I think many are commenting on pictures at the awards ceremony and victory gallop where draw reins are put on as a safety item for control. Horses are not shown in draw reins or chambons in Grand Prix show jumping.
Just because those who compete in GP jumping dress their horses with ‘hardware’ doesn’t mean they use that hardware all the time. It is just there if needed in a tight fast situation.
Something about not taking a knife to a gun fight…
Most of these riders are wonderful horse people and know their horses and the situation they are in.
No time on course to kindly request in 5 to 10 strides that horsey kindly bends and lifts it shoulders when it feels like it.
My view on “gadgets” is there are two ways to use them: one is as a crutch, and the other is as a supplemental teaching aid.
If you are using gadgets as a way to make yourself feel good because your horse “appears” to be doing it right, or to trick observers into thinking your horse is performing well, then you shouldn’t be using them.
If you are using them as a way to remind a horse of something, or to “show them the way” and then once the horse understands, the gadget goes away, then you’re using them correctly.
For example, I have a horse that gets VERY rigid in the neck and jaw when you ask him to flex to the side. If I warm him up with a draw rein, when I ask him to flex he stiffens but the draw rein SHOWS him what I want him to do. He relaxes almost immediately, flexes, and the pressure from the rein disappears as his reward. In a few rides, he’s learned my cue for “flex to the side” and he’ll do it without thinking about getting stiff first. Once in awhile I’ll have to return to the draw reins to remind him, if he’s having a particularly stiff or obstinate day.
Now that said - are there other ways to teach the horse the same thing? Of course. There is ALWAYS more than one way to do things. But for each horse, the trainer needs to find the BEST way FOR THAT HORSE. What works great on most horses won’t always work on them all.
Another example - spurs. If you have a very lazy horse, your spurs might become a gadget. If you use them as a way to teach the horse to become more sensitive to your heels, that “nudge means GO, NOW”, eventually you should be able to remove the spurs and get the same response, probably with the occasional ride in the spurs as a refresher. But for horses that are more go forward and sensitive, spurs are not a gadget but instead a very refined communication tool. It really depends on the horse.
I believe that, as long as your horse performs consistently and correctly once you take the training aid away, then you’re doing something right. If you take it away and the horse falls apart? Well, then you are relying on the gadget and need to become a better trainer.
Remember you are watching the warm up, which is typically very very small, crowded and total madness. And there are a lot of breeding stallions and mares in those GP warm-ups- it’s not the AA warm up ring. I have ridden stallions that hack in a loose ring fat snaffle at home in draw reins in the warm up ring because all it takes is one horse being an ass to cause problems and you have nowhere to go. We called them the E-brake and that’s exactly what they were there for. Not to create a “head set”.
One of the coaches in my barn uses draw reins and a DeGogues. She tends to use them on her students horses, so that they understand how they are supposed to be working, properly. It helps to get them moving and working more properly when the student gets on them.
It’s better to have a full toolbox, rather then an empty one, with no ability to problem solve through the various issues that crop up through out your equestrian career.
I used to be a “gadget hater” and then I matured to understand that as PNWJumper says, “always” and “never” have no place in the horse world. There’s always an exception to a rule, whether it be for safety, confidence, clarity or a myriad of other reasons.
I think drawn reins and other gadgets (tight standing martingales, anyone?) can be used improperly and as short cuts. But many times, they are incredibly useful tools and can really assist in the training process.
I have a very tricky mare and the more simple you keep the routine, the harder she is to ride. She thrives on rotating through different bits that work differently and I’m constantly trying to think of things that make her think on her own and engage mentally. She is going absolutely beautifully now, and we rotate through a snaffle with drawn reins, a two ring, a pelham and a gag. The less I have to do and the more she has to think for her self and pay attention, the better.
Also speaking in generalities, “gadgets” (AKA tools in the right hands) are safest in the hands of (most) pros than the average rider. Terms like always and never, shows ignorance instead of what is intended, which I surmise is a perceived concern for the horse’s welfare.
idk if it would be considered a gadget but i’m surprised all these top riders ride in pelhams with converters. i always thought it was bad to use converter but it sure would make my life easier and makes me question using them if top riders use them.
Personally I hate seeing the tight standing martingales in all the hunters. Chain nose bands as well I feel like everyone rides in a martingale just because its a hunter thing…
Yep lots of pelham converters and definitely makes life easier! But sadly we had a converter snap in my faborite horse’s fei debut 
I’m videoing as my rider just randomly pulls up and starts circling before the final line. So we switched to the converters that buckle to both parts of but as opposed to the one that loops through one and attaches to other. Cause
McLain Ward is one of the riders that comes to mind as the Grand Prix rider who uses snaffles the most frequently - of course that doesn’t mean the mouthpiece is plain, but HH Azur, Rothchild, and Sapphire all went in snaffles (or the occasional tom thumb pelham for Sapphire I believe.)
Yet he uses draw reins in award ceremonies and warm ups (extrapolating from pictures I’ve seen on COTH.) He also used a hackamore bit combo on Antares F. I personally take that to mean he’s willing to use whatever equipment his horse goes best in, and not cram every horse into a one size fits all ideal.
