Poll Protection for the dressage bridle

[Balmonty]

I have been reading about the advantages of using a poll protection pad. When I google there are so many, some have infrared to encourage circulation, some are gel and then there is the Finesse bridle with the hospital grade padding that they say is proven to improve the horses movement. All of the products say that these will help your horse in comfort, pressure, etc. I don’t have a horse with a sensitive poll (that I am aware of), but I endeavour to have my dressage horses as comfortable as possible.

So has anyone used used a Poll Protection pad/bridle and found a real difference? Is this yet another gadget?

[sascha]

The gel ones work great for the back of a traditional style nose band that doesn’t have jaw bone padding built in.

I’ve never used one for the intended purpose.

[Willesdon]

There is a lot of money spent on horse fashion. A correctly fitted bridle should not be putting excessive pressure on the poll.

A “traditional style noseband” should have two finger widths clear between leather and bone.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I use the BOT poll cap and the Fenwick Face Mask with Ears.

I tried them on the horse I was riding at that time and the horse LIKED the BOT poll cap. After a while I “asked” the horse why she liked the poll cap and I got a mental “picture” of her slamming back when tied in a halter and having a headache ever since. The Fenwick face mask helps with ear problems. The infrared heat helps relax the tense muscles in the poll.

But otherwise? I never noticed any difference from the horses between my old type hunt seat bridles and the padded crown piece of the Micklem bridle, but then if I use a noseband there is two fingers held vertically clearance in a cavesson, two fingers side-by-side clearance for dropped nosebands or figure-8 nosebands, so the cavesson is not pulling on the horse’s crown.

I also dislike having more than one wrinkle at the corners of the horse’s mouth from the bit. More wrinkles at the corner of the mouth mean more pressure on the crown-piece of the bridle.

I have never felt the need to put more padding under the crown-piece, but I think the horses would be displeased if I stopped using the BOT poll cap or Fenwick face mask. Horses do not like headaches any more than we do. I often take two aspirin before I ride for my headaches and I think that the BOT poll cap serves as a non-medical aspirin substitute for the horses.

[Jealoushe]

@Jackie Cochran

. I often take two aspirin before I ride for my headaches and I think that the BOT poll cap serves as a non-medical aspirin substitute for the horses.

I don’t think that’s how it works. Do back on track toques get rid of your headaches? I think BOT does relax the poll and help the horse feel better but I don’t think it works like aspirin.

I thought the Fenwick masks were shown to be total gimmicks?

[joiedevie99]

Nope. If your bridle fits well and your horse isn’t sensitive, it’s probably unnecessary. Before we had PS of Sweden, Schockmoehle, etc. bridles with comfort crowns, we used to stick noseband pads under the crown. You can always try that and see if you notice any difference - just remember that if the pad is thick, you’ll need to lower your noseband and bit.

[Equibrit]

The tack producers must surely be running out of stuff that you “need” if you are a thoughtful caring horse owner

[Jackie_Cochran]

I don’t have a BOT toque, but I often use my BOT scarf, folded up, over my head when my scalp muscles are really tense, causing me pain, and it does help.

Don’t tell my riding teacher’s “crazy, crazy” Arabian that the Fenwick stuff does not work. He is so much more focused on his rider when he wears his face mask with ears. If he is not wearing it he focuses on any possibilities that there may be a tiger, lurking in the bushes, who wants to eat him, and not his rider. This horse is much, much safer to ride in the Fenwick face mask.

And the Fenwick face mask with ears DOES help the horse’s ears. Some of the horses who end up at my lesson stable, are lost, scared and suspicious of everyone, and also head shy and ear shy. I think a few had someone doing an “ear twitch” at some point and they are extremely ear shy. With great patience I could improve these horses, but the horses were always suspicious of my hands up there. After using the Fenwick for less than a month (once a week) these horses started actively cooperate with me brushing their ears inside and out, they no longer act like giraffes when I put their “hats” on, and they are much easier to bridle and even unbridling goes smoother.

If you don’t want to do the face mask the Fenwick people also make ear nets that look completely normal.

My riding teacher, a lady with decades of experience, also did not think the BOT or Fenwick stuff would work at all. She has since changed her mind. Of course not all her horses need these things since she does teach good horsemanship to her students, and eventually most of the horses decide that they are safe at her barn and in her riding ring.

[theresak]

@sascha

The gel ones work great for the back of a traditional style nose band that doesn’t have jaw bone padding built in.

I’ve never used one for the intended purpose.

Do you mind sending me a link? I like the old Cashel cavesson foam pads, but I can’t find them with the velcro included anymore, just the shaped pad. I prefer something that attaches to the bridle so I don’t loose it on the floor.

