Pressure of the Hackamore on the Nasal Bone

Let’s take a look at the secret of the effect of the hackamore, sidepull, bosal, medikana, caveson, kapcung and Parelli halter. The main pressure of all these “tools” is applied to the almost “naked” os.nasale (nose bone), or to be more precise – on processus nasalis, the forwardly extended nasal appendix of the nose bone. The area where the pressure of the working part of the Parelli halter, bosal, or hackamore, is applied is the joint of the nose bone where the two halves of the nose bone connect and become a flat joint.

A flat joint is the most vulnerable and fragile joint of all bone joints in the horse. The flat joint that brings together the two halves of processus nasalis is astonishingly fragile and breaks under any pressure. It breaks with such cunning that it is not visible on a single x-ray, which is not surprising because there is no break in the bone itself. Instead, only the connecting tissues of cartilage are ripped, those that “glue” the flat joint. This type of injury is almost a fracture, although we need to make a distinction that it cannot be represented of the nose bone where the two as a “fracture” in a definite sense, yet the symptoms are identical in most cases.

hose who want to make sure for themselves can do so on a fresh horse skull by breaking the flat joint that combines the two halves of the processus nasalis; it breaks from finger pressure. As soon as the flat joint gets destroyed (it’s a matter of a minute) under the pressure of hackamore, sidepull or Parelli halter, the separated processus nasalis bones begin to “wander around”. The integrity of processus nasalis is demolished, the halves, as people say, begin to “play” from any type of pressure. First of all, what echoes on the shift is n.infraorbitalis, a nerve that has a very thick branch going underneath the nose bone. The separated bone produces a mechanical, painful and irritating pressure on the nerve and a branch of the nerve appendixes that covers the nose bone from underneath – it deforms and tears, so the pain impulses go straight to the horse’s brain. These pain impulses are immensely powerful.

This is the secret of the effect of hackamore, rope halter and similar nasal equipment. Even a simple noseband, when tied hard enough, gives the same effect of separating the flat joint of the nose bone. You can picture for yourself how great a shift occurs between the halves of the processus nasalis on any skull, even old, where connecting cartilage has been boiled out or fell apart due to age. Having imagined the network of extremely sensitive nerves that are almost “attached” to the nose bone underneath being exposed to deformation and tearing – it’s not hard to get a clear feeling about what pain is being produced. Very similar effects are caused from pulling to one side or another when using a hackamore bosal, sidepull or Parelli halter.

Source: www.facebook.com/NevzorovHauteEcole/photos/pb.188817027832938.-2207520000.1450094554./555826984465272/?type=3&theater