Training aids and the double noseband - what do they do?

Hi! There are a great many types of training aid, with different functions. I will set aside the ones you mentioned. Training aids are often designed to make it easier for the rider to get the horse into a shape that many people wrongly see as desirable, where the horse's posture is influenced or even fixed. Usually the aim is to affect the position of the head and neck. A correct outline, however, has to be built up over time. It takes knowledge, time and varied work. 🤗 A horse's work must always come from behind, with the hind legs stepping in under the body, the back lifting and the horse pushing through from behind. Training aids alone cannot produce that.

🐴 There is rarely a good reason to use training aids, but if you do, it should be under the supervision of someone knowledgeable. A badly fitted or badly used training aid usually does more harm than good. Most training aids are best seen as a temporary tool to move the schooling on, not a permanent part of the kit. So no, they are absolutely not something you have to use. Here is a rundown of the most common ones:

The neck stretcher is elastic and also goes by the name of the elastic cord. It attaches either to the girth and runs between the front legs, or you can fix it to the sides of the horse, for example when lungeing, then through the bit rings and up over the poll. The idea is that pressure at the poll asks the horse to lower its head. There should be no pressure once the horse lowers its head, only if it carries too high. That is why it is important not to fasten it too tightly. The risk is that the horse falls onto the forehand and, over time, builds the wrong muscles or the work becomes damaging.

Draw reins should be used with great caution. They attach either to the sides of the saddle or to the girth between the front legs. Fixed to the sides, the rein aid acts straight back and frames the horse. Fixed between the front legs, the rein aid acts back and down instead. The draw rein runs from its attachment point up to the bit via the bit rings, then angles back towards the rider's hand. You ride as though on two sets of reins, the draw rein being one and the ordinary reins the other.

Because of the angle created at the bit ring, the direction of force changes and the rider's rein aid is amplified. With incorrect use the rider can therefore force the horse's head in towards the shoulder, which is why this aid needs to be used carefully. When you take on the draw rein, it runs through the bit rings and gives pressure back and down in the horse's mouth. To gain a release, the horse has to lower its head. Some people also use draw reins for more control, for example when bringing a horse back into work after an injury.

The Thiedemann rein is another option that works much like the draw rein, but is built slightly differently.

Now over to the double noseband! It combines a cavesson above the bit and a drop noseband below the bit into one. This design is meant to stop the horse gaping or opening its mouth, and the leather straps joining the two nosebands also stop the horse moving its jaw sideways. It is a noseband with a harsh effect, to be used carefully and by experienced riders. In the wrong hands it can cause the horse both pain and discomfort. It is also important that it is correctly fitted and at a good height, as the drop part can otherwise affect the horse's breathing.

PS. For the avoidance of doubt: the photo does not show a double noseband but an Aachen noseband.

I hope this was helpful, and do ask again! ☺️