Merrygoround - please share!
[QUOTE=merrygoround;3508606]
Oh! Do ask your saddler about that very clever idea. :sigh:[/QUOTE]
I’d guess a lot of us who use grab straps use them as handles at least some of the time. Mine is secured to the stirrup bars, not the original d-ring. What’s the downside of this?
TIA
Dee savers can be slipped over the stirrup bar for the grab strap to be buckled or clipped to. Saves the dees from getting ripped out! Ask at your local tack shop. Handy gadgets.
I use a grab strap, and my old British instructor used a shoestring tied to her dees (before grab straps became widely available). She used it to help stay steady on her rather large, wide Trak mare at the medium trot. She was a tiny thing, about 5 foot 1 or 2, and her hips were starting to go. She was so clever at it, no one ever noticed in competition. A pinky finger hooked into the shoestring was all she needed.
I’m with Windsong. It’s a great teaching tool.
oh goodie–back to enlighten us with more great tips! :rolleyes:
My saddle weighs about nothing since it’s a Bates so thanks for your heartfelt concern for my saddler.
I saw a few on dressage saddles at the Olympics, so I’m going to guess they’re legal.
When did the use of grab straps begin? When I was a child, we were always taught to grab the mane, not the saddle, because “the mane can’t come off.”
Some of these comments are making it sound like people need these things because their life is in danger. Is falling off really THAT scary. I thought it was good to learn how to SIT to a horse that spooks, is acting up etc… I know I’m in the minority here but I don’t get it. Why is everyone riding these crazy horses that people are fearing for their safety on in dressage saddles. Surely a cc or jumping saddle would be more secure?
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;3510338]
Some of these comments are making it sound like people need these things because their life is in danger. Is falling off really THAT scary. I thought it was good to learn how to SIT to a horse that spooks, is acting up etc… I know I’m in the minority here but I don’t get it. Why is everyone riding these crazy horses that people are fearing for their safety on in dressage saddles. Surely a cc or jumping saddle would be more secure?[/QUOTE]
I don’t use one, but I perfectly understand why a person might want to on a young or hot - not necssarily “crazy” - horse. I’m 63 and I’ve been riding since my teens - H/J, Saddleseat, Western, Trail, Eventing to Prelim/Intermediate), now Dressage. I don’t bounce as well as I used to. I hit the ground a few times last fall on my youngster - even using my Steubben Imperator AP saddle with nice fat kneerolls and a deep seat. My solution wasn’t a grab strap, but I don’t begrudge anyone using one. I went out and bought an eventer’s vest. Youngsters can be unpredictable. A first show, first trail ride, first time someone drops a bucket in the barn aisle (!), can set them off. I’ve have never had much problem sitting a spooking/bucking horse. It was probably to my detriment that my last horse, once he got past his 4 year old year, was totally reliable: for 17 years, I didn’t have to cope much with spooking, bucking (just yahoo! I feel good! crowhops). Then I bought a baby and found out I need to “refresh” my ability to stick on an excitable youngster. The horses aren’t crazy, the riders using grab straps don’t necessarily lack the ability to sit - it’s just… manure happens. The cowboys are right, “There’s never a horse that can’t be rode, never a rider that can’t be throwed.”
Is falling off really THAT scary.
If I were really afraid of falling, I wouldn’t ride at all. But I’m 56 and the thought of coming off is not very inviting, thank you very much. So I try to avoid it. I ride in fullseats, in a saddle I feel very secure in. With a grab strap.
[QUOTE=Sandy M;3510853]
The horses aren’t crazy, the riders using grab straps don’t necessarily lack the ability to sit - it’s just… manure happens.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. My horse isn’t crazy and he’s appropriate for me. But like most horses, he can have his moments. I have never thought to grab the strap when he’s gone off. I find the the sit down/sit back/bend him routine works much better.
But the strap is there. Sue me. 
Sorry, it just seemed like everyone was implying their horses were crazy
Yeah. usually if I part company with my horse, it happens so fast I can’t grab the strap! I use it mostly for those moments when I’m having trouble steadying myself – the way my old coach used to do.
I had one in my tack box set aside for a rainy day, but yesterday after reading this thread I went and put it on my saddle, since I would be riding with no one else around.
I’ve gotten pretty good at grabbing the neck when my horse makes a big spook sideways, and I’d need to develop the reaction of grabbing for the strap instead, however.
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;3510338]
Some of these comments are making it sound like people need these things because their life is in danger. Is falling off really THAT scary.[/QUOTE]
I do know someone who was killed falling off, and another one who spent 6 months in a full body case. Both on tried and true horses that they owned for years.
I’ve come off hard (23 fractures) and at my age (58), I prefer to take reasonable precautions.
