Noseband and poll pressures underneath bitted and bitless bridles and the effects on equine locomotion

Living the good life? A systematic review of behavioural signs of affective state in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) and factors relating to quality of life. Part 2: Horse-human interactions

Quality of life is dependent upon the extent to which behavioural needs are met, and the balance between pleasant and unpleasant lifetime experiences. In Part II of this systematic review, articles (n = 109) relating to horse-human interactions were reviewed to identify behavioural evidence of their positive or negative impact on the horse. The number of articles (n = 22) relating to the recognition of pain in horses, indicated the importance of identifying health issues, which are also likely to increase the aversiveness of interactions. These and articles relating to emotional reactivity testing in horses (n = 19), the behaviour of horses during handling and management procedures (n = 17), behaviour of the horse when ridden (n = 17), non-procedural horse-human interactions (n = 13), horse behaviour during transportation (n = 12) and behaviour during training other than when ridden (n = 9) were reviewed. During most interactions, horse behaviour is controlled and/or restricted by the human, masking negative or positive signs, and may be confounded by factors including fear and individual differences. In situations involving freedom of movement, positive experiences of horses with humans were associated with approach behaviour, negative ones with avoidance, but training could affect both. Undoubtedly, change is needed to reduce the extent to which interactions with humans are unpleasant for the horse. Only when the needs of the horse are fulfilled and interactions with humans are predominantly pleasurable will their quality of life improve.

Noseband Fit: Measurements and Perceptions of Canadian Equestrians

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.