Flash nose bands

[Expo]

Flash nose bands ........ love them or hate them?

Call me old fashioned, and at the risk of being controversial oops, but I am looking for a new bridle for my horse, and have looked at loads of different ones. The "standard" (old) design with cavesson type noseband which fastens above the horse's bit, and some of the current trend in "anatomical" bridles, all of which seem to have some sort of incorporated flash strap or similar contraption which fastens below the bit - presumably to keep the horse's mouth shut, as well as a nose band which sits above the bit and fastens round the jaw higher up. It seems there are more of these around these days than the plain cavesson type bridle - many of which have the facility to add a flash via a small loop on the noseband. My horse doesn't need such a thing (so, don't buy one, I hear you cry!) but am I right to be concerned about this trend to just stick what I see as a "quick fix" strap round a horse's jaw to keep its mouth shut, rather than actually teaching your horse to go properly without one? Am I missing something?

( ..... dons tin hat and withdraws behind a suitable solid object for cover ....... )

 

[quiteniceforacob]

agreed. Someone told me my noseband suits my horse the other day. It’s a plain cavesson…think people have forgotten what they look like!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I have std English bridles, one has hunter noseband on and the other a stitched one.
My spares box has a decent grackle and a drop in (as well as the usual mix of bits, reins, martingales and m/harborough etc), both nosebands of which I've experimented with on B in the past, but std cavesson is what we use.
Flash? No ta.

 

[TPO]

Hate 'em

Edited - weren't they originally invented to allow the use of a standing martingale because you couldn't (shouldn't) attach on to a drop noseband? Standing martingales appear to have fallen out of fashion so really no "real" need for a flash other than, you know, tying the horse's mouth shut because they've not been taught acceptance of the bit.

 

[splashgirl45]

when i was looking for a reasonably priced bridle (under £100) i couldnt find one locally so ended up buying a crank flash bridle and a separate plain cavesson., i asked if they would sell the bridle without the flash but they wouldnt. it no good to me now as i have given up so i am going to see if anyone local wants it as its sitting in my wardrobe doing nothing

 

[Pinkvboots]

Hate them horrible things ?

 

[Polos Mum]

Any piece of kit is as kind (or otherwise) as how you use it. You don't have to attach the flash strap not do it up mega tight.

If you read the studies done by one of the manufacturers with pressure gages they found actually a crank was the tightest / most pressure.

the anatomical ones are more like a drop (and a grackle) are actually supposed to help the bit sit stiller in the horses mouth. They are positioned (or should be) to avoid the nerves on the horse face. A too tight plain caverson in the wrong place could be really uncomfortable.

I have mine in loose grackle and he goes better in that than no noseband at all so I do think it's interacting with the bit somehow


Bridle fit in general is overlooked IMHO

 

[lynz88]

I guess I am in the "old fashioned" camp as I am not a flash fan unless actually needed. Mine doesn't need a flash but....it is pretty much attached to my bridle so I keep the flash loose - tight enough that it sits in the chin grove but not tight enough to actually do anything.

 

[stangs]

I don't like them one bit. To me, they are the epitome of treating the problem (e.g. evading the bit) and not the cause (e.g., muscle problems, a bad bit, teething etc). They're a poor quality bandaid solution that gets used long term. I also very rarely see one correctly fitted. The vast majority of riders, both amateur and professional, seem to make them as tight as possible so they're digging into soft, sensitive tissue, like a tourniquet, but who cares because the horse can't fight them... I believe that one of the classical dressage masters, can't remember who, wrote that no horse ever actually needs a flash.

Having said that, I know from photos that several well-respected posters on here do use them. For the sake of attempting to have an open mind, I would be interested in why they use them, and whether anyone 'weans' their horse/riding away from using flashes.

