Recent research looked at how competitive riders adjust their horse's nosebands and how that could affect horse welfare. Orla Dohrety of the University of Limerick and her team of researchers from Ireland and Australia looked at competitive show jumpers and young event and hunter horses to see how nosebands were being used.
Examining horse tack for proper fit
The researchers sought to find out if these tight nosebands were doing physical harm or otherwise compromising equine welfare.
Of 850 jumpers, only 20% wore plain nosebands, also called cavessons. Most of the horses were outfitted with flash or figure-eight nosebands which fasten below the bit. Of the 201 hunter and eventing horses they examined, on 12% were found to have nosebands adjusted to meet the two-finger rule. Nearly half of those horses had nosebands so tight that no fingers could fit in between the leather and the horse's nose.
The researchers sought to find out if these tight nosebands were doing physical harm or otherwise compromising equine welfare. In order to do so, they developed two methods to measure actual pressure applied by the noseband while in use. One measured tension in the noseband and inferred pressures based on the curvature of the horse's nose. The second used pressure sensors at specific points on the noseband.
These methods were used to measure pressure on a horse outfitted with a noseband adjusted to fit two fingers. Measurements were taken when the horse chewed hay and feed and when he was cued to back up. The same horse was then ridden at a walk, trot, canter and over a small jump.
The researchers observed large pressure pulses that correlated to transitions, turns, while jumping and when the horse stumbled. This preliminary study was not intended to discern whether or not there was physical damage as a result of the pressure, although high pressure is known to cause tissue and nerve damage in humans, so the same might be true of horses.
Other research by Randle and McGreevy showed that extreme tightening of the noseband may force the mucous membranes lining the cheek against the molar teeth and is thought to increase the bitted horse’s compliance and responsiveness to rein pressure, perhaps by sensitising its mouth
Tightening the noseband is likely to mask the horse’s natural comfort-seeking responses by restricting jaw and tongue movements that disclose resistance and behavioral conflict.
The evidence suggests that horses wearing tight nosebands undergo a physiological stress response, are sensitised to bit pressure and may have reduced blood flow. Consequently, on welfare grounds, the use of nosebands that constrict with potential to cause injuries should not be permitted in training or competition.
Tight nosebands can mask unwanted behavior in horses, which might be indicative of either pain or deficiencies in training, or, indeed, both. Consequently, the loosening of nosebands might reveal undesirable responses that could be dangerous to riders and other horse-rider combinations. Riders should therefore rule out any pain-related issues in their horses and ensure that their horses are trained according to principles of learning theory to meet the demands of competition.
In most equestrian disciplines, gear stewards check that all equipment used on horses competing complies with the specified regulations. By implementing a process that can be used to remove or loosen tight nosebands, stewards could ensure that the detrimental effects of these devices could be eliminated or at least lessened.
The International Society for Equitation Science recommends that all equestrian sports should require that the tightness of any noseband is checked by a steward at the nasal midline. For fairness and objectivity, a taper gauge inserted under the noseband should be used for this purpose.
The gauge should be placed without force and be clearly marked to show the desired stop which, in alignment with established industry guidance, should be the dimensions of two average adult fingers. Riders should be advised and encouraged to use the same gauge in practice.