Auxiliary reins
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As reins in one calls equestrian aside all mechanical aids from the reins by which influence is exerted on the head and neck posture of the horse.
Auxiliary reins are used for training beginners and for training the horse. They are used in lunging and vaulting . They are also used to correct the horse.
Auxiliary reins must be buckled correctly so that the horse can walk loosely and not become tense . Tensions are detrimental to both horse training (training scale ) and rider training , since a beginner on a tense horse has no chance of learning to sit loose. Tension can negate or even reverse the desired training effect.
The correction of the horse using auxiliary reins under the rider, for example with draw reins, should be reserved for experienced riders. Draw reins and comparable auxiliary reins should only be used in a targeted manner and not in a habitual manner, as they impair correct tacking and promote the wrong kink if used inappropriately or excessively . For this reason, draw reins and auxiliary reins with a similar effect are generally unsuitable for training young horses.
Quotes on auxiliary reins
"The bridle reins are always used when the horse is being worked without a rider or if the latter is to be largely relieved of the control of the horse"
“The unsteady influence of the rider on the horse can be compensated for with auxiliary reins. The learning rider can therefore concentrate more on the seat and the aids. "
"Especially with beginners you often untie horses because they are not as good with the reins as the experienced rider."
“Auxiliary reins are for auxiliary students. The training of a horse needs time and patience, but under no circumstances auxiliary reins! "
“The reins should (note: when lunging) give the bit a calm position and induce the remonte to find a trusting support. They should help the horse to stretch the neck forward downwards and thereby arch the back. "
Classification of auxiliary reins
Auxiliary reins can be divided into two sub-types: those tightly buckled, which are attached to the horse's equipment - such as the saddle - and those through which the rider can directly influence his horse by hand. Auxiliary reins of the second type support experienced riders temporarily in the correction and training of horses and must not be used as a substitute for inadequate riding skills. With auxiliary reins of the first type, the rider cannot influence the effect of the auxiliary reins depending on the situation. These are predominantly rejected for the training of the horse under the rider and mainly used in the training of riders, ground work and lunging horses. The length of such an auxiliary pull determined when buckling is of decisive importance for its effectiveness.
Fixed buckling
Bumper reins
Probably the oldest auxiliary reins is the push reins. A bumper rein is the direct connection of the bit with the saddle girth via a strap running between the horse's front legs. The reins are strapped so long that the horse's head is just short of the vertical when the girder is fully extended. This prevents the horse's head from being raised beyond a predetermined amount by the length of the push pull. A lateral movement of the horse's neck is possible. The horse's mouth can thus move around the fastening point on the saddle girth on a spherical cutout. Often a single binding rein is used as a push reins, which is then attached to both bit rings with the help of a connecting bar. In this way, the effect is uniform and the teeth are prevented from being pulled out to the side.
A significantly shorter strapped bumper rein affects the horse's balance. A bumper reins strapped much longer no longer serves any purpose. Regardless of the buckling, the push reins may only be used on level ground, as the horse may stumble and jerk painfully in the mouth or even injure them.
Push reins are not suitable for lunging due to the lack of lateral limitation.
Side reins
Side girders are leather straps attached to both sides of the saddle girth, often with a sewn-in rubber ring in the middle to make the side girder more elastic, and are attached to the bridle rings with snap hooks. A bridle each creates the connection between a bridle ring and the saddle girth on the corresponding side of the horse (is sometimes also strapped crosswise). The bridle is a two-part auxiliary reins. The buckling is made in the length according to the bumper reins. The horse's head can move around the two fastening points on the saddle girth on an ellipsoid. In contrast to the push reins, the freedom of movement of the horse's neck is also limited laterally by reins. You want to achieve a rounded neck posture for the horse through its use. Today it is mainly used when there is no additional rein action by the rider, i.e. when lunging, training beginners or stunt horses. Here it offers the advantage that the horse is also given lateral support and it cannot run over the shoulder so easily (kinking in the neck is avoided) or warping (inclined position in the ganches ).
Triangle reins / Vienna reins / Lauffer reins / Lorenz reins
The triangular reins, also known as Viennese reins, are a modification of the side reins. Instead of creating a direct connection between the bridle ring and the saddle girth, the belt is threaded through the bridle ring between the front legs of the horse and then buckled back into the side girth. In contrast to reins, the use of triangular reins enables the horse to move forwards and downwards . The correctly strapped triangular reins allow the horse's head to be lifted to just before the vertical. The triangular reins are widely used as auxiliary reins for riding training. By buckling the triangular reins at different heights on the saddle girth, it is possible to vary the erection according to the level of training of the horse.
Lauffer reins , also known as Lorenz reins (or repurposed draw reins) are two individual straps that, like triangular reins, are led back from the saddle girth through the bridle rings to the horse. Instead of being attached under the horse's trunk, however, they are attached to the side of the horse, which results in improved lateral guidance of the horse compared to the triangular reins. The walker reins combine the advantages of side reins and attachment reins, without depriving the horse of the possibility of stretching the neck and lowering the head. They are therefore particularly suitable for training young horses.
