A martingale. Among nonhorse people, this word might sound like a type of hybrid bird species. In reality, a martingale is a piece of tack used in both English and Western riding disciplines. Regardless of the discipline, a martingale’s main purpose is to help manage how high a horse can raise his head.
Martingales are typically made from leather but can also be made with synthetic, faux-leather materials. Different martingales serve unique purposes for controlling a horse’s head carriage. They might also look and function differently, depending on the type and style.
The two most common types of martingales are standing and running martingales. In this article, we’ll explain how each one works and why riders use them so you can decide if and when you need one for your horse.
Why Use a Martingale on a Horse?
A rider or trainer might choose to use a martingale for a variety of reasons. This piece of tack prevents the horse from throwing his head up too high, causing bit evasion or potentially hitting the rider in the face. Therefore, horse people often use martingales on high-headed or head-tossing horses.
Martingales help encourage an overall lower head carriage, which is desirable in riding disciplines such as hunters and Western pleasure. Martingales can also help encourage a horse to work properly instead of high-headed and hollow in the back. When a horse’s head carriage is lower, they tend to engage their back better and are more comfortable to ride.
Standing Martingales
This martingale is popular in disciplines such as show hunters, fox-hunting, and polo. It encircles the base of the neck and has a strap that attaches to both the girth and the noseband. One looped end of the strap passes between the horse’s front legs, through which you’ll pass your girth. You pass the noseband strap through a smaller loop at the other end.
The standing martingale is the milder of the two types. It does not interfere with the horse until he puts his head up high enough to activate it. At that point, he’ll feel the pull of the leather strap against his noseband, encouraging him to lower his head. Martingales otherwise have little effect on a horse’s way of going.
If a martingale is too long, however, it becomes useless. If it’s too short, the horse could learn to lean on it for balance and work incorrectly. It could also restrict his action if too short, particularly when jumping.
Standing martingales are not allowed during the cross-country phase of eventing, because they can be dangerous is a horse falls and catches a leg on it.
Running Martingales
This type of martingale is used in both English and Western disciplines, though each one looks a bit different. You’ll frequently see running martingales used in the show-jumping ring and cross-country phase of eventing. They are not allowed in disciplines such as dressage and hunters.
Like standing martingales, the running form prevents a horse from raising his head past a certain point. However, the running martingale also helps stabilize the reins and applies more downward pressure on the bit and reins. As a result, it offers more control than the standing style.
With a running martingale, two separate pieces of leather create a “V” shape stemming from the neck strap. Each end of the V-shaped leather has a metal ring through which each of the two reins passes. When the rider pulls on the reins, the martingale rings pull down and apply pressure on the bars of the mouth. Similar to the standing martingale, a piece of leather attached to the neck strap also attaches to the girth.
When a horse is going correctly, the running martingale has little influence on him. However, unlike the standing, the running martingale exerts a constant slight pressure on the reins unless the rider is riding on a completely loose rein.
If you ride with a running martingale, you’ll need to put rubber or leather rein stops on your reins so the martingale rings cannot slide too far forward and get caught on your horse’s bit.
How To Fit a Martingale Properly
Fit is extremely important if your horse wears a martingale. For both standing and running martingales, you should be able to put a hand between the top of the horse’s neck and the strap running around it.
To ensure a standing martingale is neither too tight nor too loose, press the leather strap attached to the noseband up toward your horse’s throat. You should be able to fit the width of a hand between the leather and his throat. With a running martingale, the two straps with rings should be long enough to extend to the horse’s withers.
Buckles on the neck strap and girth loop allow you to lengthen or shorten the straps and adjust the fit. Punch holes in your martingale leather if you find you need it shorter than the current holes allow. If you’re unsure about its fit, have your trainer double-check it.
Related Reading: Common Types and Uses of Horse Tack and Equipment
Sarah Welk Baynum attended Otterbein University for Equine Business & Facility Management and has spent many years working various jobs in the equine industry, including as a veterinary technician. Sarah is a Columbus, Ohio-based freelance writer and published equestrian fiction author. She also actively competes in show jumping and eventing with her two mares: a spicy Warmblood named Tilly and an equally spicy OTTB named Letty.
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