Last week I sent you a copy of the article about noseband tightness, which showed that when overtightened, nosebands caused stress in the horse (but not when conventionally tightened).
I bring this up again because of something that I read on Facebook this morning.
There was quite a lot of flack when this article was published. Haha, I got called a 'crank' which was hysterical considering it was about crank nosebands. But, all of that fun and games aside, one of the most common comments on Facebook was "it's not as bad as X, Y or Z".
This morning, in particular, the comment referenced poorly fitting saddles, saying the caused 'real' pain.
Having spent many years starting (and re-starting) horses for a living, I definitely understand that poorly fitted saddles cause pain. However, this is a completely different issue and one that is being studied.
I think we need to be careful that we don't overlook one problem because we perceive another as being greater. What do you think?
The crank noseband isn't a problem in and of itself. When conventionally fitted, there were no significant physiological changes in the horse, only when over-tightened. The whip is not a problem when tapping the horse on the hip but repeatedly wallop the racehorse on the straight and it's a different deal.
It does rather come back to 'finishing your dinner because there are children starving in Africa', doesn't it?
I'd love to know what you think, leave a comment below.
