08/02/2025
There is no correct use for draw reins.
Yes, you heard me.
Draw reins will always and forever be a shortcut for the benefit of the rider, not for the benefit of the horse.
There is no way to “correctly” create a leverage system that serves the purpose of pulling the horse’s head down and in.
The entire purpose is to make it easier for the rider to force the horse into a certain head and neck position.
Draw reins create a pulley system that amplifies the amount of pressure from the rider’s hands on the draw rein.
No matter how you configure them (where you clip them to) the leverage is always pulling the horse’s head IN.
The direction of leverage effectively serves to teach the horse to go behind the vertical.
Additionally, physical fitness is not built overnight.
The rider cannot feel the horse’s muscles fatiguing or when the horse is overstretched.
Humans are also notoriously bad at noticing discomfort signals from the horse so it becomes easy to ignore any attempts from the horse to communicate discomfort.
Draw reins skip steps that would otherwise allow the rider to gauge the horse’s physical capacity and where they’re at in terms of learning to carry themselves.
Skipping those steps does not develop the muscular ability any faster.
So, sure, the head and neck may go down and in and it may become easier to stop the horse from popping their head up, but it does not build the physical capacity to maintain that position for an extended period of time.
We should want the horse to seek contact and move into it softly, not hide from it.
The damage draw reins do to horses is apparent in their muscling but also their way of going.
Horses frequently ridden in draw reins are highly likely to dip behind the vertical with very little contact from the riding, “hiding” from contact.
This can be difficult to fix and it is much easier to avoid the problem in the first place by not using draw reins.
Draw reins, like many training gadgets, are for the rider.
They serve the purpose of offering instant gratification for the human.
But, this comes at the expense of the horse.
Building physical fitness and teaching correct carriage takes time.
Take the time it takes.
Draw reins are not for the horse.
They’re for the human.
There is no correct use for them.
This is a hill I will die on.
Stop rushing at the horses’ expense just to get to a destination faster.
It ALWAYS will come at a cost.
And usually it is the horse who pays.
