What is a cavesson?
A cavesson is a type of bitless bridle, the noseband of which usually has three rings for attaching the longe line and / or reins. The noseband of cavessons available in The Art of Riding Store contains a chain similar to the bike chain, which adjusts to the shape of the horse's nose and allows for precise delivery of aids. Bicycle chain, hmm, that sounds pretty dangerous right ?! The chain in the Marjoman cavesson noseband’s is padded with a soft foam and covered with pleasant to the touch, oiled leather, which is well tolerated even by sensitive horses. You can read more about the types of cavessons available on the market on my blog:https://theartofridingstore.com/gb/blog/news/types-of-cavessons-and-what-should-be-considered-when-choosing-one
Fig. 1 The noseband of Marjoman cavessons is very well padded and suitable even for sensitive horses.
What is a cavesson used for?
The cavesson is used for gymnastic groundwork, longing, work in hand, work on long reins and for riding. It is an indispensable tool for longing and, together with body language and aids given by the whip towards the horse's barrel (where the rider's inner leg would be), it allows for the correct stellning (flexion at the poll), lateral bending and deeper stepping under of the inner hind leg without the use of auxiliary reins or other longeing “aids”. It can also be used during collecting exercises. At this stage of training, a semi-cavesson is often used in combination with a curb bit.
The cavesson can also be successfully used as a bitless bridle while riding and I personally even hack out using cavesson.
What are the three cavesson rings for?
The middle ring of the cavesson is used for attaching a groundwork rope or longe line, two outer rings are used for attaching the reins when working in hand (walking at the height of the horse's withers), while riding or working on long reins. The outer rings shouldn’t be used for attaching auxiliary rein.
How does the cavesson work?
The cavesson’s noseband acts directly on the horse's nose, and not on the horse's lower jaw (mandible) like a bit would (Figure 1). By moving the horse's nose, we have a direct impact on the horse's poll (i.e. the atlanto-occipital joint between the occipital bone of the horse's skull and the first cervical vertebra i.e. atlas) and we can ask the horse for stellning (flexion at the poll), and if the horse is supple, then also for lateral bending.
A common mistake when asking for stellning is to take the horse’s head too much inward and to overbend the neck. If you do so, you will not get the correct stellning and lateral bending and the horse will be forced to overload the outer shoulder to maintain its balance.
Fig. 2 Anatomical structures involved in correct stellning (flexion at the poll). The cavesson acts on the horse's nose, and thus can affect directly the position of the poll.
How to achieve the correct stellning and bending when working on a cavesson?
Work on stellning and bending with a cavesson one can begin in standstill by asking the horse to lower his head and open the poll (i.e. nose forward well in front of the vertical) so that the lower jaw, which will move outwards during stellning, is not blocked by the wings of the atlas vertebra. You can see how it looks in practice in the video of the Dutch Academic Art of Riding trainer Ylvie Fros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUYDZICKU7M
Notice in the video above how the horse's suppleness looks like: asking for stellning translates to lateral bending: inward rotation of the ribcage (inside ribs lowering) and moving the inside hip forward.
If the horse does not understand the action of the hand on the cavesson asking to go down, you can initially help yourself with treats. Lowering the head requires a horse not only to be physically but also mentally relaxed and is a sign of his trust. Never try to get a stellning by force, because the only thing you will encounter is the horse's resistance. You can read more about this in the following blog post by Bettina Biolik https://beeandthehorse.com/2015/01/18/stretching-forward-down-a-little-exercise-with-big-effects/ . If the poll is relaxed and open, when moving the horse's nose inwards, the mandible (lower jaw) will move outwards under the wings of the apical vertebra (atlas) and we will obtain the correct stellning. If we work with a bit and, for example, longe a horse with a longe line attached to the inner ring of the bit, then by giving a signal with the hand inwards, the mandible is moved inwards (and not as it should be outwards), which means that we are not able to obtain the correct stellning or bending (it will provoke the horse to move the outer hip forward and disengage his hindquarters, so there is no way of achieving correct stellning, bending and stepping under of the inside hind leg). When teaching the horse stellning and bending on the cavesson, we can continue standstill exercises in motion, walking close to the horse backwards or forwards (groundwork), and then (when the horse does not require so much support in obtaining stellning and bending) at a certain distance (longing). A very useful feature of the cavesson is that having a longe line or a rope attached to the middle ring, you can change directions smoothly during training without having to re-attach the longe line every time we change the direction.
In the video below you can see Bettina Biolik (the only certified Academic Art of Riding trainer in Poland) working from the ground on a cavesson with her young horse Minor https://youtu.be/9csJGDUIsUQ
And in this video, Bettina shows basic ground exercises with the more advanced horse Weto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKzBlPKE8J0
How to start working with a young horse on a cavesson?
Before asking a young for stellning and bending, you should work on basic communication with the horse from the ground, practice smooth leading, stops, starting, changes of direction and pace. These basic exercises can be done using a halter or a cavesson. We do not start gymnastic groundwork with cavesson usually earlier than with horses of three and a half or even four years old. Gymnastic groundwork allows you to prepare the horse physically and mentally to work from the saddle and teaches him the aids given through the cavesson, which will greatly facilitate subsequent communication from the saddle. Moreover, for horses up to five-six years of age, when all the milk teeth have been replaced by permanent teeth, working bitless with a cavesson is a better option than using a bit due to the sensitivity of the mouth in these period. With this in mind, and by introducing the bit only after the replacement of the teeth, we can prevent problems with bit acceptance by the horse.
When starting a horse under saddle (riding in) it is worth working with two people for some time, one person sits on the horse and keeps the reins attached to the outer rings of the cavesson, and the other person has a longe line attached to the middle ring of the cavesson. It allows for the gradual taking over of the aids given by the longing person with those given by the rider. Working in two people with the use of a cavesson will also be great option during seat training or training more advanced elements from the saddle, which the horse has learned well from the ground.
To sum up:
• A cavesson works on the horse's nose, and not on his jaw as a bit
• A cavesson is used for gymnastic groundwork, including longing, work in hand and riding
• It allows for correct stellning and bending even during longing, unlike a bit
• While working on the cavesson, you can smoothly change directions without having to re-attach the longe line or rope
• You can start gymnastic groundwork with a cavesson for horses three-and-a-half or four-year-old
• A cavesson can be used with horses even during the period of tooth replacement, when the bit may not be well accepted
• A cavesson will be great for starting a horse under saddle, seat training, learning more advanced elements from the saddle
I hope you find this post useful. I wish you successful and relaxed trainings.
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