Rebekah Halladay Training

08/13/2025

This is so impressive!

08/11/2025

I keep my nosebands loose and just for decoration for the traditional look.

New research shows cranking the noseband hurts your horse's gait.

There are always many opinions about nosebands. Too loose, and a trainer might call it sloppy. Too tight, and it becomes a welfare concern. There are studded and crank and chain and traditional, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos designed to keep our horse’s mouth shut, but what is best for the horse? Is cranking that extra hole doing more harm than good?

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science examined the impact of noseband tightness on pressure and performance. The results are eye-opening if you believe that a tighter noseband means better performance in the ring.

Most riders are familiar with the standard: leave two fingers’ space beneath the noseband. It’s even outlined in guidelines from the FEI. And according to the study, 85% of riders say they know this recommendation. But when researchers actually measured the fit using a standardized taper gauge, only 15% had their nosebands adjusted to the proper tension.

The vast majority were too tight. Sometimes dramatically too tight.

The Hidden Pressure on a Horse’s Face
In the study, eight horses were fitted with a simple cavesson noseband and tested at three settings: a standard two-finger fit, a snug one-finger fit, and a cranked-tight zero-finger fit. Under each setting, researchers measured facial pressure and evaluated gait.

- The one-finger setting increased pressure on the nasal bone by 54% over the two-finger baseline.
- The zero-finger setting? A staggering 338% increase in pressure.

Imagine trying to do your day job with a belt cinched tight around your nose and jaw. Now add that your success relies on body movement, and you have no way to say, “This hurts.” That’s similar to what the horse might feel like being asked to perform in a fully tightened noseband that more than triples the force exerted on its face.

Unfortunately, changes to tack and equipment don’t typically come solely from the perspective of the horse’s comfort. So let’s look at performance as well.

In addition to pressure data, the researchers measured each horse’s trot stride. As the noseband got tighter, the stride got shorter—by a lot. On average:

- Horses at the one-finger tightness lost 6.2% of their stride length.
- With a fully tightened noseband, stride loss jumped to 11.1%.

In real-world terms, that’s about 24 centimeters, roughly the length of a hoof, disappearing from every stride. While that may not sound dramatic at first, consider how it compounds across a full course. Shorter strides can mean rushed distances, flat movement, and a horse that never quite gets to “flow.” In the hunter ring, 24 centimeters could be the difference between pinning in a highly competitive under saddle class.

And this wasn’t just about stiffness or resistance. The study found a statistically significant negative correlation between noseband pressure and stride length. In short, the tighter the fit, the shorter the step.

Sure, a longer stride is helpful in the show ring. But this research highlights deeper concerns about what that level of pressure does to the horse’s face and nerves. The noseband sits directly over sensitive structures, including branches of the trigeminal nerve, which help regulate posture and proprioception. Excessive pressure here doesn’t just hurt. It may also interfere with the horse’s balance and coordination.

Previous studies have shown that pressures as low as 32 kPa can damage tissue. In this study, the tightest noseband setting reached an average of 115.8 kPa. That’s far above what’s been associated with pain or injury in other species. That number isn’t just theoretical. It’s happening under tack, often unnoticed, every day. And unlike overt lameness, this kind of pressure flies under the radar, making it easy to miss, but just as impactful.

🔗 Read the full article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/07/30/new-research-shows-cranking-your-noseband-hurts-your-horses-gait/

🔗 Read the full study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080625003120?via%3Dihub

08/10/2025

The Art of Producing the High-Level Horse

In today’s world, where goals are king, results are worshipped, and egos often take the reins, we’ve lost touch with something essential: the art of the journey. The quiet, thoughtful process of developing a horse, not just for performance, but for partnership.

Too often, the pursuit of high-level training becomes a checklist of movements, an external badge of status. Grand Prix as the pinnacle. Piaffe, passage, pirouette all proof of success. But we rarely stop to ask: Success by whose measure? And at what cost?

Because if a horse’s well-being were truly at the centre of our goals and not just a footnote in our mission statements our training would look radically different. It would move slower. It would feel softer. It would sound quieter. And it would be far more beautiful.

Producing a high-level horse is not about simply teaching them the movements required on a score sheet. It’s about cultivating a horse who is sound in body, stable in mind, and joyful in spirit. It’s about shaping one who offers those movements willingly, expressively, even playfully. Not as a result of pressure, punishment, or the clever placement of aids that corner them into compliance but from a place of physical readiness and emotional trust.

And this……….this is where the art comes in!

Imagine dressage as a painting. Each training session is a brushstroke, delicate, deliberate, layered. The impatient artist might throw out the canvas at the first mistake. But the true artist? They work with the paint, blend it, adjust it, stay curious. They know that beauty often lives in the imperfection, in the subtle corrections, in the layers of time and care.

