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 Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Tx | Which do you use and for what purpose do they each serve you?
I have read a TON of the descriptions of them but wanted to hear what y'all had to say about them. (I have only used 2 of the 3 under proper instruction)
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
  
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | i use draw reins every so often...and i train some and run some in a german martingale........... i use them to soften one up..........and you could not pay me enough to use a running martingale, i hate everything about them, i hate the feel of them and just blah.lol...........my so tried to use one on one of my horses one time and i ripped it off and threw it in the garbage, he got the idea.............lol
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  Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
 
| I like a draw gag to soften a colt/ horse laterally. Usually I can do this with a regular ring snaffle, but once in a while if one is being a little "piggy" about it and there isn't a physical reason why, I will use a draw gag to get some feel and then go back to the other bit.
I have gotten away from using training forks much, the older I get. I don't have anything against them, I just get my results differently now.
I love a German Martingale for periods of time on horses that want to root or lean on a bit. |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Tx | *bump
Edited by Next to Heaven 2014-09-12 3:26 PM
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 Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Alberta | I try to stay away from the running martingales/training forks just because I find that I cant get enough lateral movement in them, and I feel that I am unable to get my hands where I want them in certain maneuvers. I run my futurity colt in a German martingale and I absolutely love it. It helps keep him collected because I am not good at constantly reminding him to keep his nose tucked (he likes to pop it up). I only use a draw gag on a horse that is really soft in the face and accepts it. I've tried to ride a lot of horses in a draw gag and they would put their head up and open their mouth trying to get away from it. I have a 4 year old that I got a week ago and I put my Loomis draw gag on him and I'm loving how he's working in it. He is super soft and it really helps him collect which is great since he is an absolute giant.
Edited by doram993 2014-09-12 10:45 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Tx | Anyone else? |
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 Member
Posts: 24
| I used to run my gelding in a hack because he hated any kind of bit in his mouth due to past riders ripping on his face. I bought a loomis smooth mouth for my four year old filly and she hated it, so i threw it on him just to see what he'd do and he LOVES it! We always had a hard time getting our first barrel, and since i started running him in the loomis, he's now taking the paint off of the first every run we make. Its great for certain horses, but for others it doesn't do much good, it just depends.
I dislike training forks/running martingales, I don't like the feel they give and it's hard to get horses to do certain things in them. I ride my 4 year old every now and again in draw reins and a snaffle to soften her up and she's fine with it, but she hates the forks with a passion. It just depends on the horse and your own preferences, everyone is different!  |
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