Martingale – A martingale is a piece of leather that attaches between the horse's legs up to the reins, and is secured by a strap around the horse's neck, just in front of the withers. A “running” martingale is the type just described, where it connects as two rings to the reins to help the rider prevent the horse from throwing up their head too high to avoid or ignore the rider. When a horse does this to an extreme, a “standing” martingale is the better choice, which straps to the back of a cavesson noseband.