to do with a horse working in a correct shape, properly on the hand). Sometimes they can be a useful piece of kit on a very excitable young horse, a rearer, or even a horse that roots. Obviously, like any other training aid the object should be eventually to do without!

I personally don't like extra bits of tack but I have worked with good people who use standings regularly on young horses and when reschooling in order to avoid a situation where the bit is pulling down (and therefore cannot work properly, even attached to a good pair of hands) and have not seen negative effects from their use. Obviously if a horse is "chucking" its head or regularly trying to avoid the hand that's a different situation but that's not what a martinagle was designed to address anyway.

I do LOATHE the way they are used with western horses. I guess maybe they should get some credit for calling a spade a spade and using the alternate phrase "tie down" and defending it by saying it's necessary for ranch work but that doesn't explain why you see so many horses with their heads tied down in basic schooling.

There is a school of thought that doesn't like running martingales, by the way, because they cannot help but interfere with the feel of the hand, even when they're loose. I see their place (and have used then in necessary situations) in jumping but I do find then irritating to ride in on the flat because the rings bang and slide on the rein. The increasingly popular method of using them short to "dampen" the riders hand on the rein is certainly not the use for which they were intended.
 
Goodness - I suspected that I'd be shot at for suggesting a standing martingale, and look at the furore.

They are an excellent bit of kit in their place, just like the also currently unfashionable drop noseband. They need to be properly understood and fitted correctly though. None of my horses is normally ridden in either. I have used both to help with schooling or correcting specific problems though. I have never used either a running martingale or a flash!
 
All our polo ponies are in them and yes it is to stop their heads getting too high, but then they must be fitted properly. I don't like to see a standing on a horse which has been done up too tight as this does no favours for the horse or rider at all.
 
Truffles & Dieseldog

I was not been critical to anyone on this forum using SM's, I am not fore or against them, I was saying that I don't agree if they are causing the horse discomfort and distress like any other piece of equipment and should not be used as a quick fix and corrective schooling should not be over looked which unfortunately is what I have seen on occasions.

I was not in anyway suggesting that everyone who uses them for what ever discipline, in this case jumping are doing anything wrong, which I why I said in my other post if you read it, I was not aiming my first post at anyone which I also said, there is no need to get personal suggesting that I should come down and watch you ride your horses in a SM to prove a point, because I was not on about you, nor was I questioning anyones's experiance with using SM's, you may be very experienced and know what is right for your horses and what works which is good.

I am fully entied to be critical about something that I have witnessed with my own eyes at shows which is something else I said in my second post, if you read it, and I apologise if my posts were misleading and taken in the wrong light, the last thing I ever wish to do is upset anyone, but perhaps if you have seen what I was referring to on the occasion I have seen SM's used incorrectly then you may also of felt the same way.
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It does beg the question though, can you "disapprove" of a piece of equipment because it CAN be used incorrectly, either through ignorance or unwillingness to do things in a correct, humane way?

After all, cars can be used to run people down or they can be used to get you to the yard to see your horse.
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Tack is just tools. Every piece of equipment exists because someone, somewhere, on some horse, in some school of riding found it useful - no tool is the right answer for every question but that doesn't mean it's the wrong answer for every question, either. Understanding when, how and why to use something is what gives it value. Using it wrong is just, well, wrong.
 
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