DRAW REINS VS RUNNING MARTINGALE

[SmokenMirrors]

OP are you training your horse to be a good trail horse or western pleasure or both? My own opinion, for what it is worth is that to have a safe trail horse, he has to be free to use his head, neck, and body to balance on the trails, going up or down inclines, and you are part of that process. To inhibit him movement and mobility is doing him a great injustice.

And from the AQHA information I get in the mail and read on line, as I am a member, they are getting away from the peanut pushing look, now going to a more natural head carriage and gate.

Good luck and there are some on this board will give you good solid advice.

[Shadow14]

I jnow I am running on and on but it is on my mind and I can’t go back to reading my good book until I spit it out.
I jog down alot of roads and if he drifts too close to the pavement I just lightly squeeze with the pavement side leg and he quickly drifts towards the ditch. If I want to turn say to the right my left knee goes slightly forward, my right drops back and he turns between the legs, very little movement of the reins. If I want to stop I shift my weight back , pick up the reins slightly and say HO. To ask for a trot, a double squeeze of the legs. To a lope I just use one leg, move it back and touch his flank and at the same time pick up the lope motion, which ever leg I used he picks the opposite lead.
For fly changes I pick the opposite leg that he is loping on, hold it for a few strides getting the motion and then flick my butt to the opposite side while taking the leg off and switching legs and he is suspended at this time and comes down on the opposite leads.
It is all about body, little bit work and I am actually thinking about throwing the bit away again and go back to the simple side pulls that Strider wore for 17 years. But in the beginning I use a running martingale.

[Shadow14]

[QUOTE=Belplosh;4168651]
OP are you training your horse to be a good trail horse or western pleasure or both? My own opinion, for what it is worth is that to have a safe trail horse, he has to be free to use his head, neck, and body to balance on the trails, going up or down inclines, and you are part of that process. To inhibit him movement and mobility is doing him a great injustice.

.[/QUOTE]

A running martingale, adjusted properly and little or no real contact on the bit in no way impedes the horse’s movement or mobity. It is only when he fights the bit by lifting his head that he even knows it is there.
Alot of jumpers use the running martingale and they certainly need freedom of their head.

[SmokenMirrors]

Shadow14, I have not ever used a running martingale or draw reins on any of my horses so I am only speaking from what I and my dad use to do. I am glad though that you have and can give insightful information from experience. I should of said that what I gave her was from one who grew up riding trails of Nevada/California…thank you though for that clarification.

[MintHillFarm]

It’s just not a method that I would use…

I see your point, though I would never use nor recommend using them to ride youngsters…

They are used on jumpers, and it is accepted equipment on educated horses.

[Shadow14]

Belplosh I tend to run off at the mouth too much at times but I have a method that produces very light exceptional horse and I tend to stick to something that works. Alot of thought, experience and hard work goes into training a horse and I don’t want a run of the mill animal but something that stands out head and shoulders about the average.

It does involve risking the horse and my own life at times but I will plan rides, plan tests, situations that challenge the horse and I will ride them through.
I am not looking for shortcuts but at the same time I won’t spend months teaching something that should only take a week. I will refine it for the rest of the horses life but usually within 2 years he is made for life and only requires an occassional tuneup over the years.

[goeslikestink]

op its not the done thing to use drew reins on a young horse and not the best thing with a novice rider as yu say your not expreinced enough to use them in the wrong hands they are lethal

if however you need something to help you have secure seat then by all means have an old stirrup leather around his neck as a safty hold
please take time to have a gander around my helpful links pages
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=178116

any trianer that cannot perform the half halts stride isnt worth botehering with
and sounds like the trianer you have at the moment is using force to get the horse into an outline which is incorrect
you want to be able work the horse from butt to poll to a ralex yaw
by having light hands secure leg and independant seat
which can be achived by lenghtening and shortening the horse stridesusing the half halt stride in every transition obviously doing down gears 1st as ts easier for the horse to learn and all new things taught should be done in walk so he learns to use his rear end and get that underneath himself then he will be focused straight forwards and balanced and his mouth will be soft

take your time to read my helpful links and pay perticular attention to the 1st 3 or 4 links and page 1 as its all relevent
work the horse on both sides satrting with 10 or 15 mins building it up into an hour
so the horse is worked evenly and fairly as hes so young

[SmokenMirrors]

[QUOTE=Shadow14;4168852]
Belplosh I tend to run off at the mouth too much at times but I have a method that produces very light exception horse and I tend to stick to something that works. Alot of thought, experience and hard work goes into training a horse and I don’t want a run of the mill animal but something that stands out head and shoulders about the average.

It does involve risking the horse and my own life at times but I will plan rides, plan tests, situations that challenge the horse and I will ride them through.
I am not looking for shortcuts but at the same time I won’t spend months teaching something that should only take a week. I will refine it for the rest of the horses life but usually within 2 years he is made for life and only requires an occassional tuneup over the years.[/QUOTE]

Hey no problem Shadow, I have always enjoyed reading your posts. Too bad your not closer to me, I would have you come out and evaluate my own trail horse, who started out his life as a show horse, with the peanut pushing head drop and everything. Now, he has been taught I wish a more natural head carriage and he has been phenomenal, several times getting us out of sticky situations that some of my friends, whom I no longer ride with as they are too daring for my taste, got us into. Course, that is the QH mind for you, and he does think and is a great buddy!!