Standing Or Running Martingale??

Running martingales have two straps and rings through which the rein goes, so they 'run' along the rein. Standing martingales have a single strap which attaches to the noseband.
 
Sort of - the running martingale acts on the rein and therefore on the bit when the horse raises it's head. The standing martingale acts on the noseband, and therefore the nose.
 
I cannot ride in either,!

I cannot suffer the feedback I get through the reins with a runnig martingale.

I will not, ever ride in one, ever, not in the reign of pig's pudding. YUCK! yuck, yuckity yick! ;)
 
loziasa said:
Ditto to Wally, I hate them!! Esp with a running martingale, they just make things more difficult as they interfere so much.
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Sorry but can I ask why? I can't live without my running martingale!! and why a running martingale surely the standing is more severe!! I have a very preaty breastplate/martingale I got from royal windsor made of french leather looks stunning on my tb do you not think?!
harrymetresouth-1.jpg

Sorry an excuse to show of my Harry horsey!! lol :D
 
Martingales are like everything else; if you mis-use them they become torture devises. The running is used as an aid to asking the horse to yield to the rider, the standing stops him from throwing his head up and smacking the rider in the face. Both need to be adjusted at the right length, and ALWAYS have stops on your reins with the running as the rings can & will get caught on the buckle. The standing martingale is most often used on sporting horse eg barrel racing, cutting, camp draft & polocrosse.
 
I borrowed a friend of a freind's horse to go riding with her. A beautiful big, bonny ID X mare, only 5 and a bit green and ditsy, but a lovely mare.

I was pointed to her tack in the tack room and found to my horror a running martingale on her bridle!

I ask frieind why she needed it and was told she just did as she went everywhere with her nose in the air...........I took it off and left it on the peg, went for a great 3 hour ride in the forest......and not once did I feel her nose was above any point of control, even when a load of deer came crashing through the woods!

Turns out someone thought it would be a good idea for a young horse to wear one, without giving the novice owner any rhyme or reason why.

IME 90% of horses who have them, don't need them.
 
if they are used for a purpose (not just because they look nice :rolleyes:) then there isnt a problem its when they are stuck on just because thats what other horses have or they dont fit.
 
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STEFF79 said:
Sorry but can I ask why? I can't live without my running martingale!! and why a running martingale surely the standing is more severe!! I have a very preaty breastplate/martingale I got from royal windsor made of french leather looks stunning on my tb do you not think?!
harrymetresouth-1.jpg

Sorry an excuse to show of my Harry horsey!! lol :D
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Standing martingales don't seem to be around much at the moment but when they are they always seem to be fitted far too tightly. They are not there to tie the horse's nose down as low as possible as you so often see them. It almost looks as though they are being used to pull the horse into a line which is not what they are for.

In my youth we were taught never to jump in a running martingale as the straps could get caught up in the jump (not sure how this was supposed to happen but I was young and didn't question it). Nowadays they are recommended for hunting and jumping. Tempus fugit.

IMO, for what it's worth, I don't think any martingale should be used as a matter of course all the time. I think they should be used to address a specific problem and when the horse has learned they should be dispensed with.
 
Willywilddog said:
Martingales are like everything else; if you mis-use them they become torture devises. The running is used as an aid to asking the horse to yield to the rider, the standing stops him from throwing his head up and smacking the rider in the face. Both need to be adjusted at the right length, and ALWAYS have stops on your reins with the running as the rings can & will get caught on the buckle. The standing martingale is most often used on sporting horse eg barrel racing, cutting, camp draft & polocrosse.
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I agree 100% growing up riding our ponies we never used martingales-thankfully otherwise they probably would have been torture devices as we didnt really know anything we just jumped on the horses and rode.

When I gont into showjumping training onto different horses, I hated riding without one-they help if your horse lifts its head and you lift your hands and pull then your telling your horse to go upwards. The martingale when used correctly intervenes here and stops the upwards pull, and creates a downward pull on your horses mouth. If you are both communicating smoothly and the running martingale is fitted correctly it will not even come into use.
 
I also rode a horse that had a problem with nodding his head- he still does it to this day and we and his new owners have never found a source for it- just a habit i guess. And we look at everything! he even did it in the paddock running free.

With him he would viciously chuck his head into the air up and down repeatedly as if it was natural to chuck his head around- I never have seen a horse do what this one did, he didnt mean to be viscious or naughty it was something i beleive he couldnt control. We used a standing martingale on him to remind him to stop him from doing it too much and it didnt stop him but it allowed him to minimise what he was doing enough to actually trot and canter and jump. With out the standing martingale on him he would have ended up unrideable.
 
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