A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson or caveson noseband. In other styles of riding, a simple noseband is sometimes attached directly to the same headstall as the bit.
A noseband may have been one of the first tools used by humans to domesticate and ride horses. The bit developed later.
The noseband was originally made of leather or rope. After the invention of the bit, the noseband was, in some cultures, demoted to a halter worn beneath the bridle that allowed the rider to remove the bit from the horse's mouth after work and leave a restraining halter on underneath, or to tie the horse by this halter, instead of by the bit, which could result in damage to the horse's mouth if it panicked. However, its ability to hold a horse's mouth shut over the bit was also recognized, as was its usefulness for attaching equipment such as a martingale, and so in some traditions it was sometimes left as a working part of a bridle. Still other cultures, such as that of Ancient Persia, developed the noseband as a tool for training young horses, called a hakma and this training noseband evolved into modern equipment such as today's bosal-style hackamore and Longeing cavesson. [1]
Today, there are also many styles of bitless bridle that rely on a noseband as the main method of communication and control.
Today, the noseband has several uses:
There is a correlation between the sensitivity of a noseband and the amount of tension needed in the reins to obtain a response from the horse. In a 2011 study of horses being ridden in English riding equipment with the noseband in one of three adjacent adjustments, greater rein tension was needed to get a response from the horses when they had the looser adjustment. However, the study did not go on to examine the effects of no noseband at all or a very tight adjustment. [2] Thus, nosebands may add some pressure to the nose when the reins are applied, depending on adjustment, style and the degree to which the horse resists the bit. With a soft leather noseband on a well-trained horse, the effect is minimal.
A bridle does not necessarily need a noseband, and many bridles, such as those used in Western riding, flat racing, or endurance riding, do not have one. Some horses shown in-hand do not use a noseband in order to better show off the animal's head. Many old paintings also depict a hunting horse without a noseband, since it was not always deemed useful by certain riders.
However, even in disciplines such as western riding, where it is considered a sign of a polished horse to not require a noseband or cavesson, one is often used on horses in training as a precaution to help prevent the horse from learning bad habits such as opening the mouth and evading the bit.
In the English riding disciplines, the most common design of cavesson noseband is the Plain or French cavesson, a noseband that encircles the nose 1–2 inches below the cheekbone. This type of noseband is seen in most English disciplines, especially in dressage, show hunters, saddle seat, equitation and field hunters, but is the basic noseband for all disciplines. This noseband comes in various styles from a plain flat leather suitable for hunting, to raised, double raised, fancy stitched, colored and padded styles. All of them perform the same purpose.
Other designs include:
The flash nose band was named for King George III's horse Bold Flash. It was developed by a stable hand to increase King George's control over his mount.
Noseband and cavessons generally used only for training, or ground handling, include:
In western riding, nosebands are not generally worn with an ordinary working bridle. Nosebands attached to the cheekpieces of the bridle, used purely for decorative purposes, were popular during the 1950s and in many western movies, but are not common today. When nosebands are used with western equipment, they usually fall into one of three categories:
Different styles of noseband are fitted according to their purpose. A horse must be able to part its teeth and open its mouth slightly (not visible on the outside) in order to flex correctly at the jaw, relax and come onto the bit. An excessively tight noseband will prevent this. If a horse cannot relax its jaw, it will have problems with proper head carriage, and the rider may then try to force the horse into position by pulling back on the reins or using artificial leverage devices.
Standard adjustment of a noseband is to allow one or two fingers between the noseband and the nasal bone of the horse's head, though many riders adjust it tighter. Research is ongoing to determine stress and pain levels related to excessively tight nosebands. [3] Recent studies in equitation science now strongly recommend that traditional and crank nosebands be adjusted so that two fingers can be inserted at the "nasal midline"—where the noseband crosses the top of the nose. The International Society for Equitation Science has stated that tight nosebands may lead to physiological stress and mask unwanted behavior and they encourage competition rules to be amended to require horse show stewards to check noseband tightness with a standardized gauge and see that competitors adjust their equipment accordingly. [4]
Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, and harnesses. Equipping a horse is often referred to as tacking up, and involves putting the tack equipment on the horse. A room to store such equipment, usually near or in a stable, is a tack room.
Dressage is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by the International Equestrian Federation, dressage is described as "the highest expression of horse training" where "horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements.".
Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship.
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. It provides additional control and communication through rein pressure.
A halter or headcollar is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears, and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. On smaller animals, such as dogs, a leash is attached to the halter.
Longeing or lungeing is a technique for training and exercising horses. It is also a critical component of the sport of equestrian vaulting.
A longeing cavesson is a piece of equipment used when longeing a horse. A longeing cavesson consists of a heavy, padded noseband, metal rings to attach the longe line, a throatlatch, and sometimes additional straps such as a jowl strap or a browband for added stability. It is placed on the horse's head in a manner somewhat akin to a halter, but provides significantly more control than a halter, without placing pressure on the horse's mouth as a bridle would. The noseband should be just below the cheekbone, several inches above the nostrils sitting on the nasal bone, and fitted snugly. The jowl strap should be very snug to prevent the cavesson from slipping into the horse's eye.
