>From Kapitzke: The "Blow Area" of the Nostrils:
When a horse is breathing heavily, the "blow area" of the nostrils is easily observed. When a horse is breathing quietly, you can feel it with your fingers. Dropped nosebands are usually not suitable for ponies and horses with small mouths (Arabians, for example) because the jawband necessarily rests too low for them and during periods of heavy breathing, will put too much pressure on the "blow area" of their nostrils. Noseband Position: The low position of the dropped noseband puts pressure on the sensitive flexible end of the nasal bone and the "blow area" of the nostrils that extends with heavy breathing. The jawbands of the English and flash nosebands should rest high up on the solid nasal bone where the horse is less sensitive to pressure. A wide jawband can exert little pain on this hard inflexible skull bone and does not impede breathing, since it runs above the nostril area. Nostril and breathing areas can vary in size from horse to horse and are not related to the size of the horse's mouth. Consequently, it is important to feel with your fingers where the soft nostril area runs into the bone and where you can place the noseband so it does not cause excessive pain or restrict breathing. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