[sascha]

@theresak

Do you mind sending me a link? I like the old Cashel cavesson foam pads, but I can’t find them with the velcro included anymore, just the shaped pad. I prefer something that attaches to the bridle so I don’t loose it on the floor.

https://www.bahrsaddlery.com/waldhausen-awa-neoprene-crown-cover-8434-c.html

[Jealoushe]

@Jackie Cochran

I don’t have a BOT toque, but I often use my BOT scarf, folded up, over my head when my scalp muscles are really tense, causing me pain, and it does help.

Don’t tell my riding teacher’s “crazy, crazy” Arabian that the Fenwick stuff does not work. He is so much more focused on his rider when he wears his face mask with ears. If he is not wearing it he focuses on any possibilities that there may be a tiger, lurking in the bushes, who wants to eat him, and not his rider. This horse is much, much safer to ride in the Fenwick face mask.

And the Fenwick face mask with ears DOES help the horse’s ears. Some of the horses who end up at my lesson stable, are lost, scared and suspicious of everyone, and also head shy and ear shy. I think a few had someone doing an “ear twitch” at some point and they are extremely ear shy. With great patience I could improve these horses, but the horses were always suspicious of my hands up there. After using the Fenwick for less than a month (once a week) these horses started actively cooperate with me brushing their ears inside and out, they no longer act like giraffes when I put their “hats” on, and they are much easier to bridle and even unbridling goes smoother.

If you don’t want to do the face mask the Fenwick people also make ear nets that look completely normal.

My riding teacher, a lady with decades of experience, also did not think the BOT or Fenwick stuff would work at all. She has since changed her mind. Of course not all her horses need these things since she does teach good horsemanship to her students, and eventually most of the horses decide that they are safe at her barn and in her riding ring.

Oh I believe BOT works, I love BOT. I just don’t think it works for headaches like you mentioned but maybe it does. Have to invest in a toque to find out!

I think the ears think with the mask can be chalked up to the horses having their ears handled more and regularly.

[Goforward]

I always put something under the poll if it’s a regular type crown piece. After finding that most of my horses are happier with padding, it just seems like an easy thing to do for them. There are so many nerves in that area, why not help them out?
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹The worst thing that happens is that I put it there and it makes no difference. It takes 2 seconds. I’ll just keep doing it.
My horses do remarkable things every day. I will do what I can to make them happy.

[Jackie_Cochran]

@Jealoushe

I think the ears think with the mask can be chalked up to the horses having their ears handled more and regularly.

Nope.

All of this was done with me just working him 30 minutes a week, though some weeks, occasionally, I did get to ride him again for another 30 minutes.

Oh, he definitely got better with his ears after several months of being super, super patient with his head flinging protests. The BOT poll cap helped some, he was happier with me handling the base of his right ear, the left ear not so much. He would sigh, lick, lower his head and relax after I got the BOT poll cap on, and he was a little bit easier to bridle. He started letting me first groom the outside of his ears with the little ear brush, and gradually he started, on his right ear, to let me brush the inside of his right ear though he was still resistant with his left ear.

BUT, if I tried to start off by doing his left ear first all his ear shyness came back, it was sort of a reflex action.

He was not at all sure about the Fenwick Face Mask with Ears the first time I let him look at it. He absolutely refused to let me put it on. I always brought out the Fenwick mask after I put the BOT Poll Cap on him. Finally, since he was so scared/mistrustful/whatever to it, I just held it against the side of his head right below his left ear and he started relaxing. After a few times of this he let me put it on without too much trouble, though I had to put on from his right side, right ear first, then I could slowly and carefully put it on his left ear though often I was standing on tip-toe (14.1 hand horse.)

Then, during a month or two, he became ever less resistant to me putting the Fenwick mask on, gradually getting to the point that he would drop his head while I was doing it. Both ears were easier to handle and gradually he learned to enjoy me brushing out his ears inside and out. Eventually he would behave even if I put it on his left ear first, and that was a triumph!

Then I got the Zoom Groom cat groomer. After the first week he decided that the cat grooming tool was the ideal tool to clean out his ears. He would drop his head (both sides) and hold out his ear so I could easily reach every place inside it. He would even angle his head and move a little bit to the Zoom Groom would get to a particular itchy place.

Before he died he was not ear shy at all for me or my riding teacher. It took several months, but the Fenwick Face Mask with Ears was what got him to let us touch his ears without head flinging and threatening to rear. The Zoom Groom cat tool was the icing on the cake.

[mmeqcenter]

I used a gel pad for a little while when my mare was having extreme head shyness issues (months later found out the BO didn’t want to tell me horse had whacked her head on an overhead beam while coming in for dinner due to mishandling). Eventually just switched her to oversize browbands and she’s much happier with that, with or without the poll pad.