What are the differences?
I’ve read that the Chambon is meant for lunging, and the De Gouge is meant for riding. Is this correct?
What are the benefits of both?
Chambon is for longing. DeGouge is for riding. That is correct.
A chambon goes from between the horses front legs (or from the front of a breastplate) up to a pulley which is attached to each side of the horse’s bridle above the browband, and then down to the bit, where it is snapped into place.
A gogue (or de gogue) is a chambon that, instead of snapping to the bit, there is an attachment which the snap (after going through the bit) attaches to, and then back to the breastplate. (Does that make sense?)
A chambon puts pressure on the poll when the horse raises its head. The horse can release the pressure by lowering his head and extending his nose.
With a de gogue, there is no release of pressure. The horse’s head is trapped into a triangle (breastplate --> pulley near the browband --> through the bit --> back to the breastplate.
I HATE de gogues. Any training aid should provide a way for a horse to be rewarded if it performs a desirable act (e.g. a chambon encourages a horse to lower its head to remove poll pressure so the horse learns to repeat the act in order to be rewarded by removing discomfort. There is a direct cause and effect between pressure and the horse’s response to the pressure). It can successfully train a horse to keep his head down. It is self executing.
The de gogue traps a horse and forces its head and neck into a certain position. No matter what the horse does, it cannot get away from the pressure.
I have seen horses panic, rear up and fall over backwards in this Edwardian torture rig. No way would I ever ride a horse that had one on. And, once I figured out the lack of release, no matter what the horse did, I never put one on a horse again.
And I apologized profusely to the horse I was about to (unknowingly) torture.
I have used a chambon. My well trained mare was happy to lunge in it with her hocks trailing out behind doing no work all day if you wished.
Years later I had a mare who started off with her head up and horizontal to the sky. I patiently used side reins and she came down so I have not bought a chambon again.
It must have been a degogue I saw at a German dressage place in Australia. I was absolutely horrified. The guy was tightening it to put the head down more. There is nowhere to go if the horse fights but up and over on to you.
I only use side reins when lunging now. I use them properly without pulling the horse’s head in. I don’t use anything other than a bridle, saddle and carry whips when I ride.
The de gouge does provide relief. The only way it wouldn’t is if it on too tight or isn’t introduced properly. It is designed to work in the same way as a chambon, it only adds some bit/bar pressure. The triangle’s sides shorten or lengthen as the horse moves. So if the horse lowers the head, he can lengthen his neck forward. It is much more forgiving than ie side-reins ect.
generally speaking, americans seem to dislike these tools. I like the gogue and I see it referred to a lot in show jumping books that are European authors. the chambon too but didn’t see that the chambon worked for me.
[QUOTE=Engage;8831661]
The de gouge does provide relief. The only way it wouldn’t is if it on too tight or isn’t introduced properly. It is designed to work in the same way as a chambon, it only adds some bit/bar pressure. The triangle’s sides shorten or lengthen as the horse moves. So if the horse lowers the head, he can lengthen his neck forward. It is much more forgiving than ie side-reins ect.[/QUOTE]
When I tried to use it I lengthened it as much as the ‘through the pulley at the ears’ rope would go. I also tried to make the de gogue attachment as loose as it would go, and the result was the “straightjacket” I mentioned above.
Since everything was as loose as I could get it, and the horse’s head was wedged into a fake position, I decided that it was an instrument of the devil. No way could I have made it comfortable on the horse in the configuration I owned.
If you use a de gogue when riding, you are supposed to remove the yoke piece, and instead snap the ends of the ropes that go through the bit rings to a second set of reins. That way the rider can adjust the rein length to provide relief. It’s not supposed to be fastened to the fixed yoke piece when a horse is ridden for the obvious safety reasons.
