Draw reins

[happydaze]

Hi folks, Would love some of your opinions on the use of draw reins. Are they a good effective training aide:confused:

[Bay Mare]

In ultra experienced hands, for remedial use and for a very specific reason then yes, they can be.

In most of our hands then a great big fat NO.

With most people draw reins tend to be used either for brakes or to force the horse into a 'pretty' outline ... pretty but NOT effective.

Draw reins used the way that you'll see most people use them will winch the head in and cause permanent damage to the nuchal ligament in less than 20 minutes and they can also cause damage to the splenius muscle.

You can usually spot horses who have been draw reined because they are muscled incorrectly with a 'tea pot' neck.

In addition to this draw reins will put a horse on the forehand and almost ensure that they can't use their backs correctly. Quite the opposite to what we are hoping to achieve.

So ... all in all, not a good idea.

[eventerbabe]

what is good or effective about an 'aid' that straps a horses head down? take a read at this article;

http://www.sustainabledressage.com/tack/gadgets.php

[SirGrumpPants]

I hate draw reins there are certain people at my yard who no not alot about horses have never ridden but see the really good riders going round in an outline so insist their child gets ITS PONIES HEAD IN!!!! Child then continues to saw at mouth, back end is somewhere in China, when this does not work they then proceed to draw reins. I love that sustainable dressage website, there are so many people who ride at riding schools whos instructors are forever shouting GET HIS HEAD IN!!! that people now think its great if the head looks pretty but lets forget about the rest, and unfortunately the horses suffer by inexperienced riders resorting to draw reins,

[joey_olop]

I was "advised" to use draw reins by someone after my boy refused to work in an outline.

Turned out he had a slight niggle in his hocks & that was why he wasnt working in an outline.

I hate them & wish Id never used them as I now have a horse with that "teapot" look.

Agree with eventerbabe, used correctly will probably help but if you dont know what your doing you could ruin your horse.

[shandy84]

No, they're not a good aid there are much better ways to teach your horse to work correctly, I have found long reining helps as they build the correct muscles without your weight on top then when you hop on and ask for it they find it easier to achieve

[jaydevon]

are by anychance thinking they may help with yr horses spooking??

i agree with the others if used in the wrong hands they are horrid,

in a good set of hands they are ok, i use them on snaps to get her to use her back and engaged her quarters, they are never tight, ie theres always slack on them. id never consider using them out hacking or to bring the neck in, all you will acheive is resistance and further problems

[shandy84]

No it wont

[xloopylozzax]

they are an aid that used in experienced and correct hands for the right reason are benficial to the horse(many professional and successful trainers use them correctly)- when they are used just to get the head "in" is wrong and this is where the stigma comes from.
you cant just put them on and pull at the front you need to push on with your seat and legs for them to work correctly.
the reins themselves dont strap the head down, it is the hands attached that do and we cant forget that.

[eventerbabe]

taken from another forum;

quote from equine vet and orthopeaedic speciliast Dr Gerd Hausmann whose research shows that the horse is poorly designed anatomically to tolerate the leverage of any backward acting rein such as typified by draw reins and the only reason that even difficult horses feel light in the hand in draw reins is because of the immense force which they exert on the bars of the mouth and head-neck connection.

" draw reins act to pull the head and neck backwards which physically prevents the back swinging. It is a mystery to me how a rider can tolerate in a horses training and even accept its use at shows." says Hausmann " It is contrary to all the ideals we are trying to achieve, since fixing the horses back muscles with draw reins results in a horse who struggles on the spot without hock flexion"

and from sustainable dressage
They are long reins that attach to the girth, either at the sides or between the frontlegs. From there they run through the bit rings to the hands of the rider where they are adjustible. This fixed length between girth, bit and hand, prevents the horse from raising his head or poking his nose further than the drawreins allow.

up to a point, they ARE fixed and will prevent the horse from raising it's head, only facilitating a hollowing action. they do naff all to encourage engagement of hind quarters, which is where TRUE outline comes from.

[fairlady]

I used to ride a horse whose owner insisted it was ridden in draw-reins, absolute nightmare, they were tied to rest on his neck so were actually used more like side reins, awful to say but I think she just used to think 'it looked good'. I used to loosen them and never picked them up.

No point I did not know what I ought to be trying to achieve with them as such anyway, certainly did not have the knowledge to be using them, I think they are horrible. Don't even attempt to use them unless you really know what you are doing, IF you have been advised by your RI or someone of similar experience, get lessons in how to use them correctly otherwise you could be doing a darn sight more damage than good.

They need to be used towards getting a good outline, certainly not to achieve one.

[happydaze]

Thanks for all your replies. It just gets worse really doesnt it. Now Im paying schooling fees for my horse to get worse rather than better. :mad:I cant believe this is all happening to me and my girl....I must look like a soft touch. She is not forward going, yes she is spooky these days but they say it helps get a better 'outline'. Ive never used them, it's the girl who schools her that's decided they are now the best option:confused:

[shandy84]

Then she could do with further training as 99% of the time a false outline is created, don't beat yourself up though

[Snow_Pony]

I can't remember the journal I read this in, but apparently draw reins can have a hugely detrimental effect on muscle development due to their action. I wouldnt touch them with a barge pole

xxx