Neck extender
The neck extender is a rein made of fully elastic material that is attached to the saddle girth on one side under the saddle flap, then pulled through the bridle rings over the neck, and on the other side runs through the bridle ring back to the other girth. Instead of fastening directly below the saddle flap, it is also possible to pass it through between the front legs with fastening to the saddle girth under the chest.
As the name suggests, the neck lengthener is intended to induce horses that are not supported, to stretch forward and down.
The flexibility of the reins leads to the opposite in some horses: the horse either learns to lie on the reins or crawls behind the reins. Taking the desired position does not have any effect that would make it more comfortable for the horse. The rein is therefore not suitable for every horse.
Chambon / Gogue
Chambon and gogue are mixed forms of the various auxiliary reins that are not very common in Germany. It is characteristic that the auxiliary reins are not only attached to the saddle girth and guided to or through the bridle rings, but also have an additional holding point on the headpiece of the bridle. The auxiliary reins are passed from the saddle girth between the horse's front legs over a ring on the headpiece to (chambon) or through (gogue) the bridle rings. The additional action via the poll is intended to stimulate the horse to stretch forwards and downwards, because if it lifts its head too high, it may happen. U. painful pressure on the neck and in the mouth. The horse cannot find any support here. Chambon and Gogue are supposed to counter the danger that every auxiliary reins harbors: The horse can evade the influence by rolling its neck, i.e. bringing its head as close as desired to the center of the circle or the focus of the ellipse. In extreme cases (which can happen especially if the loop reins are used improperly), the horse's nostrils touch its chest. Chambon and Gogue are hard auxiliary reins that can also provoke a violent resistance from the horse and are therefore only suitable in individual cases.
Fixed martingale
A fixed martingale is a leather rein that leads from the waist belt to the noseband of a noseband. The stationary martingale should allow the horse to lift the head up to a maximum of just before the horizontal, otherwise any rein effect on the lower jaw is lost. The buckling is accordingly long. In this way it is used today in polo and western riding . In the latter case, it is called a tie-down and is attached to a bosal , often its thinnest version, the pencil bosal. It has a somewhat sharper effect than the English versions and is only allowed in the racing disciplines ( barrel race and pole bending ) at western tournaments . The permanent use of a fixed martingale leads to an undesirable strengthening of the lower neck muscles, especially in horses that use their leeway.
Effect through the hand of the rider
Draw reins / Pohlmann reins
The draw reins, also called Pohlmann reins, work in a similar way to the triangular reins, but they are not attached to the side of the saddle girth, but rather held in the hand of the rider with the reins. It is a strap approximately 2.75 m long. William Cavendish is considered to be the inventor of the slider .
Since the rider holds the draw reins in his hand, he can adjust the length individually while riding and, if necessary, for each side. Harry Boldt describes in his book Das Dressurpferd (p. 166) the use of the draw rein as follows: The draw rein does not have the task of pulling the horse's head down. Rather, it should show the limit upwards to a horse that pushes its head and nose too much upwards and eludes the rider's help and gives the horse a resistance against which it repels itself in the bit. If the horse walks in the desired position again, it should no longer feel the rein at all.
Draw reins may only be used by absolutely capable riders, because only experienced trainers are able to ride a horse with draw reins without harming it. The fact that the rider holds the auxiliary reins in his hand easily tempts to exert excessive tension on it, so that even strong horses can have their heads pulled down to their chests very quickly. Draw reins are by no means intended to bring a horse to the bridle. Constant use of this auxiliary rope can damage the horse physically and mentally. In addition, improper use can result in the wrong kink. This mistake is very difficult to correct again afterwards.
Colbert reins
The Colbert rein differs from the neck extender only in that the ends of the auxiliary rein, which are attached to the saddle girth of the neck extender, are held in the hand by the rider. When pulling the reins, the negative properties of draw reins, gogue and snaffle are combined: The horse is constricted in the ganas, and there is unpleasant pressure in the mouth and on the poll.
Mixed forms
The effect of the following auxiliary reins is dependent on the buckling or the length as well as on the regular rein action of the rider.
Sliding ring martingale
Called by sliding martingale, also running martingale or "jump rein", each bridle passes through a ring respectively by means of a belt on a neck belt or the breastplate is attached. The neck strap is loosely tied around the horse's neck at the height of the horse's shoulder and is held in position via a connection between the front legs and the saddle girth.
The sliding ring martingale does not act directly on the teeth. Depending on the rein length, the horse is prevented by the martingale from lifting its head above the specified level. The length of the strap between the ring and the neck strap is also decisive for the permitted height of the horse's head.
The martingale is buckled in such a way that the rein line, which is correct in the sense of the English riding style (direct connection from the horse's mouth to the rider's hand in a horse that is leaning against it) does not break, i.e. there is no kink in the rein. If a bridle with two reins is used (jumping curb), the sliding ring martingale is only strapped into the bridle reins (not the curb reins).
