When some thoroughbred horses race.....?

Question

.....they have something like a white strap put around the lower jaw that looks like it holds down the tongue. What is this and what is its purpose?

Answer 1

It's a tongue wrap.  It's a piece of cloth that, as you said, holds down the tongue.  I don't like how tight some of them are and a lot of times they tie the tongue so it's hanging out of the horse's mouth for the whole race... that can't be comfortable.  Anyway, the purpose is to keep the tongue down because some horses will slide their tongue on top of the bit and that would interfere with their breathing and the horse wouldn't run very good if it couldn't breathe.  They strap the tongue down so that the horse can't play with the bit and slide their tongue over the top of the bit.

Answer 2

It's called a tongue tie and is done to prevent the horse getting his tongue over the bit.  A horse that gets his tongue over the bit is extremely difficult to control, and a racehorse with no steering and no brakes is dangerous, I had a Hanoverian do this during a dressage test.....not fun.  If you notice the horse's tongue out with the tie on it's generally a protest at having the tongue tied or a child-like display proving he can get his tongue out, a 'look at what I can do' if you will.  In general it's a non harmful tool just like a pair of blinkers...can't hurt, might be helpful.

Answer 3

I'd just add that here in GB we call it a tongue-tie and it is considered to be an additional aid to the horse, so must be declared in the racecard, in the same way that blinkers and cheek-pieces have to be declared.

Quite often a piece of ladies tights (or pantyhose as you guys call them) is used as it has a slightly elastic quality which means it will not rub and cause discomfort to the horse's mouth.

As has been said, the point is to keep the horse's tongut down and stop him getting his tongue over the bit (the piece of metal in the horse's mouth).  If a horse manages this then he becomes a lot harder to control, so it is for safety really.