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• What does a noseband do?
• Do riders know WHY they use them?
• More importantly, is the desired outcome truely being achieved by the action of using them?
I have found all cases of horses nashing, opening the mouth, being inconsistent or heavy in the contact, head tilting, hollowing, etc, is about having the correct bit that the horse finds comfortable. It is also about the riders hands & the way they use them to communicate via the horses mouth. These are the two things that need correction/attention & NOT the addition of a noseband.
So to correct a horses ‘mouth’ you shouldn't try to ‘stop’ an undesirable trait with restriction (i.e.: tighten the noseband, or worse still, tighten a secondary strap below the bit) - this would cause further discomfort & resistance for something the horse is already expressing is not comfortable, therefore it cannot accept it with a quiet mouth.
And a quiet mouth is NOT a ‘shut mouth’. No living mammal on earth goes around with it’s jaw closed & teeth together - it must remain relaxed & open. Optimum performance cannot happen any other way.
Therefore the conclusion is simple - the noseband is simply a fashion piece - it should be treated like a browband - it serves no purpose of benefit to be ‘used’ to do anything, as any tightness or restriction from a noseband simply makes peak performance impossible. Any horses ‘winning’ with this gear…. imagine how amazing they would truely be WITH A LOOSE NOSEBAND! & here is why:
Did you know:
– On an equine dissection (yes, autopsy) any pressure applied in the horses mouth or to the jaw renders the hind legs rigid (immovable by a human) yet the leg can be freely moved when the jaw is released. This is fact.
– The job of the jaw is to act like a pendulum to give the horse correct balance & allows the horse to have awareness of limb placement. This relies on the TMJ (temporomandibular joint) of the jaw to be pain & pressure free.
– The jaw of the horse is a reflection of the pelvis. If the jaw is stuck, the horses pelvis will be too. This is seen in the obvious evasion of head tilting to allow the pelvis to move if the jaw cannot.
– closing the mouth & closing the gullet (over-bent) when riding causes the hyoid bone of the tongue to become blocked, which is directly connected to & tightens the muscles at the base of the neck through to the chest. This also makes it hard for the horse to swallow - causing excessive saliva/foam to pour from the horses mouth.
So in light of these facts - here is the positive side of having a loose, caveson noseband (or none at all!):
+ The horses mouth becomes a reflection of it’s acceptance of the reins aids & how much they understand the communication of their rider
+ The horse has nothing to resist against - as there is no restriction.
+ A calm yet mobile mouth means they are light on the reins & relaxed through the neck so they can easily swallow
+ Freedom to the jaw will allow freedom in the pelvis & hind legs
+ Your horse has 100% chance of giving you it’s best performance!
It’s time we all stopped just using items of gear, because that’s what they sell in the shops ~ but really think about how we are trying to train our horses to understand us & give them the best chance of producing what we really want ~ HARMONY
© Love Your Horse
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