Infraorbital Nerves and the Nasal Bone
We all want our horses to be as comfortable as possible and a great way is to be aware of the anatomy in the location of where your noseband sits( if you choose to use one), and to assess its fit and monitor how tight it is.
As you can see here from the video above, the infraorbital nerve emerges from the infraorbital foramen. You can see that these are a large bundle of nerves on either side of the horse’s head. The infraorbital nerves have extremely important sensory functions to the horse’s muzzle. Constant pressure on a nerve can cause numbness, pain and eventually lack of sensation if the pressure is severe enough ☹️
You can also see from this video that the horse’s nasal bones are extremely fragile and could be easily be fractured. William Micklem, inventor of the Micklem bridle, actually found out on his bridle making journey, that so many horse’s had fractures in this area, which i think is really sad ☹️.
Avoiding noseband pressure, tightness and getting the correct fit not only applies to bridles but to all headcollar types as well. Making sure that the headcollar isn't too small, fastened up too tight, so as not to create pressure not only around the nasal bone but at the poll as well. Or even just as importantly, not too big so the noseband isn't resting too low on these nasal bones.