The Drop Noseband - The Hanoverian Cavesson

A drop noseband.

This picture shows a correctly fitted drop noseband. When the bit is added, the corners of the mouth will be drawn up a little, and the chin strap of the noseband will be drawn down. The noseband will be buckled below the bit. The bit then exits the mouth above the chin strap. The noseband will constrict the opening of the jaw as low down towards the mouth as you can get. This is where the jaw will open the most, compared to higher up towards the eye. This noseband mustn''t be too snugly adjusted. It will need to leave some room for a slight opening of the jaws, which stems from relaxation of the poll and jaw muscles. It must also be loose enough not to compact the nasal cartilage and the nostrils. When the horse is at standstill, you must be able to fit two fingers under it, easily. When the horse works and breathes hard, the nostrils widen to take in more air. This must not be hindered!

This kind of cavesson is rare nowadays. The Spanish Riding School, who actually invented it, and some other classical institutions still use it, but apart from that it seems to have gone out of fashion. I have heard many comments about mine, such as "it makes the horse''s head look plain", or "looks like pony club", or even "oldfashioned," etc. This vanity is a pity! A functional piece of equipment should be used or not used based upon its function - not the look! Otherwise it it like using a cadillac as a tow truck because it looks better. Plain silly!

It can, of course, cause long heads to look longer than they would in a regular cavesson, or a flash. But think about it - you can''t see your horse''s nose while you''re riding him.