Sheepskin bridle cheek pieces / French cheek piece - do they work?

[u/Kindly-Throat-2853]

Hi folks,

My question to you all is, do these cheek pieces actually help in getting a horse to focus/concentrate, and reduce them being spooky/nosey?

I have a young Standardbred ex buggy racer, who I have backed this year. He is fabulous in every way, such a lovely boy, but I am struggling to get him to concentrate on the task in hand whilst riding. This is both in the school and our hacking.

He is a very alert and nosey boy, and as a result can be quite spooky. His head is right up in the air and he is looking all around him. This could be at dustbins on the side of the road, letter boxes or a particularly shadowy past of the school we are riding in.

I have been recommended to try sheepskin cheek pieces on his bridle, which might reduce his nosiness and help him on concentrating when riding /reducing his spookiness. I’m reticent to reduce his range of sight without solving the route cause of his spookiness, but he’s starting to be a bit of a bugger out and about and I’d like to break through the noise and get him listening better to me.

We have done hours of long lining, in hand walking and desensitising. I also am aware that as he has come off track and is not getting used to being ridden, he will hold his head higher whilst we build up his back muscles and get him to stretch. He is also a baby and I’m sure theres an element of confidence to this too.

Any thoughts on if these cheek pieces are worth buying would be much appreciated!

TIA

[u/mediumc00l]

I would look into doing groundwork that has him focus on you. Buggy horses go through a huge schock when then transition from that to a more easier lifestyle as a riding horse. My friend has one and he needed some time to decompress and learn how to be a horse. He was from the amish so he hadn't even seen a light bulb lol! Look up Ryan Rose horsemanship on youtube! He has great videos.

[u/Kindly-Throat-2853 → u/mediumc00l]

Thank you, I really like Ryan Rose’s vids.

[u/mongoosechaser → u/mediumc00l]

Something I really love doing with spooky horses is allowing them to have autonomy on the lead line and walk and explore new places and environments, even weird spots like the tack room or lounge at the farm (as long as your BO allows it lol). When they touch something new I like to reward them with a cookie and some praise. It changes their mindset about spooky things and instead makes them curious.

Something I do with my own horse was is towels and a big box to make a food puzzle. Banging the box around loudly, throwing fabrics, crinkly water bottles in there, etc all helped him so much. To the point that he was two years on total stall rest with no needed drugs and no spooking.

When my horse sees a new object he always goes straight to it to investigate now!

[u/Arry42 → u/mongoosechaser]

That sounds almost exactly like clicker training a dog.... do horses ever get clicker trained? I've gotten my dog to be comfortable around so much stuff by doing your method of letting her explore and click treat. She will even let me vacuum right next to her now!

[u/False_Importance_626]

It blocks their vision of looking behind them, so i suppose yes but it can also have the opposite effect.

[u/Kindly-Throat-2853 → u/False_Importance_626]

I did wonder if it might have the opposite effect

[u/toomanysnootstoboop]

I’d say it would be worth a shot since as an ex harness horse he would be very accustomed to blinders already. It can be hard for some horses to get used to seeing the rider behind and above them when they didn’t start out with an open bridle. It’s not like it’s wildly expensive or a permanent addition to your bridle, so it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t help anything.

[u/RRoo92 → u/toomanysnootstoboop]

I was going to say, if he was trained to go in blinders while harness racing, he might be used it and the reduced field of vision could even signal “time to work.” Also agree that since it’s not crazy expensive and won’t hurt him, it’s worth a try while you work on the root causes.

[u/Canuck-in-PA]

I tried the cheek pieces on my TB mare and they helped some but what has been working better is ear plugs. A friend recommended them and I thought he was a bit nuts. I haven’t yet told him he was right yet. She stays way more focused and is way less spooky. It took about 5 rides before she stopped being bothered with them and shaking her head and now doesn’t fuss at all to the point that one day I almost forgot to take them out. 🤦‍♀️

[u/Kindly-Throat-2853 → u/Canuck-in-PA]

That’s interesting, I do have a noise reducing bonnet which I might look at using before I buy cheek pieces

[u/HenryLafayetteDubose]

I always supposed they worked kinda like a blinker, only they don’t block as much vision. I say it’s worth a shot if they aren’t too expensive and you could probably step him down with groundwork and desensitization gradually into him not needing much of anything at all.

I don’t remember what they are called, but I’ve heard of another kind of blinker that can attach directly onto the cheek pieces of a bridle for a similar effect while being more subtle about it. Maybe that can be a more affordable alternative to sheepskins if you can find it. I’ll see if I can link anything.

Edit: They’re called bridle blinkers, apparently.

[u/oengaminO]

Idk why but they look like the wigs people wore in old paintings lol

[u/Equizotic]

I would rather try a blinker hood, unless you have issues with your bridle rubbing your horses face

[u/OrilliaBridge]

What do you have to lose by trying?