Chambon: It’s correct use and adjustment
San Diego Horse Trainer Will Faerber from Art2Ride discusses the correct use of the french stretching device called the chambon, which is particularly helpful for beginners with extremely hollow or sway backed horses such as in the retraining of saddlebreds.
25 responses to “Chambon: It’s correct use and adjustment”
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Keith says: great video (as always!!)…..how many times a week would you lounge in this way with the Chambone on a young green horse?
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….also, do you recommend that is it a good idea to longe for about 10 mins on each rein before doing any ridden work???
Keith says: ….also, do you recommend that is it a good idea to longe for about 10 mins on each rein before doing any ridden work???
Sarah says: What are your thoughts on the German neck stretcher? The mechanics of it seem similar to the chambon (pressure applied to the poll and corners of the mouth). I’ve heard that it can encourage curling of the neck if it’s adjusted too short for the horse, but what if it’s adjusted loosely?
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Kali says:
This is a very bad device that usually only ends up breaking the horse in the neck instead of stretching the horse. Use the simple Chambon, it does the right thing, which is simply to let the horse stretch down and out.
CAB says: Wondering what your thoughts are on the passoa lunging device?
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If you know how to lunge, you won’t need it and if you don’t you are only going to create more problems then you had to begin will as this device ties the back end of the horse to the bit. I see horses being ruined everyday by it’s use. All it does is pull the horse’s head down.
virginia hunt says: I have seen Will speak in person about use of a chambone (at clinic organized by Joan and Cindy Sladek at Sand Hill in NE Ohio). want very much to hear what he has to say in this video. I am not getting any audio when I play this video? can you help?
virginia hunt. Chagrin Falls, Ohio
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I’m not sure why you are not getting any sound, I double checked and the audio is fine in the video. Just make sure to click the audio icon in the bottom part of the video bar and make sure it’s turned all the way up. Hope that helps.
Kris says: I have an OTTB, 9 years old. Very unbalanced but getting better. I’ve been lunging him 4 days a week for about 3 months in the Chambon. He is still not stretching consistently. He is much better than when I started but how long can it take for him to have enough strength to really stretch consistently (an entire rotation). He reaches down for about 5 or 6 strides at a time at the trot.
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If he is getting better then even if it is slow it’s better than the alternative so keep trying. I suggest you send a video so that I can really see what is happening than I can give you a specific answer.
Karen says: When doing work in hand where are you touching the horse with the whip? And it looks like will is moving the inside rein with diagonal pressure under the horses chin – am I seeing this correctly?
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Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers:
Allison Emily Brunelli: There are three places you can touch the horse with the whip. At the huanches, at the ribs where a riders leg would be, and at the shoulder. If you touch the horse at the haunches its to ask for more activity or more speed. If you touch at the ribs where the riders leg would be its to ask the horse to move over as in leg yield. If you touch the tip of the shoulder its to ask the horse to move his shoulder away from you. If you touch I front of the shoulder its to ask the horse to slow or stop. The handler will create contact with the horse’s mouth with the inside rein in order to supple the horse. The rider can rotate his wrists and open his palm to the sky to initiate supplying which is likely what you saw when you said you saw an angle. There is never any pulling back. But sometimes there’s a bit of a release (of the contact) even before the horse begins to lengthen his neck and many times that’s when you’ll find the horse lower his head and that’s when you’ll allow the reins to slip through your hands. The handler must be able to follow the horses mouth down and also follow the horse if he lifts his head by maintaining the same amount of contact which should be no more than the weight of the rein. This means the handler would need to widen his hands to keep contact or be able to quickly take up the slack in the reins. The three most common mistakes made with rein connection are 1) abandoning the horse by abandoning the contact when the horse lowers his head (which is where the handler allows the rein contact to have slack in it) and 2) when the handler holds the horses head in a position and 3) when the handler bumps the horses mouth for lack of fluid, calm hands.
Amber Matusek: Well that last answer about covered it. The in hand work really just mimics the riding but from the ground.
