Horse racing question.?

Question

At horse races when their tongue is hanging out the side of their mouth someone there told us they tie their tongues that way so they dont bite them off, is this true?

Answer 1

No, they don't tie them to keep them from biting their tonge off, they do it to keep the bit in place. And almost all race horses have this done, but it is temporary.

Answer 2

Tongue ties are NOT so that they don't bite their tongue.  That's dumb.

It's to hold the tongue down so they don't play with the bit.  If a horse gets its tongue on top of the bit, it's awfully hard to control.  When you see them with their tongue hanging out, it just means that after the tie was tied, the horse stuck its tongue out.  It's sort of a rebellious thing.  Like 'oh, you wanted my tongue to stay down.  I'll stick it out instead!'