Tie Downs If You"re Western

[thehorselover]

if you're western, you know about tiedowns. are they necessary? my horses have never worn them, but i've ridden at places where they did.
any ideas??????????????????????????????????????????????????

[belle]

hi,

what are tie downs?

I dont ride western but I am intrigued!

[HorseDancer]

Tie downs are a mechanical means of preventing a horse from throwing his head or keeping it impossibly high. Often they have a cable noseband that is attached to the girth with a leather adjustable strap.

[Katie_85]

Tie-down are an Americal term for a piece of apparatus that keeps the hose from bringing his head up. As for using one: I tend to think it's too much of a quick fix. I would much rather see a rider using his hands and seat properly to ask the horse to carry hi head lower. If the tie-down is the only thing keping the horse' head down, then as soon as its removed you have the same problem again. Some trainers who train Western horses can make them carry their heads so oow that their noses ar nearly touching the ground! That's no exaggeration. They don't use tie-downs to get it that way, or at least the ones I've seen don't use them when the horse is finished. I certainly don't use one when I'm in a lesson or out riding. I don't like the peanut-pusher look! :D :)

[thehorselover]

really sorry i didn't explain what they were!

its an optional peice of tack some western riders use. I don't usually, but I have before!

anyone else use one????????

[doris]

Dear Horselover,

Tie-downs can be used for schooling (if you REALLY have to) but cannot be used for competitions.

regards, Doris