Chelsea MacPhail: In the in hand work you are using the whip where you would use your leg if you were riding. You want to make sure that your holding the whip with your palm up (thumb pointing toward the haunches). It can take a little while to get used to that position. It’s most important that you maintain a light but steady contact with both reins. Bringing your inside hand lower can sometimes help encourage them to stretch down but what is crucial to the in hand work is following your horse’s head and neck down and allowing them to stretch when they desire to do so. When the head comes up simple apply slightly more pressure and encourage them to move their haunches out a bit or try leg yeilding to get their inside hind leg to step further under and more toward the midline of their belly. Always feel free to send in a video to the fans and followers site for more feedback!
Tricia Yates: I agree that Allison’s answer covered it. The only thing I would add is to not just focus on the inside rein. The outside rein needs to maintain contact also.
Tytti Vanhala: The whip should optimally be applied where your leg would go in the normal in-hand work, that is on the lower side of your horse. I know in practice this may be difficult at times, but keeping the whip in your hand so that it goes at an angle downwards will help. I tend to keep the whip going between my thumb and index finger and then the end between my middle and ring finger, that way it points automatically downwards. And I keep both my hands palms upwards with in-hand work.
I don’t quite understand the diagonal pressure with inside rein –part of the question. But maybe the question is about that the horse Will is working on is novice in in-hand work, keeps his head up, doesn’t yet yield properly, and Will has lift his hand upwards to keep contact with the inside rein and holds it by the horse’s head when asking for yield? If this is the case, it just illustrates a case where you need to keep contact on the horse’s mouth, and sometimes instead of asking for an immediate stretch, you need to keep the head up to prevent the horse from plunging downwards on you, maintain contact (thus also with the inside hand), and ask for a yield. When the horse yields, you give rein while maintaining contact, go straight and let the horse stretch down for a reward.
Thus in this case it is not to do with diagonal pressure, but keeping a contact with the inside rein and applying pressure rather on the horse’s lips than bars and tongue; rather like a chambon action. Hope that answered your question.Elisabeth Spetschinsky: Hi, you use the whip on the flank to make your horse yield, like you would with your leg in a leg yield. You use it on the quarter to go forward and on the croup when you start teaching piaffe. I’m not sure what you’re referring to about the inside rein is it in the teaching of piaffe? If it is, I think that he is preventing the horse from charging forward when touched by the whip, no pressure involved though :), he probably keeps contact with the mouth only on the outside rein (we call it division of support in French) and not on the Inside rein as a matter of security.
Jen barrett says: I’ve brought a chambon today and I was told the one I got for my 17.1hh horse but when I tried it on him the strap that goes underneath his legs is to short and one of the straps that goes towards the poll is to long. Is there anything I can do as I’ve punched holes in it but when I lunged him in it, there was no effect, am I doing something wrong? Love watching your videos.
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Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers:
Carol Kurtz Darlington It sounds like you may have a gogue with your chambon. You only want the straps that connect to the poll, nothing to pull him backwards. If the poll straps are too long, you can tie knots in them, as I have done. You definitely want to watch this video, in which Will explains the correct adjustment and use of a chambon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgvd84mIyC8 I hope this helps you! CAT@A2R
Janet says: I am lunging my hollow 5 year old friesian in a chambon and he is starting to stretch nicely after 3 weeks. When should l change to side reins? Also how long do you lunge once the horse is working correctly to strengthen his back?
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Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers:
Tytti: You don’t necessarily need the side reins. When your horse has established the stretch and doesn’t need support from the reins (or something to stretch into contact with) when lunging, then you don’t need anything. But if your horse needs the support in form of side reins, then by all means you can start using them. Just make sure that you have watched Will’s video on the correct use of the side reins. They should not restrict the horse when he starts to stretch into the contact with them – that is, if they are too short, he will curl backwards with the stretch, which we really don’t want. So, keep an eye on that if you start using them.
