June 2026
A new home for Bit & Bridle
I'm so pleased to finally have a proper website up and running. It's somewhere to explain what I actually do when I come out to your yard, why bit and bridle fit matters so much for your horse's comfort, and how to get booked in — all in one place, rather than scattered across messages and Facebook.
Have a look around: you'll find what a consultation involves, the areas I cover, and some lovely words from the people and horses I've worked with. If you've been meaning to get your horse's bit or bridle checked, there's now a simple form to send me the details and I'll be in touch within 24 hours. Thank you to everyone who's supported me getting this far — it really does mean the world.
June 2026
The noseband rule everyone's talking about — and why it matters at home too
You may have seen that the FEI now has a single, standardised way of checking noseband tightness across all disciplines, brought in on 1 May 2025. Stewards use a simple measuring tool — a slim wedge slid under the noseband at the front of the nose — for a clear pass or fail. It came in because the research keeps pointing the same way: the tighter the noseband, the higher the pressure on the horse's face. Over-tight nosebands have been shown to suppress normal behaviours like yawning, licking and swallowing, and even raise heart rate. In one study of 750 competition horses, 44% were wearing nosebands that were extremely tight — and only 7% were fitted to the recommended level.
You don't have to be competing internationally for this to matter to your horse. The old 'two fingers at the front of the nose' guide is still a brilliant home check for anyone. A noseband done up too firmly — or a bridle sitting slightly out of place — presses on nerves and bone that lie very close to the surface of a horse's face, and that discomfort often shows up as resistance, head-shaking or a reluctance to be bridled. If you're ever unsure, it's exactly the sort of thing a proper fitting picks up.
Sources: FEI standardises noseband tightness — Chronicle of the Horse · Tight nosebands and facial pressure (2025) — ScienceDirect
