relationship, try giving your horse a chance to “speak” too.


Horses, like people, are all different, so asking your horse what is most comfortable for communicating is the first step. I have seen some horses love certain bits and hate having any nosebands, while others disliked bits and preferred a noseband.


The goal of any training tack should be to make communication easier between horse and rider, but not at the cost of discomfort to the horse.


Is there ever a reason to use a tight noseband? Rarely. When a horse is a bully, just like a tough kid, tightening the noseband to get the horse to listen to the rider is the lesson – a sort of time-out or listen up. After the horse shows it is listening, the noseband can be loosened.


Horses are sensitive social beings and their noses are more sensitive than our finger tips. Horses rely on smell and touch for much of their communication and social bonding, so tying up the nerves in discomfort rather than allowing them to be used the way nature designed them, is often counter- indicative to the goal of training.


Thanks to growing awareness that starting off a relationship based on control and pain may not be the easiest path for building a positive partnership between horse and rider, some equestrians are choosing bitless bridles, halters and even no bridles at all as they learn how to communicate with horses using their bodies or off simple touch points on the withers.


Although a noseband might look attractive and be a part of equestrian history, let’s try to cultivate a more intelligent and compassionate science of communication between horse and rider.


Mary Ann Simonds is an equine ecologist, horse behaviorist and natural health consultant. She is the originator of Enlightened Horsemanship™ and Enchanted Riding™. She can be reached at Enchantedkinship@aol.com, 1-866-616-0450, or by visiting www.mystichorse.com.


Holistic Horse™ • April/May 2012 • Vol.19, Issue 78 www.holistichorse.com | 23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32