The length of the work sessions depends on the horse. You need to observe your horse’s tiredness level and stop before he gets tired. You need to learn to observe when your horse has worked well, has activated his topline muscles and then stop before he gets tired and things get too difficult for him to keep up his good work. This may vary from day to day or between weeks. This depends on what his energy levels are and whether he may be stiff from previous work etc. You have to modify your aims of the day to fit your horse’s abilities that day. So, the length of the lunging session depends entirely on how your horse feels that day.
And of course lunging is in general a part of normal training. That is, once you area able to ride him with his topline activated, your lunging sessions will still be highly useful. If not in-hand, then a short lunging session before riding is also an excellent way to warm up your horse and make sure that his topline muscling is activated before you ride.Chelsea: You can try removing the chambon and seeing if he’ll stay stretching without it. It may take a few months before he doesn’t need that reminder to stay round and not hollow it just depends – each horse is different. As Tytti mentioned you don’t have to use side reins – they can be helpful for teaching the horse to stretch into the contact but if your horse has even been forced into a false frame then he may not respond properly with his nose poking out and staying in front of the vertical – if he curls back you would want to stick with the chambon instead. The lunging is useful to continue training when your horse isn’t able to maintain the stretch while being ridden so again it’s just testing your horse to see if he can stretch under saddle if you are riding him. If he can’t keep his back up with the added weight of a rider then continue lunging for a few more weeks and try again. Many horses are able to stretch at the walk under saddle but lose it at the trot so just continue any work that keeps your horse stretching and play with taking a step up every now and then to see if he’s strong enough for more. Keep up the good work!
Katherine: The length of time a horse needs to stay at a certain level is something the horse tells you. It is our job to help you interpret the signals he is sending you all the time, but really, you are the one there every day listening to your horse and if we give you a specific timeline, you may stop listening to him and defer to us. We like to encourage you to be the best trainer for YOUR horse, instead of us pretending we can do that remotely. We can answer your questions and support you in many ways, but ultimately, your horse and you are the experts on your training journey With that in mind, the signals that the horse is not ready to go to the next level are always the same – the back will hollow, the rhythm will disintegrate, they will ring their tail, throw their head, try to run away, or stop dead – and whatever particular action your horse takes to let you know he has had as much as he can take. At that point, you must go back to what he can do with a calm eye, a full relaxed stretch, good rhythm, and hopefully an increasing ability to walk at his best pace (the walk can never be too long or stretched out). I hope this helps and that you are taking advantage of our Fans & Followers FB page if you indulge in social media. There you can get ongoing help and listen to others tackling similar issues. We’re so happy to have you in our community. I will say that typically it takes months of groundwork in the full stretch in WIH and then trot on the lunge to get a horse to something we would want to ride. When it all looks very easy to him and he can stretch and maintain rhythm, relaxation, and stretch in all three gaits, he will look and be rideable at the walk. Maybe at the trot by then, depending on how patient you have been. Friesians have very long backs and were not bred for riding, so weight on their backs and saddlefit are very critical to your success of building the correct topline muscles for ridden work
Julie says: I see that the chambon you are using has a neck strap. The ones I can find do not have a neck strap. Is that important to have? Is there one you can recommend?
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Most of the chambons we use do not have neck straps but may be necessary to use one if the horse stretches so low that there is a chance they may get a leg caught. One important element to look for in a chambon is that the cord that attaches over the head and to the bit should be free to slide where it attaches to the strap that goes to the girth. Some chambons are two separate cords but it doesn’t allow the pressure to self regulate unless they can slide back and forth.
Joy Halverson says: It would be helpful if there was some advice on a typical workout with the chambon- something like 5 minutes of walk in each rein, then 10 min of trot, etc. Do you ever spend time at the canter with the chambon?
Carrie says: I understand that the chambon is made for use while lunging, but would there be harm in using it (temporarily) while riding at a walk or trot? I am having more success in getting my horse to stretch down while lunging than while riding, and it seems as if the concepts are difficult for him to transfer from one scenario to the other.
