- For our course work we will use this word to describe the piece of equipment used on a horse’s head, to replace a halter, to do posture related ground work, lunging and riding.
Usually made of leather, it has a noseband that is padded with an structured inner core, such as a piece of chain or a shaped metal bar, so that it fits across a horse’s nose without rotating around his face, like a halter would. The noseband has 1 or 3 rings on the top of the nose, unlike a halter that has the rings under the horse’s chin.
The design of the noseband is to help influence the horse’s posture better than a halter. The design also prevents the headgear from rotating around the horse’s head, with the straps getting into his eyes and the signals from the rein being unbalanced.
2. A second definition of cavesson would be the noseband on a bridle used for riding with a bit.
In modern competition riding, many people over tighten the cavesson with the belief that it causes the horse to ‘accept the bit’ by not allowing the horse to own his mouth to resist pressure. This leads to stress in the horse and only hides the symptoms of discomfort by keeping the horse’s mouth visibly closed.
Whatever reasons nosebands originated, it is best to keep them loose, so that the horse can easily move his tongue to ‘lick and chew’, so he can move saliva around his mouth and to swallow. Tension can be held in the jaw so the horse should be able to move his jaw.
Like all other equipment we use on a horse, remember there is a way to use it to create clarity or to instill fear.
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