There are a myriad of reasons why I tend to favor shorter nose buttons. Short nose buttons promote a faster release on the heel knot and help stabilize the bosal entirely. The longer the nose button, the further back the fulcrum point and the less weight pulling the heel knot down. When the heel knot is down, either resting on the chin or suspended in a fiador, that is the release. It is there that the bosal gets to help the horse learn to carry their head in a natural and tucked manner without our intervention. Needless to say, we want this as often as we can. By having a shorter nose button, this will happen. Short nose buttons also help the bosal stay more stable. By pushing the fulcrum point of the hanger back, the weight ratio gets closer and closer to 50/50 therefore causing the bosal to seesaw with the movement of the horse. This creates a chaotic signal that is distorted by the “static in the lines”. Not to mention just being plain annoying this can cause the nose of the horse to be rubbed raw. The reason for this is because picking up the mecates will force the nose down instead of rotating it. This constant up and down motion of the nose button is not what it was intended for and will rub the horse raw, if it isn’t just super annoying!
So, why is there even a debate here? Short answer, aesthetic and the horse owner’s interpretation of comfort. The one con, so to speak, of short nose buttons is that they hang the bosal closer to the eye of the horse. This can easily be aided by the use of a cheater string. A cheater string is a thin piece of leather, rope, or string of some kind used to tie back the hanger of the bosal around the jowls of the horse to keep the hanger further from the eye. These solve the issue of the bosal getting close to the eye. A cheater string is meant to be put on snug, not tight. The purpose is to hold the hanger from getting in the horse’s eye, not to give the horse 8 inches of room…it should still be close to the eye. By cranking down a cheater string to “help the horse” we are putting unnecessary pressure on the nose button. Personally, I think it is a small price to pay for the benefits I have listed.
Custom Bosal for Howling W Ranch (Ravenna) 10 Plait Body 32 plait nose button custom pattern(gaucho, herringbone, 02u2, gaucho) 3 string healknot Spacer Lariat Core Leather hanger, great for release
Short nosebutton 6.5in
Cheater string for eyes
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