Equipment
Boots, Bandages and German
Thanks Ross.
Before I read your site, I used to read Trainer X blog. He often talks about the ‘underlying’ mouth of a horse and how it is the one that shows when things go bad and his mouthing system gives you the ‘airbrakes’. A long while ago, I even purchased his remouthing DVD to see the training in detail. He really likes the german martingale. I am just wondering what you think about this. After exposure to your site and what I have learnt from my horses now, I think that nothing is a guarantee with a horse except a quiet mind or the capacity to calm it down fast.
The other issue that bothers me is that just about everyone I see bandages and boots horses all the time, sometimes I think more as a fashion statement. I wonder if it is necessary and just weakens the legs or traps in too much heat. Okay if a horse has an issue that needs protection fine. Thanks again
Regards Maryanne
In regards to boots and bandages, you really are asking the wrong person. I never use them. The only protection I have used was many years ago was on my A grade showjumper who would sometimes overreach. By the time he was jumping B grade I decided to put bell boots on him. Other than that I have no experience with either protective or performance leg gear. I don't like float boots - especially the hind ones that reach over the hocks. But I know lots of people use this equipment and would always use them. I guess I would like to see the evidence that bandages and boots are protective. You would think somebody like Professional Choice has some legitimate research result available. I know Warwick Schiller reads this blog and he is a world class reining trainer, so if you read this Warwick would you kindly offer your experience with regard to boots and bandages.
Trainer X mouthing system is not his mouthing system. Long ago it was claimed by Jim Wilton as the Wilton mouthing system. But even before Jim there was a fellow in the 1930s who Jim probably saw using it. I've seen old reports of people in the US using the 1-rein mouthing system a hundred years ago. It's is not widely used because I think in most trainer's mind is not a very good system. I've compared mouthing systems before on this site and it comes out quite low in the quality of results. This is because it causes incorrectness in the way a horse uses both his forehand and his hindquarters during a turn. It's an incorrectness that is later hard to fix. Also, the way I've seen Trainer X use the system (on video) is quite brutal and unnecessary in my opinion. I think the method can be modified to be far less forceful and kinder to the horse. But the 1-rein mouthing is only a small part of the whole process of properly mouthing a horse.
I have experience with the German martingale and don't like them one bit. They are popular in European countries like the Netherlands and Germany, but are not used much in Australia. Trainer X is the only trainer I know who uses them a lot and recommends them to clients. Like most gadgets they are a tool used by people who have few training skills or looking for quick fixes. This is because it attempts to replace the need for elastic and soft hands from the rider. But at this it fails too.
The problem with the German martingale (when I was a kid they were called market harborough) is that its only function is to make the horse put it's head down. It's a device designed to physically cause discomfort to a horse for putting its head above where the harborough is set. But there is no way that the device can remove the pressure when the horse actually softens through its body. It's simply there to create an arched neck and true yield to the reins through the whole horse is ignored. So it teaches a horse the trick of blooping its head down to avoid the rein pressure while still being stiff and braced through its body. If you watch the photos and videos of Trainer X’s wife, you'll see a lot of evidence of horses that are stiff through their back, crashing on the forehand and necks bent behind the vertical - all symptoms of using restrictive gadgets, hard hands and incorrectness. In my view no training gadget has yet been designed to match a knowledgeable rider with good hands. The German martingale is just another attempt to circumvent the hard work that comes from proper training and replace it with quick fixes that are never really fixed.
Thanks Ross.
Before I read your site, I used to read Trainer X blog. He often talks about the ‘underlying’ mouth of a horse and how it is the one that shows when things go bad and his mouthing system gives you the ‘airbrakes’. A long while ago, I even purchased his remouthing DVD to see the training in detail. He really likes the german martingale. I am just wondering what you think about this. After exposure to your site and what I have learnt from my horses now, I think that nothing is a guarantee with a horse except a quiet mind or the capacity to calm it down fast.
The other issue that bothers me is that just about everyone I see bandages and boots horses all the time, sometimes I think more as a fashion statement. I wonder if it is necessary and just weakens the legs or traps in too much heat. Okay if a horse has an issue that needs protection fine. Thanks again
Regards Maryanne
In regards to boots and bandages, you really are asking the wrong person. I never use them. The only protection I have used was many years ago was on my A grade showjumper who would sometimes overreach. By the time he was jumping B grade I decided to put bell boots on him. Other than that I have no experience with either protective or performance leg gear. I don't like float boots - especially the hind ones that reach over the hocks. But I know lots of people use this equipment and would always use them. I guess I would like to see the evidence that bandages and boots are protective. You would think somebody like Professional Choice has some legitimate research result available. I know Warwick Schiller reads this blog and he is a world class reining trainer, so if you read this Warwick would you kindly offer your experience with regard to boots and bandages.
Trainer X mouthing system is not his mouthing system. Long ago it was claimed by Jim Wilton as the Wilton mouthing system. But even before Jim there was a fellow in the 1930s who Jim probably saw using it. I've seen old reports of people in the US using the 1-rein mouthing system a hundred years ago. It's is not widely used because I think in most trainer's mind is not a very good system. I've compared mouthing systems before on this site and it comes out quite low in the quality of results. This is because it causes incorrectness in the way a horse uses both his forehand and his hindquarters during a turn. It's an incorrectness that is later hard to fix. Also, the way I've seen Trainer X use the system (on video) is quite brutal and unnecessary in my opinion. I think the method can be modified to be far less forceful and kinder to the horse. But the 1-rein mouthing is only a small part of the whole process of properly mouthing a horse.
I have experience with the German martingale and don't like them one bit. They are popular in European countries like the Netherlands and Germany, but are not used much in Australia. Trainer X is the only trainer I know who uses them a lot and recommends them to clients. Like most gadgets they are a tool used by people who have few training skills or looking for quick fixes. This is because it attempts to replace the need for elastic and soft hands from the rider. But at this it fails too.
The problem with the German martingale (when I was a kid they were called market harborough) is that its only function is to make the horse put it's head down. It's a device designed to physically cause discomfort to a horse for putting its head above where the harborough is set. But there is no way that the device can remove the pressure when the horse actually softens through its body. It's simply there to create an arched neck and true yield to the reins through the whole horse is ignored. So it teaches a horse the trick of blooping its head down to avoid the rein pressure while still being stiff and braced through its body. If you watch the photos and videos of Trainer X’s wife, you'll see a lot of evidence of horses that are stiff through their back, crashing on the forehand and necks bent behind the vertical - all symptoms of using restrictive gadgets, hard hands and incorrectness. In my view no training gadget has yet been designed to match a knowledgeable rider with good hands. The German martingale is just another attempt to circumvent the hard work that comes from proper training and replace it with quick fixes that are never really fixed.