drop noseband fit help please :)

[tinap]

Hope someone can help!

We decided to try Lily in a drop noseband last night & she went beautifully in it! However the fit of it is driving me nuts!

She usually takes a cob bridle (15.2hh kwpn x) so that's the size I got. I placed the noseband part about 4/5 fingers above her nostrils onto the boney part of her nose, just above where its soft. This made the headpiece way too big so I had to put some extra holes in. I then fastened the lower strap & it made it very tight so I put an extra few holes in that also. I could get 1 finger all the way round but it still looked to be a little too tight while the front part looked too high up her nose. She's in a loose ring snaffle & if it wasn't for the bit guards the lower strap would have moved backwards onto the rings of the bit :/

Now I could see that it could be loosened off somewhat if I lowered the noseband but it was at the lowest it could go without interfering with her nostrils. In fact it looked like it was actually only just off the soft part of her nose.

Like a div I forgot to take a picture!

So basically, just after opinions (I know its hard without a pic, ill try & get one later), does it sound like I've fitted it correctly & its just a crap fit or do I need to adjust the fit lower/higher? Thanks xx

 

[dotty1]

It sounds like you have fitted it correctly but it may be that the front noseband bit is too wide/long?. You used to be able to get them with adjustable fronts too but as they seem to have dropped out of fashion it's rare to see them. I used one on my mare until I swapped to a Micklem.

 

[tinap]

Ah lightbulb moment yep that's it! I'm sure if the front part was shorter & the back strap longer it would be perfect.

Thanks dotty, will go on the hunt for another one xx

 

[Tnavas]

Ah lightbulb moment yep that's it! I'm sure if the front part was shorter & the back strap longer it would be perfect.

Thanks dotty, will go on the hunt for another one xx

A drop noseband is meant to be used with a cheeked bit, purely to prevent the lower strap cutting across the rings.

They are evil to fit! I use them all the time along with a Fulmer, at one time I could get a noseband that fitted properly but since the majority of saddlery is made in India these days the fit is terrible, heavens knows where the Indian saddlery got the dimensions from.

I now have mine made, preferably with an adjustable front strap so that I can fine tune the fit.

They are great nosebands and many horses go better in them than a flash.

 

[tinap]

Thanks tnavas.

I'm using with bit guards so that's helping with it not moving across the bit rings. I was on the hunt for a fulmer with a lozenge but apparently these are a bit that doesn't exist unless I settled for a fixed ring which I didn't want!

Ah nothing is ever simple xx