I have a horse that requires a nose net in the spring and summer for photic headshaking. He has a letter from the vet for competition, but I can’t imagine there’s a competitive advantage to using one when it’s not required.
I’ve ridden other horses in my headshakers bridle with the nose net still on and I never felt like it offered any amount of performance improvement.
So I’m just curious why is there an extra restriction?
Originally they were illegal, then you had to get special permission each year from the USEF president which required a vet letter plus $50, so consider yourself lucky.
Honestly people pick up these things like social contagion. I remember when everyone in my 4-H started putting polo wraps on horses. All polos all the time. It was like a plague that raged my 4-H community as a kid. It is probably worth it just to discourage people from using it unnecessarily. Looked what happened to ear nets. Now they are sound proofing monstrosities. And some people are convinced you SHOULD NOT show without one. You see horses bandaged up to their knees in the warm ups. It’s just more, more more. If anyone could use a nose net I bet you good $ 50% of folks would have one in a few seasons.
What Highfyler said.
I had a headshaking mare years ago and wasn’t even able to show her at tiny unrated fun shows with a nose net. I could not see the logic behind the rule. Mare basically retired.
That’s so strange. I’m with you - if I couldn’t compete with the nose net, I really wouldn’t be able to compete this horse (except perhaps at shows hosted in an indoor arena. It doesn’t (to my knowledge) offer a competitive advantage.
To be honest, I don’t care for the way it looks in pictures so I wouldn’t use it if I could comfortably ride my horse without it. I’m glad they changed the rule to make it easier, I just am still confused why it was ever so restricted before and why its still restricted now.
I think it’s likely that when the rule was changed (the existing rule did not allow them-- the Presidential Modification loophole was not a written rule and I had some epic battles with eventing TDs that first year it was introduced) that they asked for as little as possible in order to make it more likely to pass. It went to the rules committee at least once before that and was rejected-- I actually wrote a rule proposal in like 2010 or 2011 that was rejected and I think there was at least one more.
I doubt that everyone would suddenly start using them if a vet letter wasn’t required. It’s pretty easy to find a vet who will write you a letter if you want one. My regular vet did it back in the day even though she had never examined or treated my horse for headshaking.
I’m just too lazy to braid a forelock. Plus I think the little hat looks nice. Why is this all so offensive?
Nose nets are allowed in competition in Canada without a vet note, and it hasn’t become a big trend (in rated hunters too).
ARTICLE E 4.12 NOSE FLY GUARDS AND NET RELIEF FOR HEAD
SHAKERS
Well, I personally think the sound proofing ones are a bandaid for poor training.
If sound proofing ones are legal, so should be full hoods with blinkers.
Train your damn horse.
Nose nets have been around for a long time and they haven’t become a trend yet?
Some horses are annoyed by flies and bonnets help with that. Some dressage horses are wrapped up high and low because of the advanced movements they practice.
FWIW - I’m ok with normal bonnets, it’s the noise muffling ones that I think are asinine to be legal for shows.
Indoors in winter?
Shh, the horse can’t hear you through the 3" thick neoprene…
Hey, I admit it. I am one of those annoying riders who uses an ear bonnet sometimes because I like adding a bit of color to things.
I guess since I do not show (or show so very rarely that it is safe to say I do not show), this should not offend anyone who likes to get offended by what others do. Which I am thankful for because I am going to continue to torture my poor horse with the fun of brightly colored ears.
I show in a bonnet. It’s not noise cancelling, but it does match my show coat and I love the way it looks. Plus I can’t braid a forelock.
I’ve honestly never heard anyone complain about using a bonnet in any context. I’ve seen the noise cancelling ones and I would personally never use one because I use a lot of voice cues in my warm up both to get a hot horse settled or a quiet horse moving.
The people I know who ride in noise cancelling bonnets are anxious ammies and the bonnet is probably not helping as much as they think. Personally I’m in favor of allowing any reasonable equipment that doesn’t offer an unfair advantage that makes showing easier or more accessible to all.
I do agree that people should look at their training before turning to a gadget but to each their own.
We should probably outlaw noise cancelling headphones in offices. Train your damn employees! 
Personally, I don’t care. Use them, don’t use them, whatevs. Until someone does research that shows they are detrimental to a horse’s well-being, I’m totally ok with people using them whether they are using them as a crutch or for a horse that has some (medical?) noise aversion. I sort of think of them like me being able to turn off easy listening stations on the radio. That garbage makes me very anxious. I CAN turn it off. Horses, not so much.
Yeah but what about the horse who is visually/movement stimulated? Can he get blinkers, or a blindfold? How do we make it safe for his cant-ride-owner to show him?
Train. The. Horse.
literally has nothing to do with what I said?
I (and other people in this thread) said they use REGULAR bonnets because they don’t want to braid forelocks or they just plain like them. You’re the one who went on some tear about soundless bonnets, which had nothing to do with my post.
You do you. It must be exhausting to be so worried about what everyone else is doing.
What harm do noise cancelling headphones do to you? What harm do noise cancelling headphones do to the person wearing them?
What harm does someone else’s horse wearing a noise dampening bonnet do to you or the horse? None, except you seem to think that it is some giant shortcut in training and that causes you a very uncomfortable wedgie 
Putting blinders or a noise reducing ear bonnet on a horse is not a magical training device that allows someone who can’t ride to go in and put in a 90% Grand Prix.
Some horses are annoyed by their wispy forelock touching their ears- one of mine is.
Some of us (me again) like to dress up in matchy matchy. Also helps for the snow sliding off the arena
Not sure why some people are so bothered by riders having fun dressing their horses. Doesn’t hurt them.
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