What are your views on double bridles???
- Status
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
Joined
·
16,645 Posts
Only use them under a trainer, until you develop your skills. They can be very subtle and open great lines of communication or, in untrained hands, can be extremely severe.
Joined
·
1,740 Posts
They are great tools, when you are ready for it. You really dont need them unless you are competing in upper levels.
I perfer mine plain full cheek, its just more simple. And of course, I dont think my mare will ever get to the point she needs one. She is just my little pleasure mount.
I perfer mine plain full cheek, its just more simple. And of course, I dont think my mare will ever get to the point she needs one. She is just my little pleasure mount.
Joined
·
5,526 Posts
A tool to be used by an experienced person on a horse that has been properly prepared for it.
Joined
·
231 Posts
im not learning to use them im just learning about them
Joined
·
554 Posts
Double bridles are used optionally at Third and Fourth Level, and are a requirement for the levels above.
The purpose of them is to give the rider lighter, refined aids when they use their hands, and it gives more control over the placing of the horse's head (this does not mean holding his head in place!).
A rider who is using a double bridle should have an independent seat, leg, and hand. They should know how give and take at the right time (feel), and have very, very soft and elastic hands.
Overuse of the curb causes the horse to draw back his tongue (sometimes getting it stuck in between the two bits), and this is why some riders, especially the rollkur users, will put crank or other "trapping" nosebands on their bridles. It appalls me to no end to see the highest level riders pulling and yanking their horses around in the warm-up to pull them into hyperflexion. They end up, really, drowning the horse in pain and confusion.
That being said, their are many riders who do use the double bridle correctly. In the hands of a soft and empathetic rider, it's a great bridle!
On a side note, I ride Freddy in a pelham. It's an honest disaster to try a ride him in a snaffle, but I can't ride him in a double bridle (he will never be soft enough to go in one). I wish they hadn't made the pelham illegal in dressage competition, because it really get riders used to the double reins and teaches them some of the mechanics of a double bridle. The funny thing is that the pelham was originally created for dressage as a transition bit for horse and rider!
The purpose of them is to give the rider lighter, refined aids when they use their hands, and it gives more control over the placing of the horse's head (this does not mean holding his head in place!).
A rider who is using a double bridle should have an independent seat, leg, and hand. They should know how give and take at the right time (feel), and have very, very soft and elastic hands.
Overuse of the curb causes the horse to draw back his tongue (sometimes getting it stuck in between the two bits), and this is why some riders, especially the rollkur users, will put crank or other "trapping" nosebands on their bridles. It appalls me to no end to see the highest level riders pulling and yanking their horses around in the warm-up to pull them into hyperflexion. They end up, really, drowning the horse in pain and confusion.
That being said, their are many riders who do use the double bridle correctly. In the hands of a soft and empathetic rider, it's a great bridle!
On a side note, I ride Freddy in a pelham. It's an honest disaster to try a ride him in a snaffle, but I can't ride him in a double bridle (he will never be soft enough to go in one). I wish they hadn't made the pelham illegal in dressage competition, because it really get riders used to the double reins and teaches them some of the mechanics of a double bridle. The funny thing is that the pelham was originally created for dressage as a transition bit for horse and rider!
Joined
·
2,245 Posts
When I rode Saddlebreds, we always showed in them (in the non-academy classes). We would ride in a snaffle at home, ride in the double bridle once before the show, and then use it at the show. It's just to make the horse more responsive at the show so you can use less obvious cues and make it look effortless. My trainer always said that the snaffle was to lift their head up and the curb was to tuck their nose in.
Joined
·
86 Posts
We are just in the process of starting to use a db. I am getting mine for christmas. I have to learn how to use one as my young horse will hopefully do fei.
My horse now is just working on level 3 and so he will be the horse that I learn everythng on while my colt grows up.
But my usage of the db will be completely under my trainer's direct supervision. We will have to figure out what bits to use and I am really excited about learning this.
My horse now is just working on level 3 and so he will be the horse that I learn everythng on while my colt grows up.
But my usage of the db will be completely under my trainer's direct supervision. We will have to figure out what bits to use and I am really excited about learning this.
Joined
·
2,747 Posts
I think double bridles are fine, i am going to learn how to use one (if my training goes well) next year or so to do juniors in. like all things, it could be very abusive or painful to the horse if used improperly, but you cant blame the tool for that.
Joined
·
13,266 Posts
I think they ar a great tool in the right hands at the GP level. When you are at that level of competition, you really need every tool you can use to maximize the aids and refine that contact during your riding test.
It's a very strong and severe bridle that I would hope to never see outside the Haute Ecole, and only in expert hands.
It's a very strong and severe bridle that I would hope to never see outside the Haute Ecole, and only in expert hands.
Joined
·
343 Posts
I think it's fine in the right hands, but I would be much more impressed if I saw a beautifully trained horse that was responsive in just a snaffle.
Joined
·
16,645 Posts
My horses train in a snaffle. When I have to ride with a double, I usually ride on the snaffle rein (my bridoons are fat and soft) and rarely have to use the weymouth. I train for lightness and simply refuse to let the horse use me for their balance.
Joined
·
779 Posts
I'm glad to see somebody say (admit) that they use a Pelham. With some horses, especially with a woman rider, the snaffle just isn't enough. I read on these boards that the whoa comes from the training, but in real life, it doesn't always happen that way, lol.
I used to trail ride my Morgan in a Pelham, because that curb rein served as an emergency brake in case I needed one. If he ever decided to bolt, he was too strong of a puller for me to steer or stop with just a snaffle. I rode him on the snaffle rein and only gave him a light bump with the curb if he decided to bolt or buck.
Joined
·
554 Posts
Exactly. Freddy is not my horse, he has never had any professional dressage training (his owner marvels at what of done to him, heheh.), and to be honest, he's a bit ignorant of the hand. And, as I said, it's doing good service teaching me the responsibility of a curb function, and helps me get used to the double riens. It allows for some experimentation, too.
Right now, I'm working on finding the right length of the curb rein for Freddy, feeling the difference between what is too much and too little, and learning exactly what I can control with it and what effects I get when I do different things. All this can be done without too much bother to Freddy, and he can still put up with me on days that I'm feeling off, tense, or inconsistant. This just can't be done with a double bridle, and it brings me one step closer to softness, so that the day I get on a real dressage horse I won't have so much difficulty adjusting, hm? ~
Right now, I'm working on finding the right length of the curb rein for Freddy, feeling the difference between what is too much and too little, and learning exactly what I can control with it and what effects I get when I do different things. All this can be done without too much bother to Freddy, and he can still put up with me on days that I'm feeling off, tense, or inconsistant. This just can't be done with a double bridle, and it brings me one step closer to softness, so that the day I get on a real dressage horse I won't have so much difficulty adjusting, hm? ~
Joined
·
5,184 Posts
Double bridles are a pain in the ***!!
When you have a horse that schools everything in the snaffle and even THEN has connection issues, you'll know what I mean!
I dread the day I make it to PSG, lol. I honestly have so much trouble keeping the horse in the bridle in my nice baby snaffle that I can't imagine the grief I'm going to have in the double.
Mare I used to have had some issues with contact the other way, the double was great for her!
I like looking at my double though. It is pretty
When you have a horse that schools everything in the snaffle and even THEN has connection issues, you'll know what I mean!
I dread the day I make it to PSG, lol. I honestly have so much trouble keeping the horse in the bridle in my nice baby snaffle that I can't imagine the grief I'm going to have in the double.
Mare I used to have had some issues with contact the other way, the double was great for her!
I like looking at my double though. It is pretty
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
- Status
Join the discussion
Join now to ask and comment!