Chambon, gogue, draw reins and side reins explained

That's the line our sources draw, and it's the line we'll keep drawing on this page. EquiSearch, in a piece by FEI-level dressage rider Lisa Zinger reprinted from Practical Horseman, says to introduce a horse to draw reins or side reins only after you thoroughly understand the purpose and method, and only under a trainer's supervision. Camelot says the same about its chambon, gogue and draw reins: it describes them as tools for experienced riders, and points readers who are new to training aids and have no trainer elsewhere.

What are they for? Zinger describes draw reins and side reins as aids that can help a horse learn to keep light contact with the bit while moving forward and carrying himself straight and in balance. She is just as clear about what they are not. They aren't shortcuts for forcing the head down, forcing the nose to vertical or making a horse flex. Misuse, she says, can shorten the stride, stiffen the horse, make him overbend to avoid the contact, put him on the forehand and leave him sore in the neck and back.

On the show side, The Plaid Horse quoted trainer Kristen Carollo, who said draw reins in uneducated hands are not good for a horse, though they can help conditioning when used properly. USEF's December 2024 jumper rule change (JP 111.4) limits draw reins and German martingales in classes restricted to ponies, juniors or amateurs, or by horse age. It's one more sign that the governing bodies treat these aids with care.

EquiSearch says they help a horse find a steady contact and, on a circle, help keep the outside shoulder straight. Zinger doesn't recommend riding in them unless the horse is on a longe line under the trainer's control, because a tangled foot is hard to free from the saddle and a horse who slips can't use his head and neck to recover his balance.

Her setup advice is practical. Choose leather with rubber donuts, because many nylon versions have elastic that stretches three or four inches, which makes them ineffective, and leather breaks in an emergency while nylon does not. Start with the reins unattached while the horse warms up, attach them loosely, let him settle, then shorten them until his nose is just in front of the vertical. Set both sides to the same length to begin with, adjust by a hole or two, and have someone longe the horse while you watch. Always end by unsnapping them so he can stretch.

Camelot's German Side Reins adjust from 41 to 48 inches and include a donut section with a small amount of give for longeing or in-hand work. Shires Avignon's Leather & Elastic Side Reins use elastic inserts and trigger clips. Both are the makers' descriptions of their own products.

Per EquiSearch, they're used only under saddle, with a mild snaffle and your regular reins. The strap is 15 to 17 feet long, buckled at the center, with loops that attach to the girth about halfway between the elbow and the bottom of the saddle flap. Zinger recommends them for flatwork only, and says that for jumping they must run through a neck strap. Camelot's Leather Draw Reins are 18 feet in horse size and 13 in pony, 5/8 inch wide, and Shires Avignon says its flat leather draw reins are designed for flat work only.

Zinger recommends webbing or leather over nylon, since nylon is slippery when wet and can burn the hands. She also warns about dependence: a horse may lean on them, and when they come off he may be less on the bit or raise his head. Her suggestion is short sessions of about five to ten minutes, checking the position in regular reins, ending on a free rein, and using them periodically instead of every day. Draw reins, she says, are easier to lengthen or drop in an emergency than side reins.

You may also see a related piece, the German martingale. Shires Avignon's comes complete with continental web reins and a raised padded neck strap, and the maker lists it under training aids. Like draw reins, it falls under the USEF jumper rule mentioned above.

Camelot describes its Chambon as a lunging tool that encourages the horse to stretch through his back for relaxation and suppleness. It describes the Gogue as helping release tension in the poll, mouth and base of the neck and helping develop topline muscling. Those are the maker's descriptions. Shires Avignon says its De Gogue Training Aid, a leather piece with a nylon cord attached at the poll, is used to strengthen a horse's back muscles and to engage the rear legs and back.

Wikipedia, which we use as a last resort, describes the gogue as somewhat similar to the chambon but usable under saddle too, with two ways of fitting it: independent, for the longe or free-schooling, where the horse controls the aid, and command, for mounted work, where the rider holds shortened gogue reins as well as normal reins. It says the gogue is best used by advanced trainers who understand it, and that experienced riders are best supervised by an instructor. It also notes that it can be adjusted very short, a use critics consider abusive. That last point is a good reason for a trainer to set it up.

The cautions match what we found for the other aids, and you'll see the same advice from the maker, the encyclopedia and the magazine: experienced hands, a clear purpose and an instructor.

Here is what our sources say about each one. Where a row cites the maker, it is the maker's description of its own product.

EquiSearch says that if the horse tosses his head when you ask for contact, you should have a vet rule out pain before reaching for equipment. That's the first thing to do, and so is checking the saddle fit and your bit. If pain is the cause, no aid will fix it.

A second point is easy to miss. The aid doesn't ride the horse for you. Zinger says a horse unused to side reins may hit himself in the mouth, panic, rear or flip, and that side reins carry more risk than draw reins. She also says not to start a young horse on them until he walks, trots and canters steadily on straight lines and circles and handles basic transitions, and to let a trainer introduce them to an excitable or nervous horse. She suggests exercise boots and bell boots at the start, and an enclosed area.

One rider, below, sums up what many trainers tell us in other words. Riding well is the real aid.

The ones we see include: what is a German martingale, what are draw reins, what are side reins, what is a chambon, and how to put side reins on a horse. We answer the first four above. For the fifth, the answer is the setup steps above, with a trainer watching.

If you're shopping for a rider who already uses a training aid, check the maker's size and length before you buy. Camelot lists its draw reins at 18 feet for a horse and 13 feet for a pony, so the length you need depends on the horse. Measure what the rider already uses first, or ask her.