The ‘fashion’ noseband

What is the latest fashion in nosebands?   The Crank noseband the Flash Noseband? The Padded flash or crank noseband?  

What do you use?

It is sad to see fashion take over from common sense but so many horses are now being made to wear and having to fit in with the noseband fashion.  Crank nosebands are certainly used by the fashion conscious owner right now.

They are fitted snugly, but more often often they are fitted too tightly, are overtightened or fitted extremely tightly. Sometimes with the crank noseband, overtightening happens without the owner even being aware that they are doing it.

The very word to ‘crank’ means to turn something with help of a mechanical device.  In other words it (the crank noseband) operates by use of a mechanical device to give more strength than the average human could easily provide.  There has been plenty written about noseband science – we have written about it ourselves in the past

The horse should be allowed to chew and open his mouth when being ridden – and if necessary when stopped, be able to yawn or just stretch his jaw if he so felt the need to move from the fixed position he has been placed in for the last hour or more.  Next time you want to yawn, clamp your teeth and mouth shut first. Ask yourself WHY would you or any rider, need to clamp his/her horse’s mouth/jaw shut.

Imagine you were being asked to clamp your teeth & lips together and then do some physical work for 20, 30 or 60 minutes?  How would that feel to you, how might it feel to a child, or your child if you did the same to them?

The horse should of course be well enough trained so that he or she is not evading the riders use of the bit – which is what the horse is doing when he opens his mouth.

He/she is opening his mouth for a reason – we surely need to establish what is wrong!!  It is usually because he/she is uncomfortable – or being made to feel uncomfortable by the rider and the way they are using the bit. If he or she were comfortable there would be no point in him or her opening his mouth. We all need to think more carefully about the equipment we use and why and how we are using it. We need to be open minded and discuss this with others without being worried about what they will think of us.