The same is to be said in riding: the art lies not in domination, but in dialogue. Every stride, every transition, every still moment is part of an evolving composition. The rider’s aids are not commands but questions; the horse’s responses are not obedience but answers. Together, you create something greater than the sum of its parts.

The highest levels of dressage are not the goal. They are the byproduct of a thousand conversations, a thousand small moments where the rider listens, adjusts, supports, and receives. When done well, Grand Prix is not a performance. It is the horse’s voice, amplified through movement.

To produce a horse to that level is to understand that their body is not a tool, but a home. Their mind, not a machine, but a mirror. Their spirit, not a resource, but a companion.

This is not just training a horse
It is stewardship.
It is art
And it begins not with ambition,
but with reverence.

08/09/2025

Having the horse bug is like having a terminal illness. There is no cure so the best you can do is learn all you can about the disease so you can live with it.

08/08/2025

Where the canter pirouette started on the battle field! Love dressage!!

08/07/2025

This is so me! LOL!!😂

07/31/2025

So True! The amount of hate and backstabbing out there is awful.

Let’s lift each other up!

Let’s Talk About the Ugly Side of the Horse Industry.

I don’t care who gets uncomfortable reading this, it needs to be said.

The horse industry is broken in so many ways, and it’s not because of the horses. It’s because of the people.

Everywhere you look, it’s the same story:
• Sh*t-talking behind each other’s backs
• Lying straight to someone’s face
• Smiling at you in the arena while hoping you fail
• Gossiping more than helping
• Spreading rumors instead of facts
• Jealousy disguised as “just being honest”
• People waiting for you to slip up so they can feel better about their own insecurities

This industry should be built on passion, hard work, and a shared love for horses. Not on stepping on each other to climb higher.

The truth is, a lot of folks don’t want to see you succeed. They want to see you struggle, fall, lose clients, and fail. They pray for your burnout. They’d rather see you crash than clap when you do something great. And the most messed up part? Some of them are people you once helped or trusted.

We talk about the horses like they’re everything— and they ARE— but the way we treat each other? That’s where this whole thing gets rotten.

People out here will lie to sell a horse, trash talk a trainer to steal a client, or twist a story to make themselves look better. And let’s not even get into the ones who smile at you at the show, then run their mouth the moment you turn around.

Why? What’s the point?

This job is hard enough. Long hours. Physical work. Emotional stress. Financial risk. And on top of all that, you have to constantly watch your back. Not because of the horses, but because of the damn people.

Instead of supporting each other, we’re too busy judging and comparing. Instead of learning from each other, we’re tearing each other down. Instead of shutting up and doing the work, too many people are worried about who’s doing what and who’s getting what.

Enough already.

We should be lifting each other up, not dragging each other down. We should be rooting for others’ success, not secretly hoping they fail. We should be keeping our mouths shut about things that aren’t our business and focusing on what matters, the horses and doing right by them.

This isn’t high school. It’s not a reality show. It’s supposed to be a community.

So here’s a little advice:
• If you don’t like someone, be mature enough to move on quietly.
• If you have a problem, go directly to the source.
• If someone succeeds, give credit instead of criticism.
• And if you’re constantly watching and waiting for someone to mess up, maybe it’s time to ask yourself why you’re so damn bitter.

To the ones out here trying to stay honest, work hard, do right by horses and clients, and support others— keep going. You’re the rare ones, and we need more of you.

To the rest? Fix your s**t. You’re what’s wrong with this industry.

Sincerely, a small trainer

07/30/2025

Agreed!

In some ways it’s disappointing being a trainer who puts the horse first, goes at their pace, does an incredible amount of useful ground work, focuses on biomechanics and correct movement and wants the horse to feel happy and confident.

It’s hard to find clients who not only want the same thing, but realize that doing it correctly takes time.

Everyone is in a race to the show ring to try to beat the other guy.

Every horse I train gets worked with at their pace. 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there and it’s little bits at a time. They get the days off that they need. I never wear them out, drill or over do it. I want them to get it, think about and come back again fresh in the afternoon or the next morning to try the next step for a few minutes. It’s slow and steady building blocks with me.

There’s no fluff and frill. There’s no 5 and 6 year olds practicing Grand Prix movements - that takes years and how many years depends on each individual horse.

There’s no race to the show ring. No competition to see who can climb the levels the fastest.

It’s about building a happy, healthy athlete who feels confident in their body and in their work. Those are the horses who last - physically, mentally and emotionally. Those are the horses that I train and put out into the world.

I wish more people were in it for the right reasons.

The horse first. The date of the show is unimportant.

🌻 © Cara Blanchard

📸 Max & Maxwell: Equestrian Photography