Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Draw reins and "light" horse

From: Bonnie

Dear Jessica, I know that you don't like to use draw reins on horses, but I have a horse that pulls like crazy, and my trainer had me put him in draw reins. Now he is much lighter and responds a lot better and faster, so I think that there must be some horses that just do better with draw reins. The only problem is going to be shows, because I can't use them there and he knows when I take them off and starts to pull and flip his head around again. Is there any way I can make him think that the draw reins are still on, long enough to make him keep him light for a couple of classes at a show? I don't show often anyway.

Bonnie and the ex-puller!

Hi Bonnie! You've just given me a perfect illustration for my lecture on The Reason I Don't Like Draw Reins. I can understand you not wanting to engage in a pulling contest with a horse, but really, draw reins aren't the answer. Your horse may FEEL lighter and more responsive in the draw reins, but all that's really happening is that YOU have a lot more leverage, so you can pull hard on his mouth without making as much of an effort. ;-)

Before you ask me: YES there are people who could use draw reins, briefly and quietly, in a way that wouldn't damage the horse. But that's really a hypothetical situation... the people who know how and when and how long to use draw reins correctly are people who would never use them at all -- they get the effect they want by educating and developing the horse, and they know that there is NO effect that they can't achieve, in time, with a snaffle. The key word is "time" -- and it TAKES time to develop and educate a horse, just as it takes time to develop and educate a child.

I don't like draw reins because they don't serve to educate the horse or enable the horse; they serve to force the horse's body into a particular silhouette, and to give the rider so much leverage that the horse learns to back off the bit.

Why do you think they aren't allowed at shows? And why do you think that your horse's head pops up as soon as they are removed? He isn't holding a pose and putting himself into that silhouette because his body has been developed and gymnasticized in a way that allows him to work that way in comfort; he's being pulled into that pose through draw-rein leverage, and the proof is that he loses that silhouette, instantly, whenever the gadget is removed.

The rounding and reaching forward and down that you like to see IS what you should strive for, but not with draw reins. It comes from systematically developing the horse until he learns to carry himself comfortably and look for the bit with confidence -- and there is NO instant formula for doing this.

Let me illustrate it this way: it's been many years since I could do splits. ;-) But I were determined to do splits again, I would have two ways of achieving that position:

1) I could start by doing gentle stretching, and gradually, over months, improve my flexibility so that I could finally manage to do splits without hurting myself (assuming that I could ever get THAT flexible again!).

2) I could get two other people to attach ropes to my ankles and walk in opposite directions until I was in the "splits" position. ;-)

One method would improve my fitness and flexibility, so that I might eventually be ABLE to do splits; the other method would force something that my body wasn't ready or able to do, and the result would NOT be any improvement in fitness or flexibility, but injury.

Training is like method (1). Drawreins are like method (2).

That's why I don't like draw reins: they cause harm (injury to mouth, neck, back and hocks) instead of good. If you want your horse to be soft, responsive, and learn to move in balance, you have to help him by teaching him -- he needs education, fitness, and flexibility in order to develop self-carriage.

Don't be fooled by people who speak of draw reins as a "shortcut" -- there ARE no shortcuts in good training. Draw reins are a dead end.

There's a lot of information on "pulling" in the HORSE-SENSE archives. Take a look -- this may help you start down a road that actually leads somewhere. A horse that's truly balanced, light and confident is a joy to ride, and if you're willing to invest the time and care, you'll be able to experience that joy.

Jessica

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