 

[BSL2]

Tack only works if fitted correctly. Seen too many flash nose bands with the cavesson too low and too loose. A flash has its place. It's not to strap a mouth shout. It's to stop it opening too much to evade a correctly fitted bit in a mouth checked by a dentist. Personally an off the peg bridle wouldn't fit any of our horses. For example. My Arab has a cob head piece and noseband. Pony cheek pieces and a full brow band. And no he doesn't look odd?.

 

[ponynutz]

I don't like them but was always taught they're good for youngsters.
I had one on for years bc I was told she needed one but took it off about 4 years and ago and she's absolutely fine.
Other one still wears one partly out of habit and partly bc she does open her mouth wide to evade the bit.

 

[McFluff]

Personally I do not like flashes. Or more accurately, the fact that they are seen as ‘normal’ on a bridle. I’ve rarely (actually can’t recollect ever) seen one fitted in such a way as to not dig in somewhere.
I had mine in a plain flat hunter style cavesson, but he was rubbing his face. It was fitted loose, but the side straps seemed to sit on part of his face that he didn’t like. And I couldn’t get it to sit differently.
So I got him fitted for a Fairfax (I did look at others, but on consultation with a fitter, he needs a narrower headpiece and the Fairfax stallion was perfect). What surprised me was that he clearly preferred the drop noseband. He no longer rubs his face and he happily takes the contact. So I had to overcome my view of I’d rather he was in a cavesson!

 

[Elno]

One of my biggest pet peeves is bridles that are fitted incorrectly. Be it a flash, grackle or drop. Not only when people fasten the flash so tight that the horse's eyes almost pop out, but also people who use cavessons and flashes and thinking that they do the horse a favour fastens it too loose and ending up annoying the horse thinking they're being kind. They're not being kind, they're being clueless. The same with grackles and don't get me started on drops....

My horse is four and wears a drop most of the time and sometimes a Micklem. Correctly fitted. I don't have a problem with flashes or grackles or cranks (cranks are actually better than a cavesson from a pressure point of view!) but I like there to be as few buckles to buckle up as possible, and personally I don't like how grackles look on horses so I never use them.

Edit: Oh, and often people have browbands fitted too tight without realising it.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The ubiquitous flash .

There are plenty of plain cavesson alternatives available, but agree that the vast majority of new snaffle bridles hanging up in the tack shop will have a flash noseband.

I deliberately fit my mare's crank noseband loosely. It's not so loose that it flaps around, but she is able to open her mouth sufficiently to munch on a carrot without a struggle to chew. Tbh it's just ornamental, but it does really suit her, and my bridle can't be used without a noseband. I hate the name 'crank', as it suggests cranking the mouth shut, but there's no need to have it done up tight.

It's a Sabre Cordoba sensitive snaffle bridle and fulmer snaffle with bit loops - the whole fit and how the bridle sits on my mare's head has been approved by my chiro vet.

 

[cauda equina]

How many horses 'need' a noseband at all?

 

[Dexter]

How many horses 'need' a noseband at all?

Mine. XC without a grackle is incredibly dangerous.

 

[cauda equina]

Mine. XC without a grackle is incredibly dangerous.

As a safety thing they certainly have their place but I feel they're often used unthinkingly or for questionable reasons - 'that's what the bridle came with/what my friend uses/I think it looks good/my instructor said I need it to stop him opening his mouth'

 

[Peglo]

I love the look of a grackle. But I ride without a nose band (except for dressage and showing ?) and then I put a plain hunter cavesson on. I’m too lazy to clean unnecessary tack.

it was so tricky to find a normal bridle where you can take the nose band on and off without leaving flapping straps. I would’ve liked a mid range priced one but I ended up going for a cheap and cheerful shires one as it looked the most like what I wanted.

 

[lme]

I hate anything that can be used to strap a horses mouth shut - too many years of trainers sidling up and tightening nosebands. At the moment, I am using an anatomical bridle with the obligatory flash strap removed and the backstrap to the pull back noseband done up very loosely with a trigger clip like the ones on a work bridle.