I recently gave a quick lesson for a novice rider on a horse I had sold her. We focused mostly on getting the horse to be collected and using her body in a correct way. It’s a complex topic to try to teach, even for advanced riders. Most educated horsemen would agree that true collection is an entire body process. It is common to see riders focus only on the headset of the horse when trying to get them to collect. It can be easy to fake collection with a horse when you only focus on the front end - mostly because we’re interacting with the reins and headstall and bit, and see the most change or get the most reaction from the horse in this area due to the multiple pressure points the head has. 

I stressed to this rider that just because the horse puts her head down when she incorrectly see-saws the reins, does not mean she is practicing good horsemanship. What she is actually doing in that see-saw motion is creating pain in the horse’s mouth since the motion of see-sawing a bit causes abnormal pressure in the tongue, palate, and lips of the horse (if a leverage bit is used then there is more pressure to the poll). I spent the remainder of the lesson trying to rewire the rider’s brain to accept the fact that the headset of the horse alone does not equal collection, and consciousness of how a bit interacts with the horse is incredibly important. 

This brings me to discuss the very important topic of pressure points in a horse, focusing on the head. 

Acupressure points on a horse's head 

The horse’s head consists of multiple pressure points, all which are subject to influence by the bits and halters we decide to use on them. Let’s break down the anatomy of the equine skull and the pressure points associated with it in a simple manner.

The skull itself is made of multiple bones fused together to make the skull a “solid piece”. The top of the skull, which houses the eyes, the brain, sinuses, the top teeth, and the oh-so-soft muzzle that we horse obsessed people love to kiss, is called the maxilla. The bottom part of the skull where the bottom teeth reside is called the mandible. Between the velvety soft ears is where the atlas vertebrae meets the skull- this area is called the poll and is considered one of the more vulnerable and sensitive parts of the horse. 

There are a bunch of nerves that cover both the mandible and maxilla of the skull- all of which can be affected by various pressures from bits, halters, and headstalls. I won’t get into too much detail about nerves, but it’s important to remember that nerves are there and it is the interaction with the pain receptors that cause our horses to react at the various pressure points.

Let’s start with the poll- The poll, as mentioned, can be considered as one of the more sensitive parts of the horse. The brain is vulnerable here and abrupt trauma to this area can cause irreparable damage to the horse. Yet, this is where our headstalls and halters rest. Pressure in this area caused by equipment can happen two ways- a thin headstall or halter creates more concentrated pressure than a thicker headstall or halter, and the severity of a leverage bit can affect how that headstall gets pressed into the poll area. The poll is mostly affected by leverage bits; when pressure is applied to the poll, the reaction is to move away from that pressure, in this case, down, from the pressure on the poll. 

The palate of the mouth, although thick and capable of eating tough roughage, can be very sensitive to bits and the pressure a bit might cause. This part of the mouth is directly affected by single or multiple jointed bits, and mouthpieces with a ported feature. When reins are activated, the joint of the bit consolidates to direct pressure points on the palate of the mouth. When a horse is sensitive here, and/or if the rider is heavy handed, you might see the horse gap its mouth or raise its head up, trying to get away from that particular pressure. 

The bars of the mouth, the area of the mouth that does not have teeth, between the frontal incisors and the molars, also called the interdental space, can be a sensitive area. Some horses will prefer pressure to the bars over the palate, or vice versa- regardless of the bit in your horse’s mouth, there will be some degree of bar pressure when a rider pulls back on the reins and takes up the slack between hands and bit. The severity of the bit will determine the amount of pressure felt on the bars. A mullen mouthpiece is an example of a bit that focuses pressure to the bars of the mouth. Signs of bar sensitivity include a horse chewing on the mouthpiece, sicking the tongue outside of the mouth, head tossing, and over-reaction to rein collection. 

Subsequently, pressure on the tongue of the horse is inevitable. The bit, regardless of the shape or material, rests on the tongue, causing some sort of active or inactive pressure.

Most horses tolerate pressure to the tongue very well. For those that don’t, perhaps because their tongue is just anatomically thicker, prior injury causes abnormal sensitivity, or just simply the preference of the horse, might like a ported bit or a different material than the typically used metal. Signs of tongue sensitivity include mouth gaping and putting the tongue over or behind the bit. 

A cautionary tale 

I sent a couple of young fillies off to a local trainer for the first stages of their training journey last summer. The trainer had a good reputation and upon my initial assessment of him when he picked the horses up, I assumed he was a gentle and well educated horseman. After 30 days, I hauled my trailer to his facility to pick the horses up. His daughter was the one who put the initial rides on the horses and she got on each horse to demonstrate to me what they each knew. Immediately I knew I needed to leave with these horses as soon as possible.

Each filly had sores on either side of the corners of the lips- which made sense when she put a thin wire snaffle bit into their mouth. When I asked why she rode in twisted wire bit on young horses, her answer was simply “to get them softer faster”. Of course a twisted wire would make a horse go “soft” faster- a twisted wire is a thin wire mouthpiece that causes higher pressure points to the surface area- which makes sense as to why the corners of the mouth were raw. These horses were not educated or far enough along in their training to know that type of isolated pressure- so they likely fought against that feeling a lot in the first rides until the pain became literal raw skin and they had no choice but to react to that physical pain and go “soft”.

Focusing on the corner of the lips 

In my personal opinion, this is nothing short of cheating and false training when advanced tools are used on novice and uneducated horses. As I digress, let me say that although the corners of the lips are fatty tissue with not a ton of nerves, it is still a pressure point for the horse when a bit is interacting with it and a spot where pain can possibly occur. Ill fitting bits or worn out bits can cause pinching to the skin here so make sure your bit fits and is functioning properly. Don’t overlook this area when analyzing how a bit interacts with a horse.

The nasal bone is a very sensitive part of the skull that is commonly overlooked. The nasal bone is actually a thin bone that comes off the maxilla and ends before the oh-so-soft muzzle, and is subject to damage if a halter, hackamore, or noseband is too low and/or too much pressure is applied. For example, a nose flash, which is designed to wrap around a horse’s mouth in order to prevent a horse from gapping it’s mouth open and avoiding pressure from a bit (analyze that piece of tack as you will…) can be tightened too much and cause bruising and potential breakage of the nasal bone that it sits over. A thin rope halter that fits too low on the nose can possibly bruise or break the nasal bone if acute pressure is applied. A leverage hackamore that sits too low on the nose can do the same thing as the examples mentioned prior. Properly fitting equipment is essential to the humane management of our horses.

Listen to your horse 

A much more educated person than myself could possibly dive into the specifics of the equine facial nerves and how the use of equipment and tack interact with the nerves. For us laymen, we can instead rely on what the horse is trying to tell us about what we are using. Watch for signs of pain, signs of relaxation, resistance versus collection, harmony versus chaos. Understand the anatomy of the horse, at least from an elementary level, analyze how the equipment fits the horse and examine the possible pressure points it applies to the body. Be open minded to the many innovative companies that are putting a ton of research into the science of bits to see how knowledge is changing how we manufacture bits. Once you know better, do better. And always love the horse before the sport.