Unnecessary tack!!!!!!

S

Sharonr

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 May 2008
Messages
368
Location
Scotland
Visit site
I've had my new horse for 2 weeks now and she came with a flash noseband attached to her bridle.

Don't know why cos I rode her today without it as couldn't see why it had been fitted to her.....and she was perfectly fine without!!!!!!

Why do people do that? Put on tack that is not necessary??

Have found that she flings her head up now and again but just wondered if this was due to rough riding before. I ride with a fairly loose rein but with enough contact to keep control, but just wondered if this head flinging thing is a learned reaction to poor riding before and maybe getting pulled in the mouth to slow down, stop etc?
 
maybe someone was halding her back too tight before, yeh I hate it when people use unnecessary tack
frown.gif
 
I went to a show last week for juniors, and I swear that grackles are the latest fashion, I could count on 2 hands the amount without them!
I went to a show today and a 14 yr old girl was told off in the SJ for using her spurs excessively! But she went in to the next class and did exactly the bl00dy same!
 
Could just be that you have gelled really well and with your light contact on her mouth she doesn't need to stop you yanking her around by tossing her head etc/
smile.gif
 
I hate unecessary tack I ride mine in the basics, a loose ring snaffle with a caveson noseband and no martingale, breastplate etc... there are some horses that obviousley need the things that they wear but I can't understand why people insist on dressing their horses up when its so unecessary!!
mad.gif


Sorry rant over
smile.gif
 
I had a pony "with tack" and they just sent him with a crapy bridle made up of parts the obviously didn't want to keep - Full size nose band with lots of holes punched in to make it smaller / 18 inch saddle etc (it was a 13hh) LOL

Could be that they didn't want the nose band so put it on that bridle? Just a thought. Did she have it when you tried her?
 
Do people think it looks good to have so much tack on a horse
confused.gif


I ride Ellie in a Dr Cooks bitless bridle and saddle lol and she does dresage and small jumping classes like that too. Not with me on board I hasten to add
tongue.gif


Oh and boots front and back to protect her legs from concussion - after all she is an old lady
smile.gif
 
Yep, she was wearing flash when I tried her but she didn't open her mouth once today when I was riding her so don't understand why she had it on.

Even looking back at the photos of her For Sale, her head is held unnaturally tight in to her chest.

Took it off and had it in my pocket in case but it's a webbing one and looks more like a dog collar than a noseband!!!!!!!!

Also found that when I got the bridle the bit was hanging squint. One side up more than the other.

Poor girl seems to have been badly handled and treated if you ask me, or am I being bitchy!!!???!!!!
 
Your instintcs are usually a good thing to go by, especially with animals, they can tell you alot. So well done for trying her without the flash. Norman had a running martingale when I tried him, when I bought him he came with nothing so for the beginning I didn't use a martingale and he appeared not to need it, so he hasn't worn one since being with me!

 
I was at a riding club show a few weeks ago and one of the horses is ridden every day in a caverson, but as it was "dress up day" the horse was brought jumping in a grackle.

I just dont understand??? Although I think I am just bitter, as I can't afford to follow fashion.
smirk.gif
 
I don't see the point in following fashion. After all if the ned goes as well without as with then wheres the sense in spending money that could be used better elsewhere ( like yet another new rug
tongue.gif
)
 
to be fair though some horses do need grackles/flash nosebands/martingales, people always seem so proud that their horse wears none on these things, shouldn't they just be happy that their horse goes well in what it does wear!

Pickle does wear a grackle but only for hacking, without it he is completely unholdable, I have a schooling/jumping bridle and a hacking bridle!
 
merlin has the basics for jumping - french link snaffle with no martingale and cavesson noseband, has a breastplate as his saddle tends to slip back when jumping.

he just leans on the martingale and i am lucky that he dosent need it
tongue.gif



why do all the stubben reins have stoppers on?!? i hate it!
 
I think it depends on the horse. Yes, certain pieces of tack are fashionable - I was chatting to my YM about grackles being the nose band at the moment and gags te bit, while years ago it was drops and pelhams.
However, my horse is in a french link snaffe at home with no martingale/noseband, but for jumping/hunting he wears a snaffle with a hunting breastplate with martingale attachment and a grackle as he can toss his head and cross his jaw when he gets keen.
The pic on the right hand side of my sig was taken on my yard X-Country course and I hadn't intended to jump so just had his normal tack and, trust me, I would rather have the extra bits as a deterant or a backup when I need it than hurtle towards a solid jump fighting for control like I did that night. It is better to have a bit of extra control than none at all, but it is important that tack is used for a reason not cosmetic purposes and the rider ensures they are using the correct bit of tack for their problem.
 
My mare is in a full cheek french link cavesson bridle and thats it. For jumping I just stick a flash on because she does just open her mouth and rush to the jumps otherwise. When I tried her 14months ago when I went to buy her she had never had a noseband on before! (I just can't be assed taking the noseband off
grin.gif
)
I know someone who has just recently backed and broken his two horses and they are both in flashes, I don't see why? Break them without one so they never need one IMO.
Another girl I know has a 13hh pony on loan. He is usually in a flash (he does have no breaks without one, he is very fizzy!) and eggbutt snaffle, even for XC and SJ. She wants to ride him on a pelham or the bottom ring of a gag for jumping. And for what reason? None. It just looks good to have one of these contraptions in the horses mouth. Plus all she ever does is jump this poor pony so therefore this pony will always be in the Pelham or gag, depending on what mood this girl is in.

