WTH! "sidecheck training bridles" ?

It is used in Arabian showing circles also. Not something I would use personally as it contradicts all the instruction I have ever received.

But then, I am not involved in Arabian/Saddleseat showing.

Yep you would use it with a martingale as well. Now that you've got the horses head up, you're going to want to keep them from tossing it about and nailing you in the face It's also the standard to train a young horse in a snaffle and a martingale. In Academy, one of the lower levels of saddleseat, you will always show in a snaffle bride with a martingale. I know it seems weird, but it's really, seriously, not cruel or painful to the horse, and it works to achieve the kind of headset that you need to be successful in the saddleseat world.
Trust me, when I first saw all of this stuff I was a bit baffled, too. It took some time to figure out that everything had a real purpose.

Yup you so beat me to both of them answers. :P

Martingales and tie downs are NOT saposed to keep a horses head down or even encourage it to do so. They are used so that the horse wount slam you in the noes. If it is keeping the horses head down then it is to tight and not used properly.

I've seen it before. My old riding instructor used to use it on horses that would drop their heads and start bucking.

It's really not confusing with the martingale on. The martingale is meant for english-type riding. It encourages the horse, along with the bit, to keep its nose in, while the side check helps it learn to keep it's head up. I did notice the horse has a snaffle, which is very common when using this combo, so that's good to see. I was worried there'd be some kind of double bridle action going on - that would concern me. Otherwise, there's really nothing bad going on here and no confusion if the rider knows what he/she is doing.

This is not a martingale's intended use. It is meant to be used to prevent the horse from tossing it's head so far up and back that it whacks the rider in the face. It is NOT intended to be used to encourage false headset.

I can think of alot of things horse people use to create something that the tool was not meant to create. It is what it is, and if it's not hurting the horse it's really not such a big deal then is it?

It can hurt the horse though. False headset that is gained by cranking the head down or cranking the head up can eventually lead to muscular and skeletal problems.

Any tool can be used incorrectly. A true ss horse holds its head there already so no false headset or skelatal problems, as these horses NATURALLY hold themselves that way. They are built for it conformationally. This just fine tunes a headset. No cranking going on.

NO a martingale doesn't keep a horses head down, its to keep the nose in. Thus the 10 ring one, for diffrent headset adjustments.....

Thank you!

There are many misconceptions about what that type of martingale does. It's not like the more common "western-type" martingales or tie downs or anything else similar to them. The martingale shown in the picture is to help the horse learn where to keep its head. They are conformationally built to have a high headset. Trust me, that martingale will not stop a horse from smacking you in the face if your head is in the way - I can tell you from experience. Imagine taking a western-style quarter horse and trying to get it into a sidecheck. Not going to happen. There's nothing skeletal about it. It just won't work, end of story. Now take that same western horse, and use tack that helps it learn to where to keeps its head (you know, level with the withers in a line parallel to the ground). That western horse naturally has a lower headset and training equipment refines that headset. Saddleseat horses naturally have a very high headset (and also tend to have long necks) and the training equipment helps refine that headset. It's not cruel. It's not abusive. It's not mean. It's training.

Being unfamiliar with something doesn't make it a scary monster. I've seen a lot of things in other breeds/disciplines that I don't understand at all, but I don't balk at it. Instead, I find knowledgeable people and inquire.