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Post by mcnaughty on Oct 5, 2015 9:59:58 GMT
Stupid question, and I know the answer but I am going to ask it anyway!
Took small daughter and hairy welsh A in their first affiliated working hunter classes yesterday (BSPS Area 17 and it was fab - well done all those that organise there!!).
Question is this. Why do all and I do mean all the ponies wear martingales and flash nosebands? They were also predominantly plaited.
So go on - why the 'uniform'? In my view, if a pony does not need a martingale then why put it on? Surely this should advertise to the judge that the pony could possibly wack a small child in the face with it's poll and surely that is not a good thing to be pointing out? Or perhaps I just looked stupid allowing my daughter to go in with just her normal cavesson noseband and no martingale as I may as well have put a big sign on her back protector saying 'we are new and havent got a clue'??
We actually did OK though - came 4th in a HUGE 20 strong training class and seeing as they pony did not know how to jump a year ago (I do mean absolutely that he did not know how to jump!) and we only started concentrating on getting his hooves to leave the ground in the past couple of months we were delighted with that start!
So, should I be getting straight on the phone to Fylde and buying a martingale and flash noseband? I am being very serious by the way ....
As always, any suggestions and comments gratefully received!
Fi
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Post by haggismarmite on Oct 5, 2015 10:09:00 GMT
Noseband should be whatever your pony s happy in, I wouldn't worry about it. Personally when my daughter was younger she had a martingale to have a neck strap if she needed it.
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Oct 5, 2015 10:17:10 GMT
Well our smart SJ trainer told us always to wear a martingale for XC to hang on to in case of need - daughter was teenage and could jump well by then but you never know - so maybe it's a safety thing for novice children in their early jumping endeavors? I'm with you about flash nosebands though, shouldn't be necessary, to me it would advertise some schooling problem with the pony. With your placing it doesn't sound as if the judge penalised you for the tack, well done daughter.
As for plaiting - no plaiting if an M&M class, but should be done if not M&M.
The first time my daughter did XC after this advice was the first time my baby D she was riding had ever worn a martingale - a sensitive soul, she was very worried by the strap between her legs and bucked her way all the way up the lorry park, with daughter on top and me on the ground in hysterics and all the other PC mothers looking down their noses at them! D was a wide 14.1 and daughter 5'8" so she could wrap her legs round her and was in no danger of falling off. Moral - if you do go the martingale route, make sure the pony's fine with it before you go out in public!
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Post by maddiesmum on Oct 5, 2015 10:59:18 GMT
I had a running martingale when I did nursery stakes etc to give me a neck strap nothing to do with the pony! Lol As I got older and (supposedly) more competent lol, mum just used tack whatever tack was necessary for the pony. I agree there is a certain degree of fashion though....I see many a WHP in a Mexican grackle noseband, often not fitted correctly, so not even doing it's job! But looks "smart & workerish" I've been told
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Post by at work nli on Oct 5, 2015 11:02:34 GMT
Sister is 30 odd been riding for 30 years and still uses the martingale as a neck strap when first starting the youngsters, much better to hang onto that than his mouth. Noseband should be whatever the pony goes best in although there will always be some "fashions" with tack, there seem to be grackle nosebands everywhere you look. As long as your tack fits and is correct for the pony and your daughter is turned out correctly, don't worry what everyone else is doing. And well done
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Post by Toaster on Oct 5, 2015 12:52:46 GMT
There seems to be a 'uniform' in many classes you see more Wilkies in certain classes and pony tails in certain classes etc etc
you only have to look on here and Facebook groups to see a scrabble for particular things secondhand which are in fashion where a near identical item remains unsold for ages
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Post by WestStreetHunt on Oct 5, 2015 13:06:37 GMT
If you look at William Fox-Pitt when eventing, he ALWAYS wears a neck strap additional to any other tack. His mother Marietta was my pony club DC and anyone jumping was encouraged to wear one. When as an adult I became rally organiser when my kids joined I had a car boot full of spare ones!
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Post by mcnaughty on Oct 5, 2015 13:59:40 GMT
Being an M&M she has a whole load of mane to grab hold of so I'm not worried about her needing a handle.
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Post by thatboythatgirl on Oct 5, 2015 14:33:00 GMT
I ride everything in a maritngale I feel lost without it as from a young age I was always told its there to grab if you need, Most people have the running part that loose it doesn't do the job as intended to do anyway
I had to jump my old horse with a grackle on as second he'd see a fence he'd cross his jaw and go. My young WH atm jumps quite happily in a simple snaffle and noseband, which he will be competed in next year in nov WH (with a martingale)
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Oct 5, 2015 14:44:40 GMT
Uniform or fashion?
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Post by sparkysunny on Oct 5, 2015 20:13:46 GMT
mcnaughty - We saw you there yesterday and your daughter did very well. Remembered you from our shared B&B at the NPS Champs a few years ago! My daughter was 8th in the same class yesterday on her brand new pony who has never jumped a course of jumps in her life! Snaffle bit, plain cavesson noseband, no martingale - pony went like a dream. I never understand why people put more 'gadgets' on their horse than are absolutely necessary.
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Post by mcnaughty on Oct 6, 2015 10:03:41 GMT
Oh wow! You've got a good memory! That was years ago when we still had our old pony and he was only 3 as I was doing in hand so probably about 4 years? What a lovely B&B that was! The lady who owned it told me not to bother mucking out in the morning. She said I had enough on my hands!! We only got our pony a year ago but Rebecca had to learn to ride him first so we have only started jumping him properly for the past two months. He has been there and worn the t-shirt showing on the flat and at first I did wonder if he would leave the ground as he was not keen at all! Poor Rebecca has flown through the air a few times but she is so brave and I always manage to dry the tears and plonk her back on to try again! Bless her. We were delighted with Sunday it sort of just clicked on the day. The day before we were at a PC show and he took a severe dislike to a plank at about 1 ft! When she got her double clear over those pretty scary troughs etc I was speechless! I'm just going to stick to the plain tack. I took my mare to Equifest a couple of years ago and had her in a breast plate with martingale attachment - the judge told me off and said I was pointing out a conformation fault!
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