Noseband Fit: Measurements and Perceptions of Canadian Equestrians

Abstract

Recent concerns regarding horse welfare during competition has highlighted the occurrence of overtightened nosebands on competition horses. Current rules are often vague—e.g., “nosebands may never be so tightly fixed as to harm the horse.” To investigate the need and acceptance prior to any rule changes Equestrian Canada (EC) launched a pilot noseband measuring project. Nineteen officiating stewards measured noseband fit using the ISES taper gauge (TG) at 32 equestrian events of various disciplines in 2021. Additionally, stakeholder surveys collected data from 1528 EC members and 27 stewards regarding opinions and perceptions on noseband use, fit, measurement and rules. Descriptive and qualitative statistics along with Pearson chi-squared examined relationships between specific variables. Of the 551 horses tested with the TG, 71% passed the 1.5 cm (two-fingers) measurement and an additional 19% passed the 1 cm (one-finger) measurement. Stewards unanimously agreed that overtightened nosebands present a welfare issue although 63% believed this to represent only a small subset of riders. While 60% of stewards believed the current rules were sufficient, 40% did not. Despite the fact that 84% of stewards believe there should be a standardized fit across disciplines, 52% felt the use of the TG should be at their discretion. The top three reasons riders indicated for using nosebands were discipline expectation (41%), requirement for competition (39%) or for control/safety (32%). Open comments referred to an option to not wear a noseband in competition. Professional riders believed overtightened nosebands were less of a welfare issue than amateur riders (76% vs. 88% respectively; p < 0.025) and correspondingly did not feel the TG was a fair method (44% vs. 68% respectively; p < 0.001). Slightly more than half of the respondents (51.5%) believed that measuring noseband fit on the frontal nasal plane was the appropriate location. To advance equestrian practice, more education is needed to inform stakeholders of the reasons for noseband measurements and appropriate fit.

Do tight nosebands have an effect on the upper airways of horses?

“…The use of these tight nosebands is controversial, and various studies aimed to investigate their various effects on the horse more carefully. Chewing movements indicating suppleness that are desired in equitation are almost impossible with tight nosebands (Clayton & Williams, 2022 , Doherty et al., 2016 , 2017 , Merkies et al., 2022 , Visser et al., 2019 ). In addition, direct physical damage can also occur because of the exposure to a noseband that is too tight.…”

“…Tight and restrictive nosebands are still common in equestrian sports despite the equestrian associations' strive for regulations during competitions (FEI Inside, 2023). It has been shown that there is a widespread tendency to tighten the noseband to a substantially higher level of tightness than that suggested in equestrian guidelines (Clayton & Williams, 2022, Doherty, Conway, et al, 2017, Merkies et al, 2022, Uldahl & Clayton, 2019, Visser et al, 2019, Weller et al, 2020. The use of these tight nosebands is controversial, and various studies aimed to investigate their various effects on the horse more carefully.…”

Evaluation of Substance P as a New Stress Parameter in Horses in a Stress Model Involving Four Different Stress Levels

“…The guidelines of the German Equestrian Federation (Fédération Equestre Nationale; FN) recommend that two fingers of an adult should be placed between the noseband and the bridge of the nose of the horse. However, this is not always met in practice [ 4 , 5 ]. Various studies have evaluated the impact of tight nosebands on so-called stress parameters, such as cortisol, heart rate variability and eye temperature measured by infrared thermography, as well as horses’ behavior [ 4 , 6 , 7 ].…”