Training Equipment
Horse training equipment is used to help school and train horses, which helps to eliminate dangerous behavior and encourage harmony between horse and rider. Some training equipment is widely used and accepted, such as lunging equipment, while other training "aids" are shortcuts which in the long run may produce the opposite of the desired effect.
Lunging equipment is used for lunging the horse. Lunging is a type of training where the trainer stands in the center of an arena and works the horse in a circle at the walk, trot, and canter. The trainer uses a lunge line to help control the horse, which is a long rope that attaches to a lunge cavesson, a special type of halter used for lunging. A surcingle or lunging roller is a strap that is attached around the horse's girth. Often, side reins are attached to the lunge cavesson and the surcingle on each side. Side reins mimic the rider's reins and encourage the horse to carry his head correctly.
A martingale is a piece of equipment which prevents the horse from raising its head too high.
Training reins, such as draw reins, encourage the horse to carry his nose vertically. However, horses that are resistant to proper head carriage will often resist the training reins, causing muscle tension and encouraging the opposite of the desired effect - strengthening the muscles in opposition to the training reins. Horses that are trained to carry themselves with their hindquarters will develop proper balance, muscles, and head carriage without the use of training reins.
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