OTTB Peeps: Groove on bridge of nose and sensitivity

[downen]

I’m wondering if any of you OTTB gurus might have encountered something like this. My OTTB is well off the track, he raced until age 3 and he’s 14 now. However, I find myself going back to square one after he recently lost his mind following the death of my old guy Charlie Horse, and my small herd went down to two from three.

I’m making great progress on the separation anxiety, and in the process, I’ve noticed that he is very sensitive to anything on his nose, particularly where the noseband rests. I always thought he had bitting issues (he’s a chomper), but I think it’s more than that. Even resting a rope or the halter as I remove it on the bridge of his nose, he starts sneezing, shaking his head and chomping. He has a permanent groove on his nose, right were the caveson hits and I’m wondering if there’s a physical cause (say, from a past injury), or if it’s psychological issues left from his racing days. I’ve ruled out allergies as he seems fine unless something is putting pressure on the nose.

Any ideas on working though this? I’m guessing there was some trauma that caused the groove, perhaps from having his mouth tied shut, or it could have been an injury from a rope halter. Right now I’m just going the desensitization route, but wondering if there might be a better approach.

TIA for your thoughts!

[beowulf]

Are you referring to the residual scarring that can show up on some horses, when a chain is used? Not limited to TBs or chains, either - I’ve been in plenty of barns where dressage or event horses have small egg-like bumps on their nose grooves from chronically overtightened nosebands.

Do you have a picture?

It’s not uncommon. I’d say most horses have them, even.

There are some horses who don’t like nose pressure. I have one myself; I thought he would love a hackamore and he spent every session I introduced it to him head-flinging; he is a quiet horse otherwise, so I figured, why even need a bit? But turns out, he prefers the bit over even a very mild, padded leather lined hackamore. Some horses just don’t tolerate nose pressure well. All about figuring out what aids and cues work best for your horse.

[Training_Cupid]

I haven’t encountered this with any of the OTTBs I’ve worked with, but have you tried a drop noseband?

[downen]

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@beowulf

Are you referring to the residual scarring that can show up on some horses, when a chain is used? Not limited to TBs or chains, either - I’ve been in plenty of barns where dressage or event horses have small egg-like bumps on their nose grooves from chronically overtightened nosebands.

Do you have a picture?

It’s not uncommon. I’d say most horses have them, even.

There are some horses who don’t like nose pressure. I have one myself; I thought he would love a hackamore and he spent every session I introduced it to him head-flinging; he is a quiet horse otherwise, so I figured, why even need a bit? But turns out, he prefers the bit over even a very mild, padded leather lined hackamore. Some horses just don’t tolerate nose pressure well. All about figuring out what aids and cues work best for your horse.

Picture! Great idea! See above.

I’ve ridden several dressage horses in the past who grind and grimace in anticipation of the noseband being tightened and I don’t like that. I, myself, don’t believe in clamping the mouth shut, I’d rather try to promote acceptance of the bit through good fit and kind hands. I guess I was just wondering if there might be any sort of nerve pain or such that causes a reaction from the lightest of touches to that area.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I was boarding at a Paso Fino breeding barn.

The owner had put nylon halters on his weaniling/yearling fillies.

One of the fillies was sort of challenging to handle. My horse was in the same pasture and one day I noticed that 1) her halter was too tight and 2) she was developing an indentation where the halter noseband crossed her nose.

I told the breeder, and told him he HAD TO get that halter off that day. Guess who had to do it, yep, me.

Her face over her nasal bone sort of looked like your picture when I finally got the darn halter off.

I’m pretty sure it healed up. I have no idea about her nose sensitivity later.

As far as bitless goes, one elderly Arabian mare I rode had the most sensitive mouth of any horse I had ever ridden. I tried SIX types of bitless bridles on her, and she flung her head with every one. She obviously preferred a bit in her mouth over being ridden in any bitless bridle (Nurtural and Dr. Cook cross-unders, old time Jumping Cavesson bridle, LG bitless, Light Rider bitless (modified scawbrig), and all three of the bitless options with the Micklem multibridle.)

[downen]

@Training Cupid

I haven’t encountered this with any of the OTTBs I’ve worked with, but have you tried a drop noseband?

I have not tried a drop, and I don’t have one in my current equipment hoard, but I think I could try going without any noseband at all and see if it helps.

My concern is not just his wearing a bridle, he seems sensitive about that area always. I’ve only just gotten so i can rest my hand on that area.

[Highflyer]

It looks like he got loose with a chain over his nose or something at some point. But I don’t know that the sneezing/ rubbing is necessarily related to that. I’ve had horses with that reaction before (my headshaker guy was the worst but I’ve seen it before when muzzling them or even when the shank slips over the nose).

[betonbill]

Headshaking syndrome?

[downen]

@betonbill

Headshaking syndrome?

Yes, I thought of that. I’ve never had a head-shaker before, any insights?

[skydy]

@Jackie Cochran

I was boarding at a Paso Fino breeding barn.

The owner had put nylon halters on his weaniling/yearling fillies.

One of the fillies was sort of challenging to handle. My horse was in the same pasture and one day I noticed that 1) her halter was too tight and 2) she was developing an indentation where the halter noseband crossed her nose.

I told the breeder, and told him he HAD TO get that halter off that day. Guess who had to do it, yep, me.

Her face over her nasal bone sort of looked like your picture when I finally got the darn halter off.

I’m pretty sure it healed up. I have no idea about her nose sensitivity later.

As far as bitless goes, one elderly Arabian mare I rode had the most sensitive mouth of any horse I had ever ridden. I tried SIX types of bitless bridles on her, and she flung her head with every one. She obviously preferred a bit in her mouth over being ridden in any bitless bridle (Nurtural and Dr. Cook cross-unders, old time Jumping Cavesson bridle, LG bitless, Light Rider bitless (modified scawbrig), and all three of the bitless options with the Micklem multibridle.)

I don’t think that is the problem here. I’ve seen the halter-left-on-a-youngster-too-long look, and this looks more like chain scarring or another sort of injury to me.

[The_Centaurian]

Might be a tooth. They sometimes grow in weird places outside of the mouth! But who knows, maybe your horse hit his face on the fence or his feed bucket or something?

Cavessons are required at shows, but l don’t always use one at home. It’s the norm at polo barns where the horses wear so much tack to play, but very little to hack out/trail ride for fitness. Taking the noseband off your bridle is probably the simplest and most immediate solution!

If your horse has to wear a noseband for steering, a figure 8 might work, or a drop for brakes, assuming you can adjust them comfortably for your horse. You may find that you need less bit with a different cavesson.

Good luck finding what works!

[Highflyer]

I think the theory with headshaking is that the trigeminal nerve fires abnormally, triggered by sunlight/wind etc.–my gelding’s biggest trigger was anything touching his nose/ muzzle/ upper lip (he wasn’t bothered by a regular caveson or figure eight or halter but a fly landing on his nose was enough to set it off) but the second biggest was humidity. But it sounds like your horse stops when you stop touching his nose, which sounds like he is just very sensitive rather than a true headshaker. I’d actually look into trying some of the anatomic bridles like the Micklem with him.