Sneezing/Face Rubbing while Haltering

[corcoram]

I am getting a little concerned about my gelding.

Lately he has been quite difficult for me to halter due to the fact that when I try to halter him, he rubs his face on the wall, and if I manage to get it on, he will snort or sneeze, especially with the stud chain. There are no other issues once it’s on, and no sneezing or face rubbing while riding. I know that the rubbing/snorting issue can be linked to head shaking but haltering is honestly the only time he acts this way. He does sneeze pretty often, however it hadn’t seemed to be a concern until now. I don’t know if it is possible that the halter just hangs too low (it is a bit long, however he has such a wide face that the next size down would be too small) and it bothers his nose, or what other issue could be causing this. Could it just be a behavioral issue? I have only owned him since July and haven’t had a problem until now. I haven’t been able to find much about this problem anywhere, so if anyone has any feedback that would be greatly appreciated.

[csaper58]

My horse does exactly this right after being fly sprayed. For him it is his response to a strong, or nose burning smell

[CERT]

I wonder if it isn’t tickling or irritating his face as it is being put on. Is it a flat nylon, leather, or rope halter? With a rope halter you can adjust the length with some fussing and there are places that will make custom-sized halters out of biothane materials.

When you halter him do you put the nose on first or get the crownpiece over? Crownpiece first might reduce the movement of the halter on his face that might trigger rubbing or sneezing.

He doesn’t do this when bridling? Does his riding bridle have any type of noseband on it or no?