Just saw that AQHA banned them, and I have zero idea what they are. Could someone enlighten me? My brain is just going to those blankets with the belly panels, but that obviously wouldn’t merit banning. I apologize in advance for opening a can of worms I’m probably opening here.
http://www.ridingwarehouse.com/EquiFit_Belly_Band_for_Spur_Protection/descpage-EBSP.html
Looks like they are used to protect horses from spur marks.
Huh. Learn something new every day.
[QUOTE=Tee;8663537]
Huh. Learn something new every day.[/QUOTE]
Yes, never heard of that either.
I was thinking they were for horses after colic surgery, to keep from getting hernias, that can happen after that kind of surgery.
Here I was expecting something wild and crazy. These seem pretty tame.
I don’t get the point? Sure they prevent rubs, but I doubt they can feel spurs thru something that thick. Can’t you just ride w/o them?
[QUOTE=Tee;8664516]
I don’t get the point? Sure they prevent rubs, but I doubt they can feel spurs thru something that thick. Can’t you just ride w/o them?[/QUOTE]
I think the concern is that they may be used to hide the marks from abusive use of spurs, not that they are being used to prevent spur rubs.
[QUOTE=Tee;8664516]
I don’t get the point? Sure they prevent rubs, but I doubt they can feel spurs thru something that thick. Can’t you just ride w/o them?[/QUOTE]
I think the concern is that they may be used to hide the marks from abusive use of spurs, not that they are being used to prevent spur rubs.
So what on earth were people doing with lighters? Or hay or dirt? Sharp pins? I get the magnets, but banning some of the other stuff seems a bit weird. I guess this is how you know I’m not smart enough to come up with a new way of cheating?
Pins I think were being used to poke showmanship horses or whatever to move off pressure.
I do want to know about the hay and dirt…and lighters.
Unless the dirt is hiding the pokey marks, which I have seen before. Stuff a little dirt on that oozing wound and call it good.
Lighters have been used to get halter horses attention and ears up. Then there were these rumors that folks were burning them with them. Not sure I follow that logic as I think it would produce a Spooky horse not an interested one. But they do work for getting ears up. I think it is the noise not the flame.
[QUOTE=roseymare;8664629]
Lighters have been used to get halter horses attention and ears up. Then there were these rumors that folks were burning them with them. Not sure I follow that logic as I think it would produce a Spooky horse not an interested one. But they do work for getting ears up. I think it is the noise not the flame.[/QUOTE]
They use lighters while in the class? How does that work?
No they and the throwing of hay and dirt are illegal in showmanship classes.
Throwing hay or dirt or flicking a lighter was occasionally used to get a horse to prick his ears while standing up in a halter class. All there was to it. There is a rule against it. In showmanship classes. Just like there is no whips allowed in halter and showmanship classes either in AQHA.
As far as how you do it. Stand you horse up in a halter class, then flick the lighter or throw dirt before the judge goes buy to get your horses ears up. It is not any horrible deleterious thing. Horses find the clicking noise lighters make interesting and prick there ears. As I said earlier there was rumors going around for a while that people were burning them with the lighters but I believe that to be total fabrication. Another popular ear pricker used is peppermint wrappers.
I have mixed feelings about the belly bands. I see both sides. Some horses have very sensitive skin, I have seen threads here on coth about dressage and hunter horses who have developed spur marks with normal riding.
But I also have mixed feelings about spur training as well. It is pretty difficult for others to recreate some of those buttons horses are given with spurs-both WP and dressage.
