Horses have their tongues tied down during races for two main reasons: to keep their airway open and to stop them from getting their tongue over the bit. The practice has been used since at least the 1800s and remains common in both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing today. A tongue tie is a strap or piece of material that holds the tongue flat against the lower jaw, restricting how much it can move inside the mouth.
Preventing Airway Obstruction
The most frequently cited reason for tongue ties is a breathing problem called dorsal displacement of the soft palate, or DDSP. In a healthy horse at full gallop, the soft palate sits beneath the epiglottis (the flap that separates the airway from the food pipe), keeping the throat wide open for air. In horses with DDSP, the soft palate flips up over the epiglottis during intense exercise, partially blocking the airway. You can sometimes hear this as a gurgling or choking sound mid-race. It slows the horse down because it simply can’t get enough air.
The theory behind tongue ties is mechanical. The tongue connects to the larynx through a chain of muscles and cartilage. When a horse pulls its tongue backward during exercise, the larynx can shift out of position, making it easier for the soft palate to displace. By anchoring the tongue forward and flat, a tongue tie is thought to stabilize the whole arrangement, keeping the larynx in place and the airway clear.
Among both Thoroughbred and Standardbred trainers surveyed in a pilot study published in the journal Animals, reducing airway obstruction was the single most common reason given for using tongue ties. The practice is considered a conservative, non-surgical approach to managing DDSP, meaning trainers often try it before considering more invasive options.
Keeping the Tongue Under the Bit
The second major reason is control. Some horses learn to flip their tongue over the bit, which essentially neutralizes the rider’s ability to steer and slow down. When the tongue sits on top of the bit instead of underneath it, rein signals don’t transmit properly. In a race, where precise control at high speed matters enormously, this can be dangerous for both horse and jockey.
Standardbred trainers (those working with harness racing horses) reported using tongue ties for bit control particularly often, which makes sense given that a harness driver relies entirely on rein contact from behind the horse rather than having the close physical connection a jockey has from the saddle.
Why a horse gets its tongue over the bit in the first place is worth understanding. Some horses, especially young ones being introduced to a bit for the first time, simply experiment with tongue placement and haven’t yet learned where their tongue should sit. But in many cases, horses flip the tongue as a response to persistent or confusing rein pressure. The horse is trying to escape discomfort in its mouth. One school of thought holds that tongue-over-the-bit problems are fundamentally training problems: the horse hasn’t learned to respond to light rein cues, so it never finds relief from pressure and starts evading instead. From this perspective, tying the tongue down treats the symptom rather than the cause.
How Tongue Ties Work in Practice
A tongue tie is typically a strip of elastic, nylon, or sometimes stockinette material. It wraps around the horse’s tongue, then fastens under the jaw or attaches to the bridle, holding the tongue in a fixed, forward position. The tie is applied shortly before a race or workout and removed immediately afterward. It’s not a permanent piece of equipment.
In jurisdictions like the UK, the British Horseracing Authority requires trainers to declare the use of a tongue strap the night before a race. This declaration is made available to the betting public because, as the BHA has acknowledged, many horses show improved form when racing with a tongue strap applied. If the strap comes loose before the start, the trainer must state in advance whether the horse will be withdrawn. If it comes undone during the race, the trainer is required to report it to stewards immediately.
The Welfare Debate
Tongue ties are one of the more contentious pieces of racing equipment. Critics argue that restricting a horse’s tongue causes stress and physical discomfort. The tongue is a highly sensitive, blood-rich organ, and tying it tightly enough to prevent all movement risks cutting off circulation, causing bruising, or creating lacerations, particularly if the material is thin or poorly applied. Horses wearing tongue ties sometimes show signs of distress such as head tossing, mouth gaping, and excessive salivation.
There’s also a broader question about whether tongue ties actually work as intended for airway problems. While the mechanical logic is straightforward, the evidence that tongue ties reliably prevent DDSP during high-intensity exercise is limited. The research that exists tends to describe the practice and the reasoning behind it rather than demonstrating clear physiological benefits in controlled studies. The word “putative” (meaning assumed but not proven) comes up repeatedly in veterinary literature when describing the airway benefits of tongue ties.
For horses that flip their tongue over the bit, some trainers and equine behaviorists argue that better training is the real solution. When a horse learns to respond to light rein pressure and finds consistent release from that pressure, it typically leaves its tongue under the bit voluntarily. Tying the tongue down removes the horse’s ability to signal discomfort without addressing what caused the behavior.
Several racing jurisdictions have moved toward tighter regulation of tongue ties, and some equestrian organizations outside of racing have banned them outright. The practice remains legal and widespread in most major racing countries, but the trend is toward greater transparency and scrutiny.
Why It Matters Beyond Racing
Tongue ties are overwhelmingly a racing phenomenon. You rarely see them in dressage, show jumping, eventing, or recreational riding. This is partly because the intensity of galloping at race speed is what triggers DDSP in susceptible horses, and partly because racing places unique demands on rider control at high speed with minimal direct contact.
If you see a horse at the track with its tongue visibly strapped down, it’s wearing a tongue tie for one or both of the reasons above: an airway issue, a bit-evasion habit, or a trainer’s precaution against either developing mid-race. Whether the practice is justified remains an active and genuine disagreement between those who see it as a practical safety tool and those who view it as an outdated workaround that causes unnecessary discomfort.