06/14/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1RQKEQhTf2/?mibextid=wwXIfr
HEAD SHAKING and ANATOMICAL CROWNPIECES…
This is not a scientific study, so I will preface this experiential essay with this admission. It is more an ‘Aha!’ after running a lesson program for over forty years, along with a series of eighty private lungeing lessons, using the owner’s own horses, two years ago.
I began to notice a larger than usual number of horses with head shaking issues, both while under saddle and on the lunge line. These were not evasions but the horses seemed more distracted and uncomfortable, than anything. The riders were, for the most part, quite used to the horses’ head bobbing and shaking, to the point that it was my pointing it out that brought it to the fore.
Several of the lungeing students actually came to me because their horses “did not like to be on the lunge line”, due to the fact that their heads were never still.
I began to notice a pattern. The head shakers were all being ridden with so-called 'anatomical' bridles with widely-shaped, padded and stitched crownpieces. In one memorable lesson, the mare actually shook the headstall over her ears. I began to keep a flat crownpiece bridle—aka a traditional headstall of flat, well-conditioned leather—on the hook by the arena entrance, along with a lungeing cavesson with a similar plain strap that passes behind the ears.
In all instances, when we made the swap, the head shaking stopped instantly. So, these were not neurological or allergy-driven issues; they were communication-based. That's an important distinction to make.
I could only surmise that the anatomical padded crownpieces do not ‘set’ correctly behind many horses’ ears. With our own Thoroughbred, her bony and narrow poll seems to poke up into the shaped headstall and it doesn’t set back behind the ear, in the natural groove, but it wants to pop ahead. This, in turn, annoys her.
Head shaking is something seldom encountered in horses ridden in western gear. I can only think that this is because flat crownpieces are still what is used in the stock horse disciplines but perhaps there is more to it than that; it may be the bitting, or the amount of contact a horse is ridden on, or the lack of nosebands, as well.
Which brings us to the lungeing. In 2024, I offered a series of one-hour lungeing lessons for Keystone followers within hauling distance of the ranch.
Close to eighty people signed up with their own horses over the course of the summer, from May to October and yes, I was blown away by the response. Obviously, they were feeling a need to supplement what they were working on in the saddle, with the tools of lungeing for wellness, straightness and building an improved way of going in their horses.
I supplied the gear for some but most came with their own cavessons and lunge reins. It was fairly common for me to stop the horse in work, as it was shaking its head and we would exchange the cavesson with an anatomical crownpiece for one with a plain strap.
To be fair, we also stopped several head shaking horses to fasten back the jingling loose side rings with elastic bands, as these were annoying the horse with the unnecessary movement, aka ‘noise’.
The thicker the padding, the worse the head shaking, was again my observation.
Larger horses, such as Warmbloods and half draughts, were influenced the least. They seemed quite comfortable. But Thoroughbreds, Arabians and Quarter Horses did not seem to fit these headstalls as well, nor did smaller ponies. It was as though the shaped crownpiece had a pressure point directly on top of the poll, rather than a narrower strap that made contact all the way around the head.
We want our horses to be comfortable, which is why these thickly padded and shaped headstalls have become so popular. But there can be too much of a good thing. When a horse shakes his head, he is usually seeking relief, or relaxation. Moving a fly or a tickle, or relaxing on a loose rein after a job well done. One or two shakes of the head can also be a sign of lowering tension.
Constant head shaking, however, is not a natural pattern. Between browbands being too short and the padded lining on these thick crownpieces wrinkling with use, I don't think these top-of-the-line bridles are as comfortable as we're hoping they are.
I’m not trying to put any makers out of business, or start any sort of debate but if you are relying on anatomical headstalls in your work with horses, you may want to start paying attention.
How is the thing seated? Is it riding on top of the horse, rather than settling in the natural groove behind the ears? Is the browband long enough to keep the crownpiece well behind the bulb of the ears? Is the bridle moving around at all, when the horse trots or canters, or shakes his head? Is there any wrinkling starting in the padding?
Do you often have to stop and pull the bridle into a more settled position? Is it staying stiff, in the same overall shape as when it was new, or is it conforming to the actual shape of the horse’s poll? Does he seem particularly hot, sweaty and itchy around the ears, as in almost frantic to get the bridle off after each ride?
If there’s any doubt and the leather is of good quality, one can always soak the crownpiece in a tub of warm water, until bubbles stop appearing, then bridle the horse and shape the leather better to his, or her head. Use wet until pretty much dry and then condition it well, with a product like Lederbalsam or Skidmore’s. This one thing can do a lot to customise the fit.
One of the problems is in the construction, of course.
The padding is usually of latex, which is an unbreathable substance that also resists custom shaping, unlike leather that molds to the horse with use. These bridles 'run hot' and horses will often be sweating underneath them, before any actual exercise has commenced. The lining is usually of lighter-weight leather than the headstall, itself and because leather sandwiched in an arc tends to wrinkle on the inside curve, we get little ridges. The beautifully rolled edges often lie proud of the surface of the lining, so there are now additional pressure points along both front and back of the crownpiece.
If you add in a browband that is just a hair too short, which is super common, you've got an extra set of fit problems.
Beyond my regular lesson program with students hauling in, as well as the unusual example of the eighty horses brought in for lungeing work, I can relate to similar examples within our own horses.
In addition to the Thoroughbred who has been fussy under saddle, until we made a point of swapping out her padded and shaped crownpiece with an old spare one from the tack room, an old flat hunter bridle that sits still on her, we've had one other notable example here.
This was a large pony whom we’d trained and ridden here on the ranch for seven years, with absolutely no instances of head shaking. He then went on to a hunter-jumper career, where it soon became an issue. Was it the jumping? The contact? The noseband? The anatomical bridle? Your guess is as good as mine.
I don’t automatically reach for gear now because it is in style, or is expensive and or it should be more comfortable than what we’ve been using forever.
It’s another instance of really paying attention to each individual horse.
