Nosebands for Horses: How Tight is Too Tight?

Horses in various disciplines are often ridden with some sort of noseband. Cavesson nosebands are worn just below the horse’s cheekbone and are used to anchor a standing martingale. Flash, dropped, and figure-eight nosebands are used to keep the horse from opening its mouth and thus avoiding or changing the action of the bit. Western bosal nosebands keep horses from throwing their heads up and back as they work cattle or perform other tasks.

Nosebands can be helpful training aids if they are adjusted properly and used by skilled riders. However, like almost any other piece of horse-related equipment, a noseband can cause discomfort or injury. It can rub or pinch the horse’s skin if it is in the wrong place, and a band that is fastened too tightly may restrict breathing. Horses with martingales or tie-downs that are too short will not be able to use their necks for balance, and are at increased risk of drowning if they fall into even fairly shallow water. Though different styles have various guidelines for positioning and tightness, a general guideline is that an adult rider should easily be able to slide two fingers between the noseband and the side of the horse’s lower jaw.

Researchers from Ireland and Australia studied more than a thousand competition horses—850 show jumpers and 201 hunter and event horses—to measure noseband tightness and pressure and evaluate the impact, if any, on the welfare of the ridden horse. Among the event and hunter horses studied, only 12 percent had nosebands loose enough to enable two fingers to fit underneath, and 47 percent had nosebands fastened so tightly that not even one finger could be placed under the band. Pain from excessively tight nosebands can make a horse fidget, balk, toss its head, or run away, so proper adjustment may be a threat to the rider as well as causing discomfort to the horse.

The researchers used two methods to measure noseband pressures on horses. One method measured dynamic tension in the noseband and then inferred pressure based on the anatomical curvature of the horse’s nose. The other used pressure sensors placed at several spots where the noseband touched the horse’s skin. The research team collected information as a horse was ridden at a walk, trot, and canter; performed turns to both sides; and jumped over a small obstacle. Large pressure pulses correlated to transitions, turns, during jumping, and when the horse stumbled. Pressure was also measured when the horse, wearing a noseband fastened to allow two fingers underneath, was allowed to eat hay and grain. Results showed rhythmic peaking of pressures when the horse moved its head and jaw while it chewed.

In humans, high pressure on skin and underlying structures is known to cause tissue and nerve damage. The physiological impact of sustained or repeated pressure on animal tissue is not known.