13/12/2025
Sometimes you have to think outside the box when talking to humans 😅
I was tending to a clients horse and as usual, chatting. It came up randomly in the conversation that the horse was behaving oddly when ridden. The owner was quite concerned about his knee. 😳
I asked "is he lame?", she said "no".
"Is it swollen?" Again she said "no".
I said "then what is it about his knee that has you concerned?"
She said "well he keeps rubbing it!"
I kinda have a feeling where this is going but thought let's lead her to it.
So I ask "what is he rubbing it on?"
She says "his nose! He suddenly stops when I'm riding and rubs his knee with his nose! The vet has been out and said there is nothing wrong with his knee but I'm sure there must be." She was visibly very worried.
So I asked "well what about his nose?" This puzzled her.
So I tried again "is there something wrong with his nose rather than his knee?" I saw the penny drop!
"Oh" she says, "I hadn't thought of that, but what could possibly be wrong with his nose?" I admit she looked a bit sheepish at this point 😅
So I asked "You mentioned it only happens when he's ridden? Never in the stable or in the field? What about when lunging?"
She says "never in the stable or field but yes he does on the lunge"
I ask "do you use a cavesson to lunge or your bridle?"
She said "bridle"
I double check "the same bridle you ride in?" And she confirmed. "I suspect the problem is your bridle is irritating him somehow" I finished.
Anyway, long story short, this horse happens to have an unusually high nasal notch and the owner was using a flash noseband which was fitted normally (not tight!) but given the horse's anatomy, it was sitting on the soft part of the nose, squeezing his nostrils and therefore his airway. The harder he was working, the more he was struggling to breathe easily through an airway that he couldn't dilate. The very clever lad had realised this thing on his nose was the problem and was stopping to try and get it off. The further into a session he went, the more frantic it was.
Now, in hindsight it's obvious, but the owner genuinely believed the problem was his knee! She was determined to find and fix the problem, just was looking at it upside down 🙃
I explained how to find the nasal notch and discussed nosebands that could work with his anatomy. We settled on a grackle because the horse was strong to a jump and could cross his jaw, hence the flash to start with. The problem vanished instantly 🥰🥰
We've always got to think outside the box, and ask the right questions. I've included a shot from my previous post on how to fit a noseband, just to demonstrate where the nasal notch is. In some horses it is very high and they cannot wear a flash or drop noseband at all! It's worth having a feel of your horse's nose and double checking too 😁
Just a quick edit - The part of this behaviour that was concerning is that it was interrupting his work. It is normal for them to have a quick rub at the end of a session or when resting but they should not slam on mid ride to do this. That points to a problem.
Also please note that this behaviour doesn't necessarily have to be the noseband. It was for this horse, but it can have many causes. As a few examples - dental wise we have wolf teeth (possibly blind ones), teething in young horses, sharp points, hooks, tooth root infections, food stuck etc. Other causes can be allergies, bridle buckle pressing on nerves, headpiece pressing on the ear base, poorly fitted bit, soft tissue damage, true trigeminal head shakers (this will be obvious daily and not just ridden though) and even none head related issues like neck pain or back pain (this is more about needing to put their head down rather than about the rubbing).
In this case it was a combination of the horse never showing the signs in the stable or field and showing the signs when lunged in the bridle without a saddle or rider that made me go to the bridle first.
