The ban apparently was at least in part motivated by pictures on social media and a concern about the public perception of the sprt.
Wow! That’s great news.
Not great news. Probably 90% of the people complaining on social media had no idea what they were complaining about. Caving to a bunch of loud mouth, mostly uninformed zealots, instead of educating them is not a good plan.
What happens when social media starts screaming about steel nailed to the bottom of horses feet?
This is awesome! No one should ever ever ride in DR much less jump.
signed.
A very experienced zealot
I’m with red mares on this one. I believe that like bits draw reins are one of those tools that can be helpful in certain situations or on certain horses in the right hands.
I don’t think that banning everything in the schooling area is the answer, stewards are there to make sure that abuse isn’t happening.
Well, maybe some of them will have to learn to ride. One easy way is push that forward is just to ban the draw reins. The the stewards don’t have to worry about it.
I am not personally all that familiar with the experience of galloping a 1.60m horse around a giant ring, with other horses, after all of these horses have just jumped off, with a ribbon on it’s bridle, while riding on a cooler and while people are cheering BUT I will say… sounds like a good excuse to throw a pair on. And I am definitely not a draw rein person.
Ridiculous. The people being pacified here have no idea what goes into the prep and routine of each individual upper level jumper. For crying out loud, this isn’t about “learning to ride.” There is a time and a place for draw reins as tools (including victory gallops!), and I think that banning one piece of equipment creates a slippery slope. What’s next? Bits?
[QUOTE=jhg140;8383733]
What’s next? Bits?[/QUOTE] Probably. There’s certainly been a great deal of discussion of bitting and nosebands in Europe recently, as well as in eventing worldwide. The FEI has already decided that eventing dressage is limited to “real” dressage bits, and are undertaking a review of XC bits. Tack can be horse abuse, you know.
[QUOTE=BaroquePony;8383701]
Well, maybe some of them will have to learn to ride. One easy way is push that forward is just to ban the draw reins. The the stewards don’t have to worry about it.[/QUOTE]
Ummm…I think somebody putting draw reins on for the victory gallop with flapping ribbon or sash and cooler after competing at anything over 1.4m probably does know to ride and just doesn’t want to get killed.
There must be a way to tone be down their use and make sure they are used appropriately without banning them completely. Seems a bit of a knee jerk reaction that really is not going to solve any of the real horse welfare issues. Like, you know, real abuse.
And no, I don’t particularly like using them but they are not the Devils tools used correctly for legitimate reasons.
There’s much worse out there with bits and bridles that you can’t see. I’d rather see the draw reins.
[QUOTE=OnDeck;8383703]
I am not personally all that familiar with the experience of galloping a 1.60m horse around a giant ring, with other horses, after all of these horses have just jumped off, with a ribbon on it’s bridle, while riding on a cooler and while people are cheering BUT I will say… sounds like a good excuse to throw a pair on. And I am definitely not a draw rein person.[/QUOTE]
Yeah…I’m all for the ban, but they might want to reconsider the awards ceremony thing…though I guess the real winning horses might be swapped out for calmer ones, or the gallops might get a lot tamer.
[QUOTE=JustJump;8383826]
Yeah…I’m all for the ban, but they might want to reconsider the awards ceremony thing…though I guess the real winning horses might be swapped out for calmer ones, or the gallops might get a lot tamer.[/QUOTE]
That would kind of suck for spectators/sponsors if the horse that they just watched win wasn’t the one that was in the presentation/victory gallop.
[QUOTE=CHT;8383836]
That would kind of suck for spectators/sponsors if the horse that they just watched win wasn’t the one that was in the presentation/victory gallop.[/QUOTE]
That’s what happens with horses who can’t handle the gallop already
Show me some photos of horses using draw reins in a victory gallop. I haven’t seen it done before, but hey there’s always a first time. Most of the time the horses are pretty used to all kinds of stuff by the time they get into the more exciting things. I’ve had a helicopter land next to my horse and she didn’t bat an eyelash. Never seen one before and was still somewhat fresh.
These horses have been all over the place.
Maybe the first time they see a jumbotron I can see them doing a double take.
[QUOTE=BaroquePony;8383855]
Show me some photos of horses using draw reins in a victory gallop. I haven’t seen it done before, but hey there’s always a first time[/QUOTE]
Seriously? It’s a very common practice
http://www.jenniferwoodmedia.com/ashlee-bond-and-agrostar-ace-the-test-in-33000-ashcor-technologies-cup-at-spruce-meadows/
(see the photo at the bottom of the press release)
Thanks for posting it. That’s just one more thing that’s crept into the game. I’m not a fan of draw reins … I’m not as bad as Leslie Stevenson about them, I do think on rare occasions there is a place for them … but I am not all that keen on standing martingales either. I see a lot of areas where a better understanding of how to use the aids would actually solve all of the gadget issues.
This is from the Swiss Federation website-- if you can read German or if you can put up with Google Translate-- this is the “horse’s mouth” on the subject, so to speak. ( no pun intended).
Here is a short english version that I saw last week … banned in the warm up only …
http://equnews.com/miscellaneous/switzerland-bans-the-drawrein/
I personally am not a fan of draw reins … Although I own a pair, I can’t remember when I used them last. That said, I don’t know that instituting bans based on the whims of social media animal rights warriors is a good idea. We certainly need to keep horse welfare as our first priority, but there is nothing inherently abusive about draw reins. I can understand why many riders might use them in the victory lap.
Are we going to ban every type of tack or equipment that can potentially be misused, simply because of public perception? Because that would include just about every piece of tack and equipment out there… even big fat snaffles and bitless bridles. Why do we assume, when an ugly picture is posted on social media, that it represents how the majority of horsemen do things?
Draw reins can make a mess of the horse if not used properly and normally that means early on in correcting a horse until they begin to work correct over the back.