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Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainer Samantha Rubio: If fitted correctly, the chambon can definitely be used under saddle. Just be sure to stay safe with the extra lines. Alternatively, if the horse has significant trouble keeping up under saddle, he may simply just not be ready to be ridden yet. How long has your horse been consistent in the stretch in at least the walk & trot, though preferably all three gaits, on the lunge? If it’s been a while (a few weeks, maybe a month, of consistent relaxation and full stretch and engagement) then go ahead and try riding in the chambon. If you think waiting just a little longer on the lunge will solidify the stretch in walk under saddle, it will be well worth the wait in terms of your horse’s back health and you will have avoided using a gadget under saddle which is always my preference.
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Very helpful, thank you! It’s my hope to do whatever I can to build up his back the right way and avoid putting undue pressure on him, as well as to make new concepts as learnable for him as possible. Good to know what tools I can use and how, and when.
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Casey says: I have a 6 year old OTTB that I am starting to use the Chambon on. How often should I use it on her and for how long each time? She seems to understand and really stretch with it on. However, when I take it off and ride she goes back to holding her head high.
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Answered By Art2Ride Associate Trainer Yvon: Do you use it while riding or lunging?
I would recommend you to start horses who didn’t work properly over their backs with work in hand (watch the videos on the A2R website). For about 10 minutes each time you train your horse. And after that I would lunge with the chambon max 20 minutes. So you work your horse for 30 minutes (at least 4 times a week).When your horse is giving you a nice deep stretch and lifts his back, I would take the chambon off. This process can takes weeks by the way!
When your horse is actively working over his back and he can sustain that without a chambon on the lungeline: thát is the right moment to start with riding.Hope that helps
CAT@A2RAnswered by Art2Ride Associate Apprentice Virginia: I agree with Yvon. You can use the chambone while you are riding also. But you do need to spend the time teaching the horse what it is you want by doing WIH. Yes it is a very slow process, but will pay off in the long run. I have had some of my horses begin to just lean on the chambone while lunging, they just stick their nose out in front and stay there and not go down. When they have done this I then take it off,(it is very loose) and work some this way on the lunge on smaller circles to get that deeper stretch. Then sometimes I go back to the chambone. Don’t ride until you can get a nice long stretch at the walk on the lunge, then only walk when you ride to condition your horse’s muscles to stretch with your weight. This will take some time also. Don’t be in a hurry. Have fun and build that partnership.
great video (as always!!)…..how many times a week would you lounge in this way with the Chambone on a young green horse?
….also, do you recommend that is it a good idea to longe for about 10 mins on each rein before doing any ridden work???
….also, do you recommend that is it a good idea to longe for about 10 mins on each rein before doing any ridden work???
What are your thoughts on the German neck stretcher? The mechanics of it seem similar to the chambon (pressure applied to the poll and corners of the mouth). I’ve heard that it can encourage curling of the neck if it’s adjusted too short for the horse, but what if it’s adjusted loosely?
This is a very bad device that usually only ends up breaking the horse in the neck instead of stretching the horse. Use the simple Chambon, it does the right thing, which is simply to let the horse stretch down and out.
Wondering what your thoughts are on the passoa lunging device?
If you know how to lunge, you won’t need it and if you don’t you are only going to create more problems then you had to begin will as this device ties the back end of the horse to the bit. I see horses being ruined everyday by it’s use. All it does is pull the horse’s head down.
I have seen Will speak in person about use of a chambone (at clinic organized by Joan and Cindy Sladek at Sand Hill in NE Ohio). want very much to hear what he has to say in this video. I am not getting any audio when I play this video? can you help?
virginia hunt. Chagrin Falls, Ohio
I’m not sure why you are not getting any sound, I double checked and the audio is fine in the video. Just make sure to click the audio icon in the bottom part of the video bar and make sure it’s turned all the way up. Hope that helps.
I have an OTTB, 9 years old. Very unbalanced but getting better. I’ve been lunging him 4 days a week for about 3 months in the Chambon. He is still not stretching consistently. He is much better than when I started but how long can it take for him to have enough strength to really stretch consistently (an entire rotation). He reaches down for about 5 or 6 strides at a time at the trot.