I HATE kimberwicks. I really loathe them, because unlike a pelham they are usually only used with a curb rein. But guess who uses one? Beezie Madden on Simon. The first time I saw that, instead of being “mortified” I thought “huh, I wonder why thats what she chose?” I would be interested to know the answer, all the while recognizing that he must go really well in that, and that her hands are so educated and skilled that she could probably put anything in his mouth and have it be kind and effective.
That doesn’t mean that because someone rides at the top level they are beyond reproach. But it should be the manner in which they use a tool that is scrutinized, not the fact that they use it all. For example, someone riding around in draw reins with the horse’s nose touching its chest for an hour is a different scenario than a warm-up in draw reins or draw reins for an award ceremony.
I tend to be a no gadget type of trainer, other than loose side reins with my babies after they’ve been taught to lunge in tack. I’ve also had good luck with a chambon, on a young warmblood mare that curled behind the bit from the moment I started riding her (even looping the rein at her, she wanted to come behind). As she’s gained fitness and a handful of times lunged in the chambon, she is much more educated, and it worked, for HER. I put a hot TB jumper mare in draw reins with her owner last week. It was the first time I’ve put a set of draw reins on anything in more than 2 years. I’m with those that say that ‘Always’ and ‘Never’ are not appropriate words regarding horses. They are tools that should be used sparingly and with a logical reasoning behind it. Also, yes, in an ideal world all our jumper horses should be super well schooled on the flat, shortening, lengthening, shoulder in, haunches in, half pass… and mine are. However there are times when the level of ‘fun’ that comes along with jumping means those wonderfully schooled horses get excited and eager and anticipatory about doing their jobs, and maybe a different bit on show day is a good way to keep them on task.
[QUOTE=OTTB_;8657029]
Personally I hate seeing the tight standing martingales in all the hunters. Chain nose bands as well I feel like everyone rides in a martingale just because its a hunter thing…[/QUOTE]
Yes a standing is sort of customary dress for a hunter but mine aren’t tight as I also hate tight standing martingales and I can’t remember using anything other than a leather noseband… and I don’t crank my horses’ nosebands. I suppose it all depends on your philosophy. Not everyone uses a tight standing.
[QUOTE=gymangel812;8657015]
idk if it would be considered a gadget but i’m surprised all these top riders ride in pelhams with converters. i always thought it was bad to use converter but it sure would make my life easier and makes me question using them if top riders use them.[/QUOTE]
I rode my jumper in converters. He was a firecracker, so it was easier for me to think about one rein and staying on, rather than two reins and making everyone happy. Too often I see people with two reins struggling and losing their reins (watch the Del Mar GP recently). I had a much nicer going horse that I rode in two reins, rather than a converter, but my jumper gelding was a whole different species of horse.
[QUOTE=longtimelurker;8652962]
Whose THEY?[/QUOTE]
Based on the poster’s broad sweeping brush approach to logic, I can only assume They is a close friend of Florida Man (only I think the Onion is more credible).
In addition to PNW’s very wise words, what others said about being around before you assume a GP rider has the best answer or the better approach. After you know the players, you get a good feel for who has longevity, who has horses that go around for more than a season and want to win. If THAT rider turned up tomorrow riding with a razor blade and monkey hands I’d be willing to listen to why they thought this was a good combination for that horse at this time. It’s how you learn things… which reminds me, I meant to change my sig line!
[QUOTE=Rel6;8657357]
McLain Ward is one of the riders that comes to mind as the Grand Prix rider who uses snaffles the most frequently - of course that doesn’t mean the mouthpiece is plain, but HH Azur, Rothchild, and Sapphire all went in snaffles (or the occasional tom thumb pelham for Sapphire I believe.)
Yet he uses draw reins in award ceremonies and warm ups (extrapolating from pictures I’ve seen on COTH.) He also used a hackamore bit combo on Antares F. I personally take that to mean he’s willing to use whatever equipment his horse goes best in, and not cram every horse into a one size fits all ideal. [/QUOTE]
There’s a great video on noellefloyd.com about McClain’s bits for Azur and Rothchild - Azur goes in a double twisted wire, which though there is no leverage, is definitely a strong bit. Rothchild goes in a rubber snaffle, though he used to go in a fat mullen mouth when he was even younger and less broke. He also mentions he loves using pelhams (seems like for schooling.) So, clearly lots (and lots!) of thought goes into what these horses go in, so like others have said, it’s so interesting to understand why these top riders use the tools they do!
My own horse is very upright - when we got him, he had no crest and lots of muscle under the neck, so we used draw reins (though not every ride) to help teach him where he should put his head without picking a fight so he could build up the correct topline muscles. My trainer never used them, but for me it was a much easier way to get a correct ride out of him. It’s been very much a work in progress as it takes time to reshape muscle, but three years down the road, he’s very easy to come round and the shape of his neck is dramatically different. We still do put draw reins on when he’s very fresh - he doesn’t need a stronger bit and it gives us some breaks. I’ll also throw them on when I’m nervous before a big class (though I rarely do now that he carries himself so well) and have a bit too many nerves to do a solid flat 
The no gadget people I’m sure hate ALL of these reasons to use draw reins, but for an ammy rider who had a horse which did not flex naturally at all, draw reins made a huge difference in our progress 
