noseband | Horse Racing Free Tips

Some riders believe that riding a horse without a bit is kinder than traditional bitted options, but new research suggests this may not be the case. Results of a new study show bitless bridles can cause as much pain and pressure on the horse's face as a traditional noseband might, according to The Horse.

Tracy Bye with the University Centre Bishop Burton in Yorkshire, and student Nina Robinson used five university-owned horses in a study using three types of bridles: a bridle with a snaffle bit and regular noseband, a cross-under bitless bridle, and a sidepull bitless bridle. The nosebands on the bitless bridles were fitted to manufacturer instructions and the bridle with the snaffle was tightened to the “two finger” rule.

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Each bridle was fitted with pressure sensors under the crown piece and the noseband. The horses were worked for 30 minutes per day, three days in a row with the same rider, with each type of bridle.

The scientists found that the average amount of pressure on the nose was 65 percent higher with a sidepull bitless bridle than a snaffle-bit bridle. The cross-under bitless bridle had pressure that was 11 percent higher than a snaffle bridle. Compared to the snaffle, peak pressure on the nasal bones were 147 percent higher with the sidepull and 109 percent higher with the cross-under bridle compared with the snaffle.

Though peak pressures were high, they were not sustained, so it's unclear if they would cause damage. The team found that each noseband created pressure as high as that recommended for a tourniquet in human medicine. The scientists also noted that horses ridden in a cross-under bridle tended to hold their heads higher with their necks extended, which could contribute to back pain and poor performance.

The team concluded that the different styles merely transfer the pressure to other areas of the face. The ideal welfare solution may be teaching riders to use their hands differently rather than switch to any one particular type of equipment.

Read more at The Horse.

The post Study Indicates Bitless Bridles Not Necessarily Better Than Snaffles When It Comes To Equine Welfare appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

A new study X-rayed the heads of 144 horses and found many showed bony changes where the noseband typically sits. Though the scientists stress that their study doesn't provide evidence of a link between the noseband, its tightness and the lesions, they do feel that the lesions warrant further investigation on welfare grounds.

The use of too-tight nosebands is concerning to veterinarians, scientists and other equine welfare advocates who worry that the device, if used too tightly, causes distress and applies too much pressure to the tissues in the horse's head, potentially injuring both the tissue and the bone beneath it.

The study used 144 mature Warmblood horses, all used in the Mexican Army and based in Mexico City. Each horse began his career in training for dressage, showjumping and eventing. Noseband tightness is not routinely checked with any type of gauge. The horses were evaluated both physically and with an X-ray. The physical exam looked for lesions, pain on palpation or white hairs where the noseband or curb chain rest.

A week later, X-rays were taken and assessed by veterinarian diagnostic imaging specialists who knew nothing about the horses they were studying. The X-rays were examined for bone remodeling, radiographic opacity and soft tissue thickness in the areas where the noseband meets the lower jaw and nasal bones. They reported bone thickening in the nasal bones of 6.9 percent and 8.3 percent of the horses, and bone thinning in 33.3 percent and 56.9 percent of horses. The radiologists found increased bone deposition in 18.8 percent and 32.6 percent of the lower jaws of horses.

The scientists conclude that these results are the first evidence of bone lesions in the areas typically subjected to pressure from restricted nosebands. They note that this deformation of bone for competitive advantage is difficult to justify on ethical grounds.

Read the full study here.

Tag: noseband

Study Indicates Bitless Bridles Not Necessarily Better Than Snaffles When It Comes To Equine Welfare

Study: Too-Tight Nosebands Can Lead To Nasal Bone Damage In Horses