If he is getting better then even if it is slow it’s better than the alternative so keep trying. I suggest you send a video so that I can really see what is happening than I can give you a specific answer.
When doing work in hand where are you touching the horse with the whip? And it looks like will is moving the inside rein with diagonal pressure under the horses chin – am I seeing this correctly?
Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers:
Allison Emily Brunelli: There are three places you can touch the horse with the whip. At the huanches, at the ribs where a riders leg would be, and at the shoulder. If you touch the horse at the haunches its to ask for more activity or more speed. If you touch at the ribs where the riders leg would be its to ask the horse to move over as in leg yield. If you touch the tip of the shoulder its to ask the horse to move his shoulder away from you. If you touch I front of the shoulder its to ask the horse to slow or stop. The handler will create contact with the horse’s mouth with the inside rein in order to supple the horse. The rider can rotate his wrists and open his palm to the sky to initiate supplying which is likely what you saw when you said you saw an angle. There is never any pulling back. But sometimes there’s a bit of a release (of the contact) even before the horse begins to lengthen his neck and many times that’s when you’ll find the horse lower his head and that’s when you’ll allow the reins to slip through your hands. The handler must be able to follow the horses mouth down and also follow the horse if he lifts his head by maintaining the same amount of contact which should be no more than the weight of the rein. This means the handler would need to widen his hands to keep contact or be able to quickly take up the slack in the reins. The three most common mistakes made with rein connection are 1) abandoning the horse by abandoning the contact when the horse lowers his head (which is where the handler allows the rein contact to have slack in it) and 2) when the handler holds the horses head in a position and 3) when the handler bumps the horses mouth for lack of fluid, calm hands.
Amber Matusek: Well that last answer about covered it. The in hand work really just mimics the riding but from the ground.
Chelsea MacPhail: In the in hand work you are using the whip where you would use your leg if you were riding. You want to make sure that your holding the whip with your palm up (thumb pointing toward the haunches). It can take a little while to get used to that position. It’s most important that you maintain a light but steady contact with both reins. Bringing your inside hand lower can sometimes help encourage them to stretch down but what is crucial to the in hand work is following your horse’s head and neck down and allowing them to stretch when they desire to do so. When the head comes up simple apply slightly more pressure and encourage them to move their haunches out a bit or try leg yeilding to get their inside hind leg to step further under and more toward the midline of their belly. Always feel free to send in a video to the fans and followers site for more feedback!
Tricia Yates: I agree that Allison’s answer covered it. The only thing I would add is to not just focus on the inside rein. The outside rein needs to maintain contact also.
Tytti Vanhala: The whip should optimally be applied where your leg would go in the normal in-hand work, that is on the lower side of your horse. I know in practice this may be difficult at times, but keeping the whip in your hand so that it goes at an angle downwards will help. I tend to keep the whip going between my thumb and index finger and then the end between my middle and ring finger, that way it points automatically downwards. And I keep both my hands palms upwards with in-hand work.
I don’t quite understand the diagonal pressure with inside rein –part of the question. But maybe the question is about that the horse Will is working on is novice in in-hand work, keeps his head up, doesn’t yet yield properly, and Will has lift his hand upwards to keep contact with the inside rein and holds it by the horse’s head when asking for yield? If this is the case, it just illustrates a case where you need to keep contact on the horse’s mouth, and sometimes instead of asking for an immediate stretch, you need to keep the head up to prevent the horse from plunging downwards on you, maintain contact (thus also with the inside hand), and ask for a yield. When the horse yields, you give rein while maintaining contact, go straight and let the horse stretch down for a reward.
Thus in this case it is not to do with diagonal pressure, but keeping a contact with the inside rein and applying pressure rather on the horse’s lips than bars and tongue; rather like a chambon action. Hope that answered your question.
