I’ve been watching riders exercising their horses over jumps in draw reins. What is the purpose and isn’t this dangerous?
Impossible to say without more information.
A good rider using draw reins for a good reason? I don’t have an issue with it and have done it myself from time to time.
A rider using the draw reins as a crutch to fixing what’s actually wrong? Not a good thing. As for the jumping with them…everything jumping is potentially dangerous, so draw reins I suppose could increase the risk…or not.
Impossible to make any calls out of the complete lack of information you’ve provided.
But based on your statement alone, no, draw reins are not inherently evil and dangerous.
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Some horse’ almost invert when approaching a jump, particularly with a heavy handed rider,
Horses invert because they feel restricted in the use of their head and neck,
I can see no reason why using draw reins can end well.
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I don’t think it’s a very safe choice.
I am sure people are using them thinking it’s a way to make the horse “rounder” on approach or in the air. I don’t think there’s any rational expectation that this would be an effective way to create that picture when the draw reins are off, and a lot of reason to think they’d make a situation worse.
Flatwork and gymnastics are the canonical answers to that problem for a reason. But some horses will never have good hunter style, and some people can’t ever manage to accept that for a particular horse.
I think if you were to use them, I would use ones that snap to the front of the breastplate, to lessen the chance that a rein can get caught in a hoof.
I think there are better choices if some sort of emergency control is needed, such as the running martingale or a pelham bit.
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Are they using them AS WELL AS regular reins, or INSTEAD OF regular reins?
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I don’t think it’s ever safe to use draw reins without also having regular reins, FWIW.
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For OP, without knowing the riders and the horses, their level of experience and what their specific goals using them are, it’s impossible to tell why or if it’s dangerous or not. It’s along the lines if if you have to ask why or if you need them, it is probably dangerous.
For advanced riders trying to accomplish or correct something specific, especially in older, experienced horses, it is just a training exercise. These might have just shipped down and getting their first school before their Ammy or kid riders come down to show.
Personally not a big fan of them but have used them occasionally and never jump to conclusions about why others are using them if adjusted and used properly.
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In my experience, the big reasons are straightness, and secondarily, pace control.
They can really help a learning horse figure out, “This is how we do this.”
This is was this horse’s first few rides jumping, the draw reins helped with “We stay straight and we stay the same”, and were on for the first 10 minutes of his first three jump schools:
https://youtu.be/cBI5S9PFW2g
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I personally would never jump with draw reins, and I’ve rarely seen it done. If I had a horse that wanted to invert on approach, I might use draw reins while cantering poles or cavaletti. But horses need their head and neck to jump properly and safely. Draw reins can be so restrictive when incorrectly used…and it’s so easy to use them incorrectly.
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I agree.
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Draw reins in general are not very safe to use, especially without a regular pair of reins. Horses need their head and neck unrestricted to jump safely and properly (same reason I HATE seeing standing martingales on jumpers). I would never use draw reins while jumping.
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I see a lot of trainers slapping draw reins on younger horses so that their (perhaps over-mounted) owners can ride them. I see no issue with occasional draw rein use, especially if used by an otherwise competent trainer. They, like most gadgets, can be beneficial when used fairly and with thought. But if a rider needs draw reins to jump their younger horse, then perhaps the trainer is not quite doing their job in properly training the rider/student and horse.
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Look for a recent video post on Facebook:
horse catches shoe on standing martingale strap/clip in midair and a rotational fall onto its knees on the backside is the result.
imagine a hoof getting hung up in a draw rein.
Imagine a horse tripping, and needing FULL use of the neck to recover.
imagine a super long/tight spot and the horse needing FULL use of the neck to recover.
imagine a trainer who is so inept at flatwork that they are willing to risk all of the above, instead of actually training the horse better. It’s bad enough that they would do this the,selves, to have a student in that sort if rig is negligent.
Look for a recent video post on Facebook:
horse catches shoe on standing martingale strap/clip in midair and a rotational fall onto its knees on the backside is the result. It rolls all the wAy over its head, onto the rider. It’s a helmet advert. It’s hideous.
even with the ones that clip to the breastplate, they are unforgiving in case of a moment of a horse misjudgment…
imagine a hoof getting hung up in a draw rein.
Imagine a horse tripping, and needing FULL use of the neck to recover.
imagine a super long/tight spot and the horse needing FULL use of the neck to recover.
A trainer who is so inept at flatwork that they are willing to risk all of the above, instead of taking the time to actually training the horse better with caveletti, transitions, gymnastics etc, speaks volumes.
It’s bad enough that they would do this themselves, to have a student jump in that sort if rig is negligent.
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Risky and stupid and for what? So the horse looks pretty with an archy neck all the way to the base? Dumb.
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Usually don’t see it weekends in the afternoon but if you were down at the winter circuit AA shows on a midweek Pro day morning this early in the season, you would certainly see some draw reins. After the horses settle in and get a few shows under their girths, the draw reins will stay in the tack room. Most good Pros don’t do serious, corrective schooling during prime show viewing hours.
The monkey see, monkey do types don’t know any better and you might see some of them. No idea what OP saw.
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Like others have already said, it depends on who is using them and why. Draw reins are just a tool - granted, a tool best used by the knowledgeable and experienced, but still just a tool. The value, or lack thereof, is a function of who uses it and how it’s used.
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Then you’re not in the right time or place, because it’s done all the time!
To the OP, in my decades in the horse world, I’ve learned that the only “never” in my vocabulary is “never say never.” There’s always an exception and there’s always a correct way and situation to apply a training aid. That doesn’t mean that the training aid is always correctly used, and draw reins are more often than not used incorrectly.
But just because they’re widely abused doesn’t mean that there aren’t appropriate situations for them…just like the abuse of certain drugs doesn’t mean that there isn’t a property time and place for their use.
Setting them on the side mitigates the risk of getting a leg tangled. I’m not a huge fan of attaching them through the front legs, and attaching at the breastplate, while safer, changes the action.
I used to flat my mare in them after a day off (and very likely jumped some small jumps in them) because she’s incredibly spooky. At the end of the day, I learned it was far more effective to let her fight against herself by running into their action when she tried to shoot her head straight up in the air before shooting sideways than to get overly forceful with my hands. In this case, the draw reins let me do less, while softly reminding my mare that staying focused and on the aids was the right answer. After day one, she was expected to be properly off the aids without the draw reins, but I learned over time it was more of a sin to not use them than to use them properly in certain situations.
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Meup-From a dressage now/eventer then viewpoint, neither straightness nor pace should have anything to do with reins,
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I jump cavellettis with draw reins properly through the martingale, but nothing higher that I’d consider a “jump”. When I flat I find my draw reins are only something I go to when my horse loses focus. They are merely an aid, not what I rely on to ride my horse.
I worked for a BNT who didn’t own a single pair of draw reins. Then I worked for a lesser known GP rider who used them on about half the horses in her barn. You can learn something from everyone.
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