I have a whistle around my neck when I go out by myself. It’s the kind for hikers and others going into the wilderness. I figure if I fall in a ditch or something, the sound will travel. It has an an easy break-strap. Imagine the irony of being strangled by your safety whistle.
7 Likes
Sure, I don’t disagree with that.
I’ve not felt the urge to “rat out” another rider. If I ever did, I’d damn well know the rule(s) before I did it.
As I said in an earlier post (26), you do you. 
Generally, when I’m competing, I’m really not concerned with others.
The normality of using a grab strap at all in a dressage test seems strange to me. I would have thought that holding on to it in any way would have been seen as not having an independent seat.
Do you think the rule was instituted so as to keep people safe should things go awry, or for subtle use during a lengthening as you described?
ETA: And y’all wouldn’t instinctively reach for mane, even a fat braid if things went wrong? I grew up riding hunters and jumpers, as well as whatever horse anyone would let me ride. I have also ridden Western as well as dressage, but done some field hunting, a tad of eventing and a whole lot of unsupervised kids’ stuff. If I’m trying to Really Not Die on a horse, I’d sooner grab a part of him than a part of the strapped on equipment. But again, that’s just a long-standing habit that came from how I grew up.
When I started riding dressage, I was surprised to see grab straps on folks’ saddles. I don’t begrudge anyone something that will keep them from getting hurt. But the mane seems the safer grab strap, God’s Natural Handle for the idiots who think we should be riding a 1,000-pounder who possesses a brain the size of an orange.
I have also never known how one could use a grab strap as an aid to equitation, like holding yourself deep into the saddle on a big moving horse, while also keeping one’s hand/arm as soft as required for the constant contact with the mouth that dressage requires.
3 Likes
My other thought on the grab strap being used to steady a riders hands, as mentioned upthread (separate from using it in an “oh sh*t” moment), is that it may work but sometimes we can focus too much on the hand and not the rest of the body. Hand issues can come from a variety of things, IMO, from not having an independent seat, being stiff elsewhere, such as in the upper back/shoulders, lacking balance, not being supple, no elasticity on the elbows, or an improper mentality such as riding front to back. There can be a lot to unpack in some hand issues. Not all, but some. Obviously I’m in favor of saving the horses mouth if it comes down to that and if it does help the rider in some way.
If I were to grab something, it would be mane because that’s what I was taught eons ago. I cannot (fortunately, perhaps) recall the last time I did it, but it’s something stored in my memory.
3 Likes
Some of us with t-rex arms can not both keep a deep seat AND grab mane. I have to lean forward, tipping out of the saddle a bit, to reach mane.
But I also have never used a grab strap or pommel in the heat of a problematic moment. I have with my oldest the Mother Bucker when I could tell we would be bucking into the first canter or two to ensure I could not yank on his face as I pushed him forward past that.
I don’t want to cite names because I’m not 100% on who it was, but I was struck by hearing both prominent judge and trainer saying there are quite a few riders who grab during extended trot on some horses in the show ring - just taking the ends of fingers and hooking them onto the strap or pommel. That it can be an aid to let the rider relax the body into the horse’s movement for particularly hard to sit horses. Said mother bucker took years to have a sittable trot, and it became quite easy to ride his huge extended trot by the time we stepped down his work. But that was after 5+ years of work on getting swing. He was too iffy about contact and I wouldn’t have grabbed for that, but it struck me as significant when I heard that.
6 Likes
I think that can be true. When I first wandered over from jumper land to dressage, I did no stirrup work, work on the lunge, and held the saddle while on the lunge, just trying to get a feel of how to truly sit the trot on my WB. It may have helped me learn to relax into the gait.
If you have normal length arms you can’t keep your arms in the correct place for dressage and grab mane. I think the rule was created for a little bit of both.
Clearly, if the judges felt that people who grabbed a strap during a test needed to “learn to ride better”, or didn’t “deserve” to show then it wouldn’t be allowable. As has been pointed out, upper level riders use a strap on occasion, despite what the rail birds have to say, and I’ve seen grab straps on saddles at the Olympics. If you can’t sit your horse’s trot then no amount of strap grabbing is going to help with all those other things that effect scores.
I think of it like the Neck Strap in eventing. For a long time rail birds were all “if you have to grab a neck strap over fences then you don’t deserve to be competing” Then William Fox Pitt (and others) show up with neck straps and use them, and Bob’s your Uncle you could buy them in custom colors at tack stores.
7 Likes
Well, I have a grab strap on my Dressage saddle. It’s because my horse is four years old and his mane is roached, so nothing to grab. I’ve never had to use the strap and I’m not sure if I actually would but it’s nice to have something available should I need it.
1 Like
No. If I’m far forward enough to grab a nice chunk of mane, I might as well not waste time and just go ahead and deploy the parachute.
8 Likes
The holy shit handle takes away all hand “noise” and allows the rider to unpack any or all of the crap that cause/s the hand/contact issues.
Does anyone have photos or video of dressage competitors using grab straps? I’ve never seen it IRL but it’s possible I have missed it in photos just because it didn’t occur to me to look for it. I would also add that I see riders using the reins to balance who feel insecure if asked to ride beyond a walk on a loose rein.
4 Likes
I don’t have photos or videos, sorry. Have only used/seen it used IRL and didn’t care enough to get images 
Maybe someone else has some though?
If it’s really common and acceptable at higher levels I’d expect it would show up in random photos?
4 Likes
Maybe, but does anyone care enough to zoom in and check a bunch of photos? It’s not a big deal. Some riders use it. Some don’t even have one on their saddle.
Usually a horses only problem is the rider!
I did say that the horse had a trot that none of us could sit to or a myriad of other reasons we did not know.
Guenter Seidel used a grab strap on Graf George, including at the Olympics. (See photo in attached article -strap is clear to see).
You want to tell Guenter Seidel he shouldn’t be showing?
4 Likes
Another pic showing grab strap.
3 Likes
Ok!! I would not have noticed! Thank you!
I couldn’t find the article, but I remember him saying he kept a grab strap on George (and hooked a finger through on occasion) because George was so explosive at shows. It stuck with me.
I’m with you - I’ve been to a lot of shows and I’ve never seen an upper level rider use one. If it’s something that’s done, I think it’s quite rare.
2 Likes
