Re: Running Martingales

["Heidi Smith" <heidi@sagehillcmk.com>]

Title: Running Martingales

First of all, brakes come from your seat and your legs, not from the bit.  That said, the effect of the martingale is for the horse to resist it when he doesn't want to be stopped, which hollows his back and makes it that much more difficult to drive his rear end under him to get a stop.  (As someone else already explained, very eloquently.)  Eventual effects of martingales are upside-down necks, hollow backs, strung-out rears, and the various forms of pathology that can proceed from any and all of those.  If you feel uncomfortable about stopping ability in the french link, by all means go with the Kimberwick rather than the martingale.  But also concentrate on the mechanics of simply setting your hands and driving your horse into the stop with your seat and legs, instead of using the bit as the primary stopping aid.  Think about stopping a fast bicycle going downhill by only using the front brakes--disaster!!  You have to stop that back end first.

 

Heidi

----- Original Message -----

From: Kathy Mayeda

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2002 7:34 PM

Subject: RC: Running Martingales

Funny we would be discussing this, because I just order my first running martingale from Go The Distance as part of my new “color change” for Beau.  I never used one before, but thought I would try it for my racy guy, just for the heck of it.  I’ve been using a french link snaffle, and decided I need more brakes because I pretty much sored his mouth trying to hold him back on the last day of DVE.  I purchased a kimberwicke also.  Dom thought that I should try the RM with the french link first before going to the kimberwicke (without the RM first), but then again, Becky Hart, my instructor when I slow down enough to take a lesson, uses kimberwickes or Tteam bit and no RMs.