Standing Martingale

I personally dont see the harm in jumping in a standing.

As long as its not tying the horses head into its chest.

Nikki xxxx:)
 
It is absolutely fine, in my opinion, to jump in a standing martingale so long as it is properly adjusted. The horse does not need to fling it's head up or out to jump correctly, and a standing martingale provides plenty of leeway for the horse to move his head down and forwards to bascule correctly.

In America they are a fairly standard piece of kit in the hunter/jumper rings, and in this country they are still commonly seen in the hunting field, or on BSJA jumpers.

I think they are a much maligned bit of kit - they are often really suitable for horses with very light or over-sensitive mouths as they only act upon the nose and not upon the bit in the way a running martingale will.
 
Here's a picture of me jumping my mare in a standing.. as you can see, no restriction - the martingale is adjusted fairly loose here, as mare was going through a habit of just totally inverting her outline when I put too much pressure on.

IMG_4296.jpg


Is this horse struggling and restricted? No I don't think so!!

http://www.imh.org/images/Shawn McMillen Photography 6(small).jpg
 
^^^ i must agree with the above - i was under the impression that it was a no-no - and this certainly seems to be the general consensus in the UK - but not many people could give a good solid reason why not when i asked :rolleyes:
then i moved to the US and did a hunt season over there and it completely changed my mind = all the hunters wore standing martingales that were correctly fitted for what they did - i never saw any horse restricted in jumping etc. i'll try to dig out some pics of me competing in hunter trials over there with standing's on....
 
I am American / grew up in America and it was common practice to jump in a standing martingale. I was taught how to adjust them properly and never had any problem with them. I'm not saying everyone used / uses them correctly, but I think they have their place and are fine to jump in as long as they're of proper length.
 
My team chaser was in a standing martingale when he came to me, I quickly removed it but then suffered 2 broken noses because of it. He did not need the martingale he had an underlying back issue which caused him to fling his head in the air after jumping. Once this was sorted he did not do it again. I personally do not like them, and if they are used then in experienced hands only, and know when to adjust or is it covering up a different problem?
 
Never!

You might get away with it over piddly little jumps but is it worth the risk?

The horse needs complete freedom of the head and neck to bascule over a fence, especially if things get tricky on the approach. Why risk jarring them with an inflexible piece of leather and put them off jumping.

Try to work out why you think your horse needs a standing martingale and resolve the problem.

There are some elasticated standing martingales on the market which (at a push) could be used for small jumping so long as correctly fitted.
 
I'm not keen on the idea!!
IMO I thought the idea of a standing martingale is to restrict the horses head from getting too high. Surely any restriction of the head carriage while jumping in a definite no no:confused:

Regardless to right or wrong, I would not use one!
 
I would say never :eek:
I have seen people jump in competitions with standing martingales and its awful to watch. You can clearly see the horse is fighting to clear the jumps because they can't lift their head enough to obtain a natural outline. I personally think a running martingale is better for jumping. :)
 
When is it right to jump a horse in a standing martingale ? When said horse needs one and you don't want a broken nose.

What Rachel said.. properly adjusted they are fine and don't interfere with a bascule (where did that idea come from?? ). It's a total myth that you couldn't/shouldn't jump in one.
 
I think that standing martingales are seen as being more restrictive than running martingales, and I admit that I am definitely not a fan of them. However at least theydon't work on the bars of the horse's mouth, as running martingales do, and as Rachel said they do not necessarily restrict the horse's jump. I just don't lie how they can be misused as I like a horse to have absolute freedom of his head when jumping.

x
 
At some local shows around here you often get some of the PC kids jumping there ponies with there poor heads tied to there chest with a standing martingale, because of that I dont like them for jumping.
They probably can be used loosely for jumping but couldnt see the point in having it there if its done up so loose that it doesnt come into effect??
 
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