We had a good discussion about some of the the uses of of various types of tack for training liberty horses the other day. A lot of training equipment is grossly misunderstood by folks who are not familiar with it or it's proper use. Examples being whips, sticks, bull hooks, spurs, bits, etc. etc. One person objected to a liberty horse leaning/bobbing his head on the bit, and one person objected to an over check which keeps them from leaning/bobbing their head on the bit. These are folks who have enjoyed many trained horse acts with those thoughts. Imagine what the AR or folks who don't enjoy trained animals must think. I found this photo above from about the 1800's when a bearing rein or over check was banned for use on carriage horse's. In the case of carriage horse's it was inhumane as a horse has to put it's head down some what to lean into the collar. In shaft carts there is not the need to lean forward to move the weight. Another way to look at inhumane is in the case of liberty horses "naked" for an individual to get bit, snapped at or kicked by a member of the act, so he goes out of place, while the trainer has to correct him and put him back in place. Between a rock and a hard spot is not a pleasant situation.
Excerpted from Rara Equis:
What are bearing reins? Bearing reins were a type of horse tack used in the 1800's to elevate a carriage horse's head. These reins were uncomfortable and even painful for horses and were abolished partially in part to the protest raised by Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty.
A form of bearing rein is used today, but is a much more humane device. Today most horse harnesses include a overcheck or sidecheck- which are comparable to a bearing rein but are adjusted more humanely. An overcheck helps a horse maintain their balance and gives a handler more control- An overcheck does not force the horse's head up painfully, but is usually set at the horse's optimal natural carriage. Occasionally, a bearing rein type device is still used on horses ridden by children or disabled adults. A loosely adjusted bearing type rein (usually more like a sidecheck) allows a horse to carry their head naturally, but prevents a horse from dropping their neck to graze or snatching reins out of a riders hands- both actions that can cause an insecure or disabled rider to fall and be injured.
Even though use of the bearing rein was discontinued nearly 100 years ago, the practical applications of bearing reins- applied in more humane manners- are still useful today.
Posts
6 comments:
The great debate on tack modifying head height and movement is one of the earliest issues in animal welfare. I remember when I was pretty young the great debates that raged as certain groups or classes of competition began outlawing standing martingales. Yes they were alright for some hunters, or in rodeo where they were called tiedowns, but don't get caught with one in competition on the flat. A little more slack for running martingales. Then it was, well maybe they were ok if they were nylon instead of leather. And of course at home away from competition nobody stopped using them at all. Times change, by the '80's a lot of riders didn't really understand what a martingale was or why it could be useful.
So much of this really speaks to how restraint is used and viewed and the accompanying stress involved. Doesn't matter whether it's horses or elephants. Hobbles were down right evil in the 1970's, something only old school cowboys would go near. Enter the age of horse whispers and they became trust tools.
The debate rages on.
Wade interesting background on harness overbearing reins. In the world of "horse shows" the over check is used for the beauty and enhancement of show horses. The peacocks "Saddlebreds" that are shown in fine harness are greatly overchecked to the extreme used to produce the great presence these horses display. However the overcheck will remain on the horse a very, very short time being hooked an instant before entering the show arena and unhooked immediately after exiting. So even though the overcheck is used to the extreme, great care is used in it's application and I would say I have never seen one of these horses bobbing their heads or otherwise trying to get away. They know when applied it is "work time".
Ben,
Standing martingales for forbidden for jumping horses, because of the need for putting up the head to jump, which is why I was questioning them on Lorenzos horses who jumped. Not on a team horse running on the flat, but on one required to jump. The are used for roping/barrel horses who are required to go very fast, very quick, and keep their balance. Never would something like this be used at home, because you would get the reaction you were trying to combat in the show ring. Tie downs, standing martingales are referred to(excepting for roping/barrel horses) as training substitutes. That is different from a training aid. A running martingale has nothing at all to do with slack, and is a training aid, to keep from having to force a horse into collection, instead teaching him that the legs "push" him into collection, and not the hands "pulling" him into it.
Wade
Dianne,
You may understand then my statement of wishing I could have used them for the National Show Horses you are familiar with. The "conundrum" was because of their breeding, the higher the head, the higher the front action as you just stated(which you don't get with Lipizzan, Arabians, but you do get it with Hackneys, Saddlebreds, NSH's etc.) If they became frantic/rushy in the early stages of the training they pawed the heels of the horse in front. I had to eliminate that "natural" high knee/shoulder action, and not enhance it. That is the only reason they did not have over checks on their harness, and the surcingle rings were set 2 inches lower then the norm, to keep the head lower. There were a lot of logistics to that act. Nose bands eliminated the mouth gaping/lugging on the bits and the head bobbing that you saw later in their life. Over checks on a harness horse or on a bitting rig are used in conjunction with side reins. The reason you see a lot of head bobbing with liberty horses is that only side checks are used, which allow for the up and down of the head, with no legs/hands to take them off the bit.
Wade
Wade, standing martingales are forbidden in show jumpers, but not hunters over fences. The argument would probably be the size of the fence is the difference. But, and this is a big but, prior to the 1960's they were seen even on some open jumpers. There was a pretty good steeplechase rider out of Virginia in the '70s named Cash who had some success riding open jumpers and complained bitterly over such prohibitions.
Ben,
Yes they are allowed in show hunter, and hunt seat equitation. They are basic jumping disciplines, not Gran Prix. The restrictive nature and possibility for severe injury should a horse go down are why they are banned. Col. Herriott mentions a horse breaking it's shoulder when it fell. Any horse with it's head tied is at risk It is used for steeple chasing, which even I question. I hope nobody has gotten offended, or their feelers hurt by all of this, and have looked at it as learning. One individual who didn't like liberty horses harnessed, because of the "misconceived" meanness, didn't object to standing martingales/tie downs because he also liked what act/disapline that person was doing???? Another person with admittedly limited horse experience, and owns one, objected to over checks. That is one horse that does not need one because of what the individual does with the horse. If that individual had dealt with 100 horses, I guarantee he would have run into a number of them where an over check would have been very useful and kind. It is understanding what the tack/equipment is used for and the purpose, and the time taken to train the animal to accept and use it properly. Every body with a dog seems to think they know animals and that's why a whip isn't necessary. As we revered the absolute false hood of "gentle" because some unqualified person only uses a buggy whip, the fans/industry made the proper use of a whip appear cruel or bad. When a liberty act that does nothing is applauded because it is "naked", it makes the brilliant act with harness seem cruel or bad. That is uniformed people setting precedent for my business and yes, it is offensive to me. Some folks with a limited knowledge may object to the type of bit Dianne Olds uses for Fire Magic, but again if they had dealt with the number of horses that she has, they would have a greater experience/knowledge that each requires something different. Let's all tell them a hook isn't necessary, so that we look like monsters when it is necessary. We Ben, and the uniformed who are making "self serving" statements either in regards to themselves or their friends, are the ones who have made this industry a "soft target". How many industries encourage the folks in the seats to tell the press and others what it is about?
Wade
Post a Comment