A double bridle, also called a full bridle or Weymouth bridle, is a bridle that has two bits and four reins. One bit is the bradoon, is a modified snaffle bit that is smaller in diameter and has smaller bit rings than a traditional snaffle, and it is adjusted so that it sits above and behind the other bit, a curb bit. Another term for this combination of curb and snaffle bit is a "bit and bradoon", where the word "bit" in this particular context refers to the curb.
A martingale is any of several designs of tack that are used on horses to control head carriage. Martingales may be seen in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines, both riding and driving. Rules for their use vary widely; in some disciplines they are never used, others allow them for schooling but not in judged performance, and some organizations allow certain designs in competition.
Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.
A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of riding derived from Spanish traditions, and are occasionally seen in some English riding disciplines such as show jumping and the stadium phase of eventing. Various hackamore designs are also popular for endurance riding. While usually used to start young horses, they are often seen on mature horses with dental issues that make bit use painful, and on horses with mouth or tongue injuries that would be aggravated by a bit. Some riders also like to use them in the winter to avoid putting a frozen metal bit into a horse's mouth. In the Mexican Charro tradition, the Jáquima and Bozal substituted for the serrated iron cavesson used in Spain for training horses.
A mechanical hackamore is a piece of horse tack that is a type of bitless headgear for horses where the reins connect to shanks placed between a noseband and a curb chain. Other names include "hackamore bit", "brockamore", "English hackamore", "nose bridle" and "German hackamore". Certain designs have been called "Blair's Pattern" and the "W. S. Bitless Pelham".
Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, as well as both equipment and riding style which evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West. At the time, American cowboys had to work long hours in the saddle and often over rough terrain, sometimes having to rope a cattle using a lariat, also known as a lasso. Because of the necessity to control the horse with one hand and use a lariat with the other, western horses were trained to neck rein, that is, to change direction with light pressure of a rein against the horse's neck. Horses were also trained to exercise a certain degree of independence in using their natural instincts to follow the movements of a cow, thus a riding style developed that emphasized a deep, secure seat, and training methods encouraged a horse to be responsive on very light rein contact.
The bit is an item of a horse's tack. It usually refers to the assembly of components that contacts and controls the horse's mouth, and includes the shanks, rings, cheekpads and mullen, all described here below, but it also sometimes simply refers to the mullen, the piece that fits inside the horse's mouth. The mullen extends across the horse's mouth and rests on the bars, the region between the incisors and molars where there are no teeth. The bit is located on the horse's head by the headstall, and which has itself several components to allow the most comfortable adjustment of bit location and control.
A bosal or bozal(,, or ) is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the vaquero tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the rider uses the reins to give a signal. It acts upon the horse's nose and jaw. In the Mexican Charro tradition, the Bozal substituted for the serrated iron cavesson used in Spain. Though seen in both the "Texas" and the "California" cowboy traditions, it is most closely associated with the "California" style of western riding. Sometimes the term bosal is used to describe the entire classic hackamore or jaquima. Technically, however, the term refers only to the noseband portion of the equipment.
Horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a vehicle or another type of load.
A bitless bridle is a general term describing a wide range of headgear for horses or other animals that controls the animal without using a bit. Direction control may also be via a noseband or cavesson, if one is used. The term hackamore is the most historically accurate word for most common forms of bitless headgear. However, some modern bitless designs of horse headgear lack the heavy noseband of a true hackamore and instead use straps that tighten around a horse's head to apply pressure in various ways. These are often specifically patented and marketed as "bitless bridles", usually referencing a particular type of headgear known as the cross-under, though other designs are sometimes also given similar names.
A fiador term of Spanish colonial origin referring to a hackamore component used principally in the Americas. In English-speaking North America, the fiador is known principally as a type of throatlatch used on the bosal-style hackamore. Its purpose is to stabilize a heavy noseband or bosal and prevent the bridle from shifting. It is not used for tying the horse.
A frentera is a part of some halters and bridles, usually on a horse. It is a cord, strap, or chain on the face of the horse that is attached to the crownpiece or browband and runs down the horse's face to the noseband or bit rings. A frentera can be split at the top to pass on either side of the forelock, or on either side of the ears. In the latter case, the frentera usually substitutes for a browband. A frentera can also be split at the bottom into two or more parts to support and stabilize a heavy noseband or bit.
The mecate is the rein system of the bosal style hackamore used to train young horses. It is a long rope, traditionally of horsehair, approximately 20–25 feet long and up to about 3/4 inch in diameter. It is tied to the bosal in a specialized manner that adjusts the fit of the bosal around the muzzle of the horse, and creates both a looped rein and a long free end that can be used for a number of purposes. When a rider is mounted, the free end is coiled and attached to the saddle. When the rider dismounts, the lead rein is not used to tie the horse to a solid object, but rather is used as a lead rope and a form of Longe line when needed.