Let him breathe!
Many horse people do not know that the ridge of a horse’s nose is not all bone. In fact, one third of the distance from between his eyes to the tip of his nose is soft tissue. If you palpate carefully down a horse’s nose you feel where the bone stops and soft tissue begins.
This fact often results in difficulties for horses. Here are a couple of reasons why.
A halter or noseband set too low down will dig into this soft tissue causing discomfort and limiting the airflow. An exercising horse tacked this way will labour to breath. The result is often a forced, “whistling” sound as he breathes.
A similar situation can be created if you place your hand incorrectly on a horse’s nose to steady his head for bridling.
Horses only breathe through their nose, not their mouth. Don’t limit your horse’s breathing with tack or your hands. He will be worrying about getting air when you want him to pay attention to what you are doing with him.