https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/fei-standardizes-noseband-tightness-across-disciplines/
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That sounds like a pretty darn loose nose band.
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It’s 1.7cm thick isn’t it?
At least they will make them available for competitors to check their nosebands, for a price of course. I wonder how much they’ll charge.
You could probably buy a rubber doorstop at the dollar store and mark it in the appropriate spot and get pretty much the same effect. Lol.
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I would think that if it was rubber it would end up taking hair off the nasal bone, don’t you think?
No, not if you don’t jam it in there.
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In the video it seems that they are rather jamming it through.
This rule is a great step in the right direction. I’d be curious what made them pick that specific measurement (1.7cm / .6 inches). I didn’t think it sounded like too much but then I watched the video - is the goal to have the whole tool slide through?
I don’t think it’s too loose, but I also see daylight through my nosebands. Plus, many nosebands have padding now, and that could potentially fudge the measurements a bit because padding gives more than regular leather does.
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I didn’t really get the video either. Why have to slide the entire tool through the noseband? . It’ll be interesting to see how this works out.
At least the FEI is giving it a shot. I hope that this will result in a lessening of the uncomfortable looking horses at every FEI level.
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My honest take is that for a while it’s going to make it look worse. Because right now many riders are having gaping mouths concealed by nose bands too tight to gape. I can see it immediately exposing some holes, but over time my hope is it will foster more sympathetic riding and collaborative communication between horse and rider.
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No longer can people get away with it in FEI competition though, and with the parameters established, no one will be able to use the noseband as a crutch anymore.
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Because the thickest end is the actual measurement, the wedge shape allows for easy entry, and who wants their horse’s delicate/thin nasal bone hair/skin dragged the wrong way?
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That was my impression from the video, as well as the diagram of the tool with the measurements on it.
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In the video it looked like the end of the taper gauge was thicker than the requisite 1.7cm. But maybe not?
My next question, are they going to be folding and pulling up the noseband like depicted? Because that would impact results.
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According to the diagram, it’s 1.7cm thick.
I wonder if that’s the only way to use the tool to measure a noseband with a flash.
Good point.
Hopefully this will do away with the extremely tight flash nosebands on snaffle bridles as well as the super tight nosebands used with the full bridles in FEI Dressage.
Now, I wonder if USEF will adopt this tool/rule as well. There are plenty of very tight nosebands used on horses below the FEI level.
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I noticed the horse in the demonstration video looked extremely cooperative. I wonder if they practiced a few times and gave him a treat afterwards. Lol.
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At the very end of the video the way he moves his head I think he might have a treat waiting. 
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Glue some thin felt to the back
