> I'm really curious as to why nosebands would be so tight unless the > sole purpose of them is to highten the anxiety of the horse during > competition (I know I would worry if I couldn't breathe)...and force > the horse to look more "firey".
I think it may be a combination of getting the horse more firey, but also that the horses are not being trained to accept the bit, and the nosebands are being used to keep the mouth closed, as I assume they innately know that an open mouth is not a good sign. I think it takes a lot of compromises to go the route of trying to win competitions, races, shows, and mostly the horse suffers because of the compromises. I feel if you hire or buy from one of these trainers or riders, you are financially contributing to horse abuse. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
