To nosband or not to noseband that is the question

Ok well I've started jumping Dana againg and I have noticed that she is very narky (eg. Wont turn at all or turn very very very wide) turning right which is her hard side. Currently I rode her in a full cheek snaffle without a nose band eg. Queensland Bridle.

So heres the question should I get a Grakle or Flash noseband or am I going about this the wrong way??

Fine..................I don't need ur help anyway..........Ok just kidding.....come on you guys have an opion on everything...........

I think its more of a flexing issue. Your horse needs to go back to basics on the ground & learn to flex more, maybe even give lightly to the bit. Yes your horse may be WELL trained but sometimes they do have holes in the foundation that NEED to be taken care of. Its NOTHING to do with what you ride them with, you could ride in just a halter & get sharp good turns with a lead rope attached to the links in the halter if your horse flexes & gives well. See where im going with this?

I wouldn't get a flash noseband or any kind of noseband. Strapping on a piece of equipment won't help. Go back and get her really nice and soft on the bit, which means your hands have to be VERY soft. If you are using enough pressure that could pull the wings off a butterfly it's too much pressure. That's how light a horse should be.

It is a mistake to use nose bands to try and correct a lack of lateral flextion, just as it is a mistake to use tiedowns to correct a lack of vertical flextion.

The correct answer is what you have already been told, get back on the ground and work on lateral flextion, Obtaining vertical flextion is nearly impossible, until you have lateral flextion. Also teach you horse to disengage it's hindquarters,
Then teach it to yeild it's hindquarters to pressure, moving away from pressure. (Apply pressure just in front of it's flanks with your knuckle or thumb, when the horse takes one step away from the pressure with his hind legs, release the pressure by removing your thumb from him. Do this again and again until your horse moves instantly away from the pressure,) You will be surprised how well this works when you are on his back and you move your leg back and he moves those hindquarters around cutting his turning radius in half.
When a horse does not turn well, it means that he is not bending at the ribs, (he is stiff like a board,) this means he needs ground work to teach him how to become soft and supple.

I am not against using aids like tie downs, nose bands, etc. I just believe they should not be used to cover up improper or a lack of training. If they are used to try and hide improper or a lack of training, it is only a matter of time before the problem gets worse.

Many a horse has flipped over backwards because of nosebands and tie downs that were used to cover a lack of training.

In regards to ground work, many people are not comfortable on the ground working thier horses. But I have found the relationship between a person and a horse first begins on the ground. If you want to improve your relationship with your horse, improve your horses repsonsiveness to you. Spend some time playing with him on the ground, make training fun for you and your horse by changing up your ground training. Introduce new challenges, like jumping over objects, troting over tarps etc. then help him to successfully meet those challenges, increasing his confidence in himself and in you. You will be amazed at your horses saddle improvement and how well your horse rides.

Ok well I've taken on your advice and I've sort of done a bit of flat work and I just got a plain noseband but kept her full cheek snaffle which she goes well in and I think she is improving.


Oh and Wild.....that thing you said about her being stiff on one side is spot on. She almost wont lunge on her right side, I get on the left coz I'm lazy and she is more likely to bight me on her right side aswell. Sot 2 billion points to you..........