It infuriates me when the person can't ride properly and therefore needs contraptions to make the horse controllable, or the rider thinks it looks good to have a horse in this gear!! I understand some horses need the gags, pelhams, grackles etc, but some people just put them on the horse for the hell of it weather the horse needs them or not, there is just no point!

Ok rant over.. phew!
 
But then the horse is used to having its mouth clamped shut and when you take the flash off it will just gape it open because its not being kept shut by anything. If the horse needs the flash then put one on it. I can safely say my mare has never been in one and schooling wise I have never had any problems.
 
I really can't stand over tacking or bitting either! My boy is ridden in a cavesson with a fulmer snaffle in the RS. Loose ring with a lozenge for dressage comps and serious schooling and then a hanging cheek snaffle to jump as he does tend to stick his head in the air and rush! He does wear a running martingale as well for the RS and fast hacks and jumping as when he's excited/spooking his ears go up your nose!

I heard a really good saying that can be applied within reason 'Don't put more gadgets on it, ride it better!' obviously this doesn't apply always but is a good principle
 
no matter how many gadgets you put on your horse it will NEVER disguise bad riding - it will only highlight it. i am pleased to say that i can identify a need for each and every item my horse wears
 
When looking through horsey catalogues I've noticed that most of the bridles for sale are in fact ones with flash nosebands! They must be in fashion as it's difficult finding a bridle with a normal cavesson. It's not surprising that a lot of people are using them.
 
Roo has a running martingale for jumping or he goes into orbit! he's in a drop cheek snaffle, with a flash for rallies and exciting stuff, but he doesn't need it at home. Solo is in a loose ring snaffle and flash. Ozzie is in a full cheek french link snaffle. They all have gp saddles
tongue.gif
 
The one thing that irritates me more than seeing lots of tack on horses is people harping on about it!

How do we know that the horses or ponies we see do not need this tack? We are not riding them and do not deal with them daily and in different situations. (obviously not in the case of OP) It does not excuse ill fitting tack or excessive use of equipment such as spurs, whips and leaning on reins but if a horse has a running martingale on and doesn't need it it will not come into play so what is the issue with it?

I ride my horse in a loose ring snaffle, flash, crank nose band and running martingale....... why? because he crosses his jaw and throws his head in the air. I don't wear a flash and crank because it is fashionable....it didn't occur to me to check.
 
I don't think this is right tbh as one of my boys i will ride him at home one day with no noseband and he will be fine, the next day he will have a grackle on and i still cant stop him and the next day he will have a flash/ cavesson and is really nice to ride. It all depends how mine are going on the day and wether they have a good/bad day!

Also i have one that if you leaves it flash off for a week or so then it starts to get wise and evade the contact so needs putting back on for a bit.

I don't think it matters what tack is used on a horse as long as it is used correctly.
 
Agree completely with sunnymare, my NH instructor pointed this out to me and when I looked in tack shops of course she was right. Its sad that standard bridles almost always come with flash attachments whether its needed or not - I would imagine if its there and there is a problem people are more tempted to use it as the first port of call rather than fix the problem.

I think its difficult to tell people off for moaning about excessive tack when whole yards seem to be kitted out in gags and grackles. On a yard of 30+ horses I counted 3 that were not in gags, and of those in gags I could only see 2 that didn't have them on the bottom hole. You're not telling me that its just coincidence that every single horse on that yard needed a gag!
mad.gif


Before F made me re-think, I was convinced that if a horse is opening his mouth or crossing his jaw you are doing too much with your hands, and that if extra tack was used it should be used as a temporary aid to schooling them out of it. I still try to live by those principals in the first instance, it just happens that in trying to teach F not to rush into canter he just opened his mouth and charged on regardless, and 2 instructors were telling me to put a flash on him, which I eventually reluctantly agreed to and it has helped his schooling no end. Its just very frustrating that every time I have tried to take it off him he's up to the same tricks again!
smirk.gif
 
I don't presume that other people's horses don't need some of the kit they have on them, but when a horse that carries its head totally normally has a running martingale on for jumping i do wonder... i can't stand the things, and only use one if absolutely necessary. i know plenty of people who won't jump a fence without one on though.
my 14.2 went very happily in an eggbutt snaffle, cavesson, no spurs, no martingale for me for a year. when we sold him and i saw him at a show a few months later, unfortunately he had half the tackroom festooned on him, seriously over-bitted, rider wearing spurs, martingale very tight, the works. that saddened me because he really didn't need it and i think it all stressed him out.
fads and fashions do come and go, too... i remember when Belgian gags first appeared, and then suddenly everyone seemed to have one on their horse.
 
it is nice to have minimal tack but we have to trust that owners have a reason for the souped up versions.

For example, H wears a snaffle in school and RDA work, on a sunday and hacking alone he will wear snaffle. However on a saturday, first hack of the week and usually in company, he has a tom thumb bit, double reins and a soon grackle. he also wears irish martingale hacking as he head shakes and reins have gone over ears before. If sponsored ride or anything with horses he does not know, pelham and cavesson.

he is a LOT of horse to control, and has an art in dropping the shoulder and running

edited to say - I have never worn spurs and have soft hands
 
one of our ponies came with a flash nose band and after a while we decided to take it off as he didn't open his mouth, went ok for a couple of months then discovered that he can cross his jaw and do a 0 to 60 so he now has it on again.

I would just see how you get on with and without it.

My daughter rides quietly with soft hands and normally has a problem getting him moving forward
 
QR - As long as the tack doesn't cause the pony harm, I don't see what the problem is? And in the majority of cases, how can you possibly know the pony doesn't need it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top