Types of Martingales

Standing Martingales

• A standing martingale prevents the horse from raising its head above the angle at which the rider can easily control it. Because it is so restrictive, it can be dangerous if the horse falls, especially while crossing water, because the martingale makes it harder for the horse to get up. Use of a standing martingale is illegal in most show disciplines except for jumping. It consists of a single adjustable leather strap which runs up through the horse's front legs from a snap or loop attached to the saddle girth and buckles to the noseband of the bridle. A variant of the standing martingale, usually found in the Western riding discipline, is known as a tiedown, and is used to keep the horse from flipping its head up.

Using a Standing Martingale

• With a standing martingale, longer is better. Horses will fight too tight a restriction and it can put painful pressure on the cheeks and jaw through the noseband. To fit a standing martingale, make sure the horse is standing with its head in the proper position (nose not extended, head not raised or lowered beyond normal carriage). The martingale should be long enough that when the horse extends its head, the reins are nearly straight from the pommel of the saddle to the bit and the horse's mouth is on a level just below its withers.

Running Martingales

• These provide the horse more flexibility and consist of a Y-shaped piece of leather, the long end of which runs between the horse's front legs and attaches to the girth. Each arm of the "Y" has a ring sewn to it, through which the reins are run. A special leather stop on the reins prevents the ring from sliding all the way forward to the bit and catching on the rein buckle. The unexpected jerk on the horse's head when this happens can cause it to panic and go over backwards, which is also often the reaction to a standing martingale.

  When fitting a running martingale, run both rings up the horse's shoulder on the same side. They should reach to the withers.

German Martingale

• A German martingale is a variant of the running martingale used as a training aid to teach a horse to carry its head properly. It uses a special set of reins with a series of rings set several inches apart; the arms of the martingale run up through the bit rings and attach to the rings on the reins. The rings allow the martingale to attach at shorter or longer lengths as the rider desires, starting long with horses unaccustomed to restraint and working gradually shorter.

Irish Martingale

• This is simply a leather strap four to six inches long with a ring at either end, used mostly in racing to keep the reins from going over the horse's head. The reins run through the rings under the horse's neck.