Elisabeth Spetschinsky: Hi, you use the whip on the flank to make your horse yield, like you would with your leg in a leg yield. You use it on the quarter to go forward and on the croup when you start teaching piaffe. I’m not sure what you’re referring to about the inside rein is it in the teaching of piaffe? If it is, I think that he is preventing the horse from charging forward when touched by the whip, no pressure involved though :), he probably keeps contact with the mouth only on the outside rein (we call it division of support in French) and not on the Inside rein as a matter of security.
I’ve brought a chambon today and I was told the one I got for my 17.1hh horse but when I tried it on him the strap that goes underneath his legs is to short and one of the straps that goes towards the poll is to long. Is there anything I can do as I’ve punched holes in it but when I lunged him in it, there was no effect, am I doing something wrong? Love watching your videos.
Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers:
Carol Kurtz Darlington It sounds like you may have a gogue with your chambon. You only want the straps that connect to the poll, nothing to pull him backwards. If the poll straps are too long, you can tie knots in them, as I have done. You definitely want to watch this video, in which Will explains the correct adjustment and use of a chambon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgvd84mIyC8 I hope this helps you! CAT@A2R
I am lunging my hollow 5 year old friesian in a chambon and he is starting to stretch nicely after 3 weeks. When should l change to side reins? Also how long do you lunge once the horse is working correctly to strengthen his back?
Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainers:
Tytti: You don’t necessarily need the side reins. When your horse has established the stretch and doesn’t need support from the reins (or something to stretch into contact with) when lunging, then you don’t need anything. But if your horse needs the support in form of side reins, then by all means you can start using them. Just make sure that you have watched Will’s video on the correct use of the side reins. They should not restrict the horse when he starts to stretch into the contact with them – that is, if they are too short, he will curl backwards with the stretch, which we really don’t want. So, keep an eye on that if you start using them.
The length of the work sessions depends on the horse. You need to observe your horse’s tiredness level and stop before he gets tired. You need to learn to observe when your horse has worked well, has activated his topline muscles and then stop before he gets tired and things get too difficult for him to keep up his good work. This may vary from day to day or between weeks. This depends on what his energy levels are and whether he may be stiff from previous work etc. You have to modify your aims of the day to fit your horse’s abilities that day. So, the length of the lunging session depends entirely on how your horse feels that day.
And of course lunging is in general a part of normal training. That is, once you area able to ride him with his topline activated, your lunging sessions will still be highly useful. If not in-hand, then a short lunging session before riding is also an excellent way to warm up your horse and make sure that his topline muscling is activated before you ride.
Chelsea: You can try removing the chambon and seeing if he’ll stay stretching without it. It may take a few months before he doesn’t need that reminder to stay round and not hollow it just depends – each horse is different. As Tytti mentioned you don’t have to use side reins – they can be helpful for teaching the horse to stretch into the contact but if your horse has even been forced into a false frame then he may not respond properly with his nose poking out and staying in front of the vertical – if he curls back you would want to stick with the chambon instead. The lunging is useful to continue training when your horse isn’t able to maintain the stretch while being ridden so again it’s just testing your horse to see if he can stretch under saddle if you are riding him. If he can’t keep his back up with the added weight of a rider then continue lunging for a few more weeks and try again. Many horses are able to stretch at the walk under saddle but lose it at the trot so just continue any work that keeps your horse stretching and play with taking a step up every now and then to see if he’s strong enough for more. Keep up the good work!