So I’ll throw myself into the fire for the sake of… well throwing myself into the fire. I recently started riding a horse who, unfortunately for me, did not like my busy hands unlike the pony I rode who took it better. So my instructor threw it on the saddle (it hasn’t come off since) In all honesty, when a big horse is pulling and I don’t care how good your seat and hands are, sometimes you need a little Extra. All the grab strap did for me was give my horse something solid.
As for shows, I have used it when we were having a moment and I felt my hands going crazy busy (thats a terrible habit I’m trying to break) So for myself, it gave me a “OK stop the hands from moving” It worked, my horse scored beautifully, he was only in training level. But in all honesty, if you need it, use it! I don’t think the judges mind, and if you need to help you sit, then use it! I personally hope to see people use them instead of banging on the mouth, or in my case getting busy hands or whatever else. Plus when all heck breaks loose, sometimes even a little piece of leather is an added bonus.
[QUOTE=Vesper Sparrow;3511105]
I had one in my tack box set aside for a rainy day, but yesterday after reading this thread I went and put it on my saddle, since I would be riding with no one else around.
.[/QUOTE]
I have mine in the tack room somewhere. I am going to put it on first thing tomorrow before I ride. I no longer bounce (just splat):no: and my mare is pretty reliable, BUT after reading all these posts, I will put it on… Just “because” 
A couple of questions on grab straps:
I tried to use one for a while on my saddle (Kieffer Lech Profi) to use to help deepen my seat and also perhaps to aid confidence to ride through some rather athletic spooks and spins.
I found it hard to pick up. Perhaps because of the cutback? How long is your grabstrap? And how do you hold it? Pinkie? I kind of felt like my hand was in my lap when I tried to hold it (Or worse :winkgrin: )
Oh, and eventers and jummpers have that loose mane or often martingale strap to grab in a show situation (And their hads are better positioned to grab there).
There are different lengths to grab straps depending on maker. I have three straps, one is longer than the other two and it is on the saddle that goes on my greenest, most unsteady horse.
Another one in the minority here. I will not ride in one because I don’t think they’re terribly safe. (flame suit) I’m just not a fan of anything that attaches you to the horse in any way. I’m not huge on non-safety stirrups either, suprisingly. I’ve seen a girl get dragged by her hand caught in the grab strap. It’s far harder to get SERIOUSLY injured when attached to the horse than when you’re flying safely through the air away from it. I know they have probably prevented many accidents, but the ones they do cause are far more serious. If you really want something to grab on to, grab pommel or leave the bottom bit of mane unbraided, there’s no rule against it, and you can’t get caught up in it.
In june i broke my back L2 and L3 transverse process in a fall off a gelding. The second my doc cleared me to ride i had a lesson planned. After my injury my spine decided to slightly curve and i have a mild case if scoliosis and arthritis in my left hip. Riding has been very different then before. Learning how to ride with my bodys movements being different and as annoying as it is overcoming the fear of falling. Ive taken it slow but one of the most challenging things for me is mounting and dismounting. I try with every inch of me to swing that hip and leg over but i find my foot grazing the rump. A few weeks ago i dismounted and sure enough i slipped off the side lost my foot and fell to the ground. How emberassing!!! The past few rides ive had a grab strap. I dont touch it during my lesson. I dont use it. But when i dismount it really helps me in case i loose my balance or cant get my hip over! And in the back of my mind i know its there for if a spook ever does happen which it will one day. Just wondering in the show world if its looked down upon or considered amateur? Ill be showing eventually again. Hopefully by then i wont need/want it but for now its been a good tool for a rider like me thats just trying to get back in the saddle and confident again. Not many people would be riding so shortly after or even at all so grab strap it is for me!
[QUOTE=dressage<3;n9916267]
In june i broke my back L2 and L3 transverse process in a fall off a gelding. The second my doc cleared me to ride i had a lesson planned. After my injury my spine decided to slightly curve and i have a mild case if scoliosis and arthritis in my left hip. Riding has been very different then before. Learning how to ride with my bodys movements being different and as annoying as it is overcoming the fear of falling. Ive taken it slow but one of the most challenging things for me is mounting and dismounting. I try with every inch of me to swing that hip and leg over but i find my foot grazing the rump. A few weeks ago i dismounted and sure enough i slipped off the side lost my foot and fell to the ground. How emberassing!!! The past few rides ive had a grab strap. I dont touch it during my lesson. I dont use it. But when i dismount it really helps me in case i loose my balance or cant get my hip over! And in the back of my mind i know its there for if a spook ever does happen which it will one day. Just wondering in the show world if its looked down upon or considered amateur? Ill be showing eventually again. Hopefully by then i wont need/want it but for now its been a good tool for a rider like me thats just trying to get back in the saddle and confident again. Not many people would be riding so shortly after or even at all so grab strap it is for me![/QUOTE]
I am so happy for you, that are back in the saddle!
You should consider your health, confidence, and future mobility, to be more important than what any railbird thinks.
Use your grab-strap any time you need to. And be proud that you have the courage to climb aboard your horse and give it a go.
Wow
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