Equine Draw Reins

See also: Running Reins, Market Harborough, De Gogue And Chambon.

Draw Reins
Draw reins are an extra pair of reins which the rider holds. They act by encouraging the horse to work in an outline.

Invented By
Draw reins were invented by William Cavendish during the 16th Century.

Use

Assist in lowering the horses head to encourage self carriage.
Encourage poll flexion.
Encourages correct muscle development.
Encourage the horse to use their backs.
Encourage the horse to use their hindquarters.

Action
Draw reins act on the bars and corners of the horses mouth and exert a downward pressure on the poll which subsequently encourages the horse to flex from the poll and lower the head carriage.

With sufficient leg and seat from the rider the horse will learn to engage their hindquarters and work up into the bridle where the riders light hand will support the contact.

An experienced rider will be able to encourage the horse to work through their backs and lower their necks to help with the horses suppleness and to reduce tension throughout the horses body.

Fitting

Draw reins should only be used with a snaffle bridle.
Draw reins are fitted to the girth usually with a loop or buckle attachment.
The reins then run from the chest directly through the horses front legs and up to each bit ring.
The reins are fitted to go from the inside of the bit ring to the outside and will sit just below the snaffle rein.
From the bit rings the reins then run to the riders hand where they will sit underneath the snaffle rein.

Holding The Reins
In each hand the rider will hold their snaffle rein as usual going between the ring and little finger and then across the palm where they are held in place by the thumb and first finger.

The Draw rein is then taken up under the little finger and across the palm where it sits on top of the snaffle rein and is held in place by the thumb.

The rider can then gently squeeze the draw rein with their little finger and also have the safety that the thumb can release of the rein.

How To Use Draw Reins

Due to the nature and pressure applied by draw reins, your horse must be sufficiently warmed up prior to using the draw reins to allow the horse's muscles sufficient time to warm up and relax.
Once warmed up the rider can take up a light draw rein contact, care must be taken not to take to tight a hold on the draw reins because some horses panic if the rein contact is too severe causing rearing or backing up for example.
If their is any sign of the horse showing discomfort or panic the rider should instantly relax the draw rein to ease the pressure while still riding the horse forward.
If the horse is relaxed the rider can proceed to take up more of a contact of the draw rein and start to encourage the horse to lower and lengthen out their necks while still keeping the hindquarters engaged.
The rider should continue to work the horse on the flat using exercises such as supplying and lateral work to encourage suppleness and encourage the horse to work up into the bridle and remain on the vertical.
The rider should maintain the snaffle rein contact at all times.
As soon as the horse relaxes and softens their outline the draw rein should be relaxed, so that it can be used as and when necessary.
To begin with short training sessions are advised to allow the horses muscles time to build up.

Safety Precautions

Only use with a snaffle bridle.
Only to be used by experienced riders.
Maintain the snaffle rein contact at all times during a training session.
If incorrectly used draw reins can cause the horse to fix their heads on the vertical without engaging their hindquarters.
Draw reins can encourage horses to become heavy on their forehand if incorrectly used.
Only for use on the flat
Remove martingales to prevent entanglement from occurring.
The rider must always ride the horse forward from their leg into their hand so that the horse is always working from their hindquarters into a light contact.
A horse should not be forced into an outline from the use of draw reins but instead encouraged to work correctly.
When leading a horse with draw reins be careful not to let the rein get entangled up around the horses legs.
If you have not used Draw Reins before then seek professional advice.