>>>> I'm happy that you seem to have a gut feeling that using a tight noseband is a bad idea. In fact, Gina, it is a stupid, cruel, and utterly ignorant idea which is inflicted on horses by people who know nothing at all about horsemanship and who have no feeling and no care for the feeling in your horse or any horse. You understand from my above discussion that tying the horse's mouth shut can do absolutely nothing but intensify for the animal the feeling that he is choking or being choked by the rider. You, and all those false and ambitious competitors who call themselves "coaches" - those who may have suggested to you that the "solution" is to use a tight noseband -- need to know that, once a horse's incisor teeth are touching, no amount of tightening of the noseband can close the mouth any farther.
Hey Janice - looks like Dr. Deb has renewed her long-standing New Year's resolution for candor too! That pretty much says it all, doesn't it? Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
