Well, I do sometimes think that if my horse could see how I dressed them they might want to kill me… But…it certainly does not physically hurt them.
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And, if you read the thread, I said I have no problem with REGULAR bonnets.
I find sound dampening ones a crutch to use instead of learning to ride a horse through anxiety regarding sound.
Just like blinders would be for a visually stimulated horse.
If riders did their homework it wouldn’t be an issue.
Same reply as to @sascha. Sure it doesn’t hurt them. But it’s a crutch. Maybe we should allow draw reins too, for the horses who are REALLY lit up, those people can show them, too. 
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My current horse LOVES things on her head. The stupider, floppier the thing hanging off her head the happier she is. Giant Easter bonnet? Fabulous! Green wig for St. Patrick’s Day? Super! Her goal is to get me to recreate the final hat from Go Dog Go! on her head.
I am very, very careful to never allow her to see herself in a mirror when she is wearing all manner of craziness. She would end me, I’m sure. “You always told me I looked beautiful wearing these things. You must die.”
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Conflating a HARMLESS device that makes a horse more comfortable in a sometimes insane atmosphere with draw reins, is, um, a stretch at the very least.
I’m betting you don’t actually know a lot about blinders and why they are used since they also seem to keep coming up as comparable to bonnets. They are a safety device, not a training aid. They don’t make a horse go better, in fact, depending on the horse, they can make a horse move worse.
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You’re missing the point.
You have a sound reactive horse. You have a horse that’s nervous in new places.
Instead of actually, ya know, being a horseman and dealing with those issues by practicing them until the horse is calm and able to look to the rider for guidance, you just muffle their ears.
That’s a training bandaid, just like draw reins are. Sure, one has the potential to be physically painful, but both are training bandaids.
I used blinders as the comparable example because what if your horse is visually reactive instead of sound reactive? That person has to actually be a horseman and work on training that behavior out, because there’s no show-legal bandaid for that spooky behavior. Believe-you-me, if there was, there’d be a line of people to get it.
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And someone please tell me that wrapping their ears in solid thick non-breathable neoprene during the hot summer months is “comfortable”. Perhaps not painful, sure, but not what I would call “comfortable” or in the best interests of the horse.
Again, note that normal bonnets that are designed to keep flies and gnats out are fine by me. You can’t (and shouldn’t try!) to train away their natural reaction to bugs in their ears. Plus it’s a fun way to be matchy-matchy. I own many fly keeper outter ones. But… I don’t use them in the winter, for crying out loud.
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Clearly you never trained horses in a swamp before ear bonnets were a thing. Training away that bug reaction is totally possible. However, now that we have fancy artificial bug irritation dampeners, we use them as a “crutch.”
Why?
Because it’s kinder.
And yet, things like shadow rolls and cheek rolls are legal in show jumping but you don’t see everyone using them …
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Wrong thread but love it hahaha
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Muffling a horse’s ability to hear instead of doing training with them to enable them to cope with crazy situations is kinder.
Why not just use ace? Same effect, not harmful, horse is probably lots more comfortable in the crazy situation with a sedative on board.
You and I will not agree on this topic, so I’ll leave it here. I 100% think that using sound dampening bonnets is a crutch to avoid proper training and doing one’s homework before taking their horse into a crazy environment.
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Aw crap! That is weird!!
Oh look, we agree on something! Bwahahaaa!
Is it best for all horses, nope. Is it a great help for some? Yup. Just as noise cancelling headphones are great for some people.
I think of my own pony (who has never worn thick ears on her bonnets) who lost her marbles at her first important clinic due to the sound system. Did the clinician tell us to work through it? Nope. He instructed it to be turned off for the comfort of the horse and her ability to hear me over her fear. Tried again the next day. Nope. Try again next year. Nope. Turned out to be 1 (ONE) type of system in one particular arena. I was first to volunteer to shoot a gun from my horse’s back in a totally different kind of clinic. 1st to walk up to a lights and sirens vehicle in an indoor. But that one sound system? Nope. If I had to show there on the regular, would I try a thick-coated bonnet - for sure, because it would be kinder to the horse than telling her to get over whatever it was about that one system that buzzed her brain. For all we know there was some sort of feedback that we couldn’t hear that caused her pain. Maybe it sounded like nails on a chalk board to her. We don’t know.
Just because you don’t like something, doesn’t make it a bandaid or crutch.
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For a long time, the noise reduction bonnets were not show legal. I was surprised to learn that certain ones are now permissible with certain orgs… I admit I don’t follow the reasoning for them being legal either.
I understand Endlessclimb’s thought process here; if you(g) have a noise reactive horse, it’s kinder and safer to work on these things at home versus put you, the horse, and other competitors at risk. Disclaimer: I have no problem with their use at home, and I also have matchy-matchy bonnets.
I have found that if anything, noise reactive horses get more stressed when the ear plugs or noise cancelling bonnet comes into play in new environments.
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This can be said about nearly every single training gadget out there.
They are absolutely bandaids and crutches. All of them. In totality.
Whether or not they are acceptable to you(g) is entirely your(g) prerogative.
The sound dampening bonnets are not acceptable to me. I don’t believe they should be show legal.
I agree endless was a bit over the top with the response, but there are never draw reins at a dressage competition. That would be nuts.
Also, FWIW, I don’t give any thought whatsoever to the ear bonnets. I originally thought it looked dumb, but now I like the matchy-matchy effect. I don’t use one, never have. But I don’t care if others do. I do not feel like they are getting an unfair advantage because of it. I’m much more jealous of the sparkly patent leather boots on people!
I ha r no problem whatsoever with people playing dress up with their horses. Just say that’s what you are doing.
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Enjoy your bitless, bridleless, saddleless “dressage.” Gadgets! All of it! Also, fly spray, saddle pads, shoes! I mean, if a thing meant to bring more comfort to a horse is a gadget, then it all must be gadgets! Off with the tack!
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Of course it would be nuts which is why it’s absoutely batshit to compare a device that can very easily cause a horse pain with one which is meant to make a horse more comfortable in its surroundings.
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Do we need a written dispensation from our vet or are we good to make a notarized declaration at each show? 
Also, what if we are really crap at it and have terrible colour sense and never match at all? <- no really, that’s me, I have an orange ear doily and a navy ear doily and pretty much nothing else in those colours 
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