Noseband Fit: Measurements and Perceptions of Canadian Equestrians

SIMPLE SUMMARY: There is a concern for the welfare of competition horses and the issues presented by incorrect noseband fit. Nineteen volunteer Stewards used a noseband taper gauge to measure the noseband fit of 551 competition horses during the 2021 season at a variety of Canadian equestrian events. Over 70% of competition horse nosebands measured met the two-finger rule. Stewards agreed that a standardized measure was useful across disciplines although they did not agree that it should be mandatory. Surveys were collected from 27 Stewards and 1528 members of Equestrian Canada to gather perceptions and opinions on noseband use and fit. The most common type of noseband was a cavesson and respondents indicated they used a noseband mostly because it was expected or for safety and control reasons. Riders expressed a desire for the option to not wear a noseband in competition. Professional riders were more distrustful of using a taper gauge to measure noseband fit and did not feel overtightened nosebands were as much of an issue as amateur riders. To advance equestrian practice, more education is needed on the reasons for noseband measurements and appropriate fit. 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.