The sliding ring martingale is the only auxiliary rein that is permitted in jumping and terrain tests and is also widely used here, as the horse's freedom of movement is not restricted, as the yielding rider's hand allows the horse's head to move over the jump. Because of its frequent use over the jump, it is also called jump reins.
Too short a buckle leads to a mechanical leverage effect on the reins and disrupts the precision of the rein aids. If the buckle is too long, there is a risk of the horse's front hooves getting caught in the hanging martingale in tight curves and when jumping.
Köhler reins / Thiedemann combination / German martingale
The Köhler rein, also known as the Thiedemann combination , consists of a neck strap that holds a strap that comes from the saddle girth between the horse's front legs, is then divided, each threaded through a bridle ring and attached to the rein in special hooks. In western riding, this combination is called German Martingale .
The Köhler rein is a variant of the loop rein with the difference that the loop rein coming from the snaffle ring is clipped into the snaffle rein. Despite the auxiliary rein, the rider only holds one pair of reins in his hands, and the maximum neck length is directly dependent on the rein length. The position at which the Koehler rein is hooked into the rein determines the general sharpness of the auxiliary rein.
The use of the Köhler pull is controversial, as it neither has the advantages of a backing (independence from the inexperienced rider's hand) nor those of a loop pull (situation-dependent setting of the degree of effectiveness).
Others
Attachment reins
The Spanish rider or attachment reins can be compared to a triangular reins that are not strapped under the horse but above it. Due to its construction, it can only be used while lunging, not under the rider. It was invented by the Marquis of Marialva, whose pupil Manoel Carlos de Andrade describes the meaning as follows: The young horse should stabilize itself on the cavesson, lift itself up in front, move the forehand up and evenly, lower itself in the croup, and out of it properly forwards walk and bend both ankles equally. The reins of the Spanish rider are always strapped to the cavesson at Marialva, never to the bit.
The attachment reins are used by trainers of the American Saddlebred Horse or Tennessee Walking Horse to achieve an unnaturally high erection of the horse's neck, whereby the nose line should remain just before the vertical. The aim is to model the horse's neck. One end of the two-part auxiliary pull is attached to the lunging belt on the bridle rings. The shorter it is, the more the horse is forced to straighten up high and hold it up. If it wants to lower its head, there is a painful jolt in its mouth.
Oberscheck / Overcheck
The overcheck is a variant of the attachment reins for trotting horses. Its purpose is to prevent the horse from changing into the illegal gallop gait while trotting. The straps are attached to an additional bit in the bit rings, which then come together over the forehead of the horse and then run as a rein between the ears over the neck to the harness and fastened there. Here, too, the horse's head is pulled up.
Irish martingale
The Irish martingale, also known as the racing martingale, does not affect the aids given. It is a short piece of leather 10 to 20 centimeters long with rings attached to both ends. The two reins are led through these rings so that the Irish martingale hangs between the horse's bit and chest. It shows its function if the rider falls. The fixed reins do not slide down the horse's neck as easily. The risk of injury is lower for rider and horse. It is often used in drag hunting equestrian sports.
Auxiliary reins in tournament sports
The use of auxiliary reins in tournament tests is regulated by the responsible associations. For national tournaments in Germany, the performance test regulations (LPO) of the German Equestrian Association (FN) apply . The International Federation of Equestrian Sports (FEI) is responsible for international tournaments . In some cases, other, extended regulations apply to the preparation area than to the test itself. The use of the following auxiliary reins is permitted in FN competitions:
In the dressage rider performance tests of class E, single or double running reins and triangular reins as well as bilateral reins are permitted.
The sliding ring martingale (also racing martingale with a leather triangle) is permitted in all tests over obstacles, but not in proficiency tests and combined performance tests. Draw reins in jumping competitions from category A are allowed on the preparation area, but not for overcoming obstacles. In general, no auxiliary reins are permitted in versatility tests.
In vaulting competitions of the FEI, binding reins on both sides are mandatory, in the competitions of the FN in class A, walker reins are also permitted as an alternative.
In the case of endurance rides and rides, in addition to the bridles that are considered to be breathtaking, all auxiliary reins that act directly on the bit are not permitted, i.e. all auxiliary reins with the exception of the (correctly buckled) sliding ring martingale.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Fritz Lauffer: The training of the rider in the rural riding and driving clubs . Ed .: Renovamen-Verlag. 1st edition. Renovamen-Verlag, Leipzig 2016, ISBN 978-3-95621-117-1 , pp. 67, 86 .
- ↑ James Fillis: Principles of Dressage. translated into German by M. von Zansen called von der Osten. Borgmann, Berlin 1894, pp. 23, 24.
- ↑ Michaela Otte: History of riding. From antiquity to modern times. FN-Verlag, Warendorf 1994, ISBN 3-88542-255-7 , p. 71.
- ↑ Manoel Carlos de Andrade: The noble art of riding. Explanations for a reasonable practice. Olms, Hildesheim 2006, ISBN 3-487-08452-X , p. 160.
- ↑ In the following, reference to the LPO in the version of January 1, 2008.
- ↑ FEI: Rules for Vaulting Events 2005, p. 16. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