Katherine: The length of time a horse needs to stay at a certain level is something the horse tells you. It is our job to help you interpret the signals he is sending you all the time, but really, you are the one there every day listening to your horse and if we give you a specific timeline, you may stop listening to him and defer to us. We like to encourage you to be the best trainer for YOUR horse, instead of us pretending we can do that remotely. We can answer your questions and support you in many ways, but ultimately, your horse and you are the experts on your training journey With that in mind, the signals that the horse is not ready to go to the next level are always the same – the back will hollow, the rhythm will disintegrate, they will ring their tail, throw their head, try to run away, or stop dead – and whatever particular action your horse takes to let you know he has had as much as he can take. At that point, you must go back to what he can do with a calm eye, a full relaxed stretch, good rhythm, and hopefully an increasing ability to walk at his best pace (the walk can never be too long or stretched out). I hope this helps and that you are taking advantage of our Fans & Followers FB page if you indulge in social media. There you can get ongoing help and listen to others tackling similar issues. We’re so happy to have you in our community. I will say that typically it takes months of groundwork in the full stretch in WIH and then trot on the lunge to get a horse to something we would want to ride. When it all looks very easy to him and he can stretch and maintain rhythm, relaxation, and stretch in all three gaits, he will look and be rideable at the walk. Maybe at the trot by then, depending on how patient you have been. Friesians have very long backs and were not bred for riding, so weight on their backs and saddlefit are very critical to your success of building the correct topline muscles for ridden work
I see that the chambon you are using has a neck strap. The ones I can find do not have a neck strap. Is that important to have? Is there one you can recommend?
Most of the chambons we use do not have neck straps but may be necessary to use one if the horse stretches so low that there is a chance they may get a leg caught. One important element to look for in a chambon is that the cord that attaches over the head and to the bit should be free to slide where it attaches to the strap that goes to the girth. Some chambons are two separate cords but it doesn’t allow the pressure to self regulate unless they can slide back and forth.
It would be helpful if there was some advice on a typical workout with the chambon- something like 5 minutes of walk in each rein, then 10 min of trot, etc. Do you ever spend time at the canter with the chambon?
I understand that the chambon is made for use while lunging, but would there be harm in using it (temporarily) while riding at a walk or trot? I am having more success in getting my horse to stretch down while lunging than while riding, and it seems as if the concepts are difficult for him to transfer from one scenario to the other.
Answered by Art2Ride Associate Trainer Samantha Rubio: If fitted correctly, the chambon can definitely be used under saddle. Just be sure to stay safe with the extra lines. Alternatively, if the horse has significant trouble keeping up under saddle, he may simply just not be ready to be ridden yet. How long has your horse been consistent in the stretch in at least the walk & trot, though preferably all three gaits, on the lunge? If it’s been a while (a few weeks, maybe a month, of consistent relaxation and full stretch and engagement) then go ahead and try riding in the chambon. If you think waiting just a little longer on the lunge will solidify the stretch in walk under saddle, it will be well worth the wait in terms of your horse’s back health and you will have avoided using a gadget under saddle which is always my preference.
Very helpful, thank you! It’s my hope to do whatever I can to build up his back the right way and avoid putting undue pressure on him, as well as to make new concepts as learnable for him as possible. Good to know what tools I can use and how, and when.
I have a 6 year old OTTB that I am starting to use the Chambon on. How often should I use it on her and for how long each time? She seems to understand and really stretch with it on. However, when I take it off and ride she goes back to holding her head high.
Answered By Art2Ride Associate Trainer Yvon: Do you use it while riding or lunging?
I would recommend you to start horses who didn’t work properly over their backs with work in hand (watch the videos on the A2R website). For about 10 minutes each time you train your horse. And after that I would lunge with the chambon max 20 minutes. So you work your horse for 30 minutes (at least 4 times a week).
When your horse is giving you a nice deep stretch and lifts his back, I would take the chambon off. This process can takes weeks by the way!
When your horse is actively working over his back and he can sustain that without a chambon on the lungeline: thát is the right moment to start with riding.
Hope that helps
CAT@A2R
Answered by Art2Ride Associate Apprentice Virginia: I agree with Yvon. You can use the chambone while you are riding also. But you do need to spend the time teaching the horse what it is you want by doing WIH. Yes it is a very slow process, but will pay off in the long run. I have had some of my horses begin to just lean on the chambone while lunging, they just stick their nose out in front and stay there and not go down. When they have done this I then take it off,(it is very loose) and work some this way on the lunge on smaller circles to get that deeper stretch. Then sometimes I go back to the chambone. Don’t ride until you can get a nice long stretch at the walk on the lunge, then only walk when you ride to condition your horse’s muscles to stretch with your weight. This will take some time also. Don’t be in a hurry. Have fun and build that partnership.