Kapitzke talks about this (restricting breathing) quite a bit in his book. It's merely common sense tho, if you think about it.
Say we put on a dropped noseband, slide a couple of fingers in there, and all looks well. That's on the static horse. Now, put the horse in motion, with a rider, and we not only have a dynamic horse, but dynamics and mechanics between horse and rider. With the rider's influence on the bit, the noseband may, or may not, be a protection to the horse from the bit and the rider's hands. When we see the old cowboy movies or the old cave paintings or carvings of horses opening their mouths from the bit.... they *have* the option to open away from the pain / action of the bit. The horse with a noseband that fits statically, does not have that option. He may try to open away from the pain / action, but he is stopped, and it then negatively impinges on his breathing.... There's no way *out* for a horse with a dropped noseband. These are the circumstances that Louis Taylor is referring to when he mentions "horse controllers" versus horsemen. Is there something wrong with relying on horsemanship and not a noseband? Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
