What is a flash?

[ladywiththebaby]

Sorry to sound thick, but I've never ridden a horse with one of these on before. What does it do and why would you need one? A horse I'm about to start riding has one and I'm not sure what that tells me about this horse. He also has a breastplate, although that may only be used when hunting (which I'm not going to be doing), and again - I'm not sure why he wears this either.

:confused:

[Esther.D]

In very simple terms a flash is used to discourage him from opening his mouth to evade the bit and the breastplate to stop his saddle sliding back or in some cases to give the rider something to hang onto in an emergency! both of those could apply when hunting! Someone will not doubt come along with a far more techical explanation but this is the basics :D

[Mehitabel]

a flash is a noseband that holds the mouth shut - used if a horse tries to avoid the action fo the bit by opening its mouth. not a huge problem, they're commonly seen.

a breatplate stops the saddle slipping back - if a horse has 'herring gutted' conformation, or big shoulders and not much behind them, the saddle sometime slips back and the breastplate holds it in place.

[ladywiththebaby]

Thank you. Also, what is the difference between a Martingale and a breastplate?

[Mehitabel]

a martingale has an attachment onto either the reins or the noseband.

her is a running one - the most commonly seen
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Park/5738/rnmrtngl.jpg

if the horse throws its head up, the rings on the reins come into play.

here is a standing one - same thing, but onthe nose instead of the reins.

http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/images/standing-martingale-sm.jpg

[*Sez*]

A martingale (and here I mean "running martingale", as I haven't used a standing one) is used to keep the horse's head from lifting above the point of control. Commonly seen on horses who do a bit of a giraffe neck to evade contact. The running martingale attaches to the girth at one end with a loop, and then has a yoke (the neck-piece) and two straps with rings on the end which slide onto the reins. It comes into play when the head lifts too high and creates pressure on the reins to lower it. It was designed, I believe, for use on showjumpers. A standing martingale attaches to the noseband.

[ladywiththebaby]

Thank you for the pictures - really helpful. I can now picture the martingale and think I have seen those before, but I can't picture the breast plate. I may have seen one, but not known that was what it called. Could anyone describe what a breastplate looks like please?!

Sorry to be such a thicko!!

[Esther.D]

A breastplate either looks like this http://www.horse-tack-and-equestrian-clothing.com/assets/product_images/AC_4_21.jpg (this one has an optional martingale attachment) basically it is the same as a martingale without linking to the reins at all OR sometimes like this http://shop.valleycountry.com.au/catalogue/category3/category247/category333/product1264/image/?size=200x200&helper=1078269235.67

[puzzles]

. . . a breastplate can attach to just the saddle via the girth too, like a common martingale.
it prevents the saddle from slipping back (e.g. for horses with high withers) and you ware likely to see one on every event horse or showjumper you see, as jumping high and difficult fences can cause the saddle to slip back, and prevention is better than cure.
x

[puzzles]

oh, and you honestly do not sound thick at all!
[:-)

[Laura+Phantom]

Breastplates are usually called 'hunting breastplates' by the way, but they can be used for all activities, including day to day hacking, just to clear that up :)

Hunting breastplate

[Laura+Phantom]

Oh and these are 2 types of breastgirth - less commonly used

[ladywiththebaby]

Thank you very much - thats really helpful!!:D

[eml]

Just being a bit pedantic. A hunting breastplate is the first one in Esthers post. The second one is normally used on eventers to stop the sadlle slipping back on drop fences. The other one Laura shows is normally used in racing ( I have a memory it is called an Aintree breastplate but this could be wrong:D

To confuse you further :eek: the hunting breast plate is often used with either a standing or running martingale attachment. :confused:

A flash is a fairly simple way of stopping a horse that opens its mouth to avoid the contact but you must be sure that you have sympathetic and controlled hands before using one.

[oops a daisy]

Mehibitall, I totally agree with you. You have said exactly the right things, and as you said, no doubt someone will try to be more comprehensive about the subject than you. You said everything right, more fool the people who think they know better. People need to start listening to the mods around NR.