Most horses passed FEI noseband checks at 2025 British Dressage events
Bottom line
A new observational study in Equine Veterinary Journal reports that 95% of 523 horses inspected at the 2025 British Dressage Championships had enough noseband laxity to pass checks using the FEI noseband measuring device. The study covered horses competing at the British Dressage National Championship, Middle Tour Championship, and Area Festival Championship, and found stewards rated 96% of horses as compliant during insertion and passage of the device. Swedish nosebands were the most common, followed by flash, cavesson, drop, and grackle designs. The findings arrive as British Dressage trials the FEI device ahead of full national rollout, after the FEI began using the tool across disciplines at international competitions on May 1, 2025. (lifescience.net)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals working in equine sports medicine and welfare, the data suggest that mandatory, standardized tack checks may be shifting behavior before horses enter the ring. That matters because overtight nosebands have been a persistent welfare concern, and the FEI device was introduced specifically to replace more subjective finger-based checks with a consistent pass/fail method. British Dressage’s own September 30, 2025 committee summary said 91% of horses at that year’s National Championships passed on first inspection, and the federation planned to use championship data to inform full implementation from January 1, 2026. (fei.org)
What to watch: Watch for whether British Dressage publishes additional championship or Area Festival data, and whether other federations report similar pass rates as the FEI device becomes routine in competition welfare oversight. (files.britishdressage.co.uk)
A newly published observational study suggests most horses at major British Dressage championships in 2025 passed the FEI’s new objective noseband tightness check. Reporting on 523 horses inspected during mandatory tack and equipment checks, the Equine Veterinary Journal paper found that 95% had sufficient laxity to pass using the FEI noseband measurement device, while 96% were judged compliant during the checking procedure. (lifescience.net)
The result lands in the middle of a broader welfare shift in dressage and other equestrian sports. The FEI introduced its standardized noseband measuring device to improve horse welfare and make enforcement more consistent, replacing the long-criticized practice of relying on individual stewards’ fingers to judge tightness. Under FEI protocol, the wedge-shaped device is inserted under the noseband over the nasal bone and drawn from top to bottom; if the device can’t pass through, the combination may be prevented from starting or eliminated, depending on when the check occurs. The FEI began using the device across all disciplines on May 1, 2025. (fei.org)
British Dressage had already signaled that 2025 would be a transition year. Its 2025 rule amendment synopsis said the FEI-approved device would be trialed at national competitions during the second half of 2025 before full implementation from January 1, 2026, with advance notice to riders when the tool would be used. British Dressage’s tack and equipment guidance also makes clear that championship tack checks are physical, not just visual, and include nosebands. (britishdressage.co.uk)
The study itself adds some practical detail that rulebooks usually don’t provide. Among the 523 horses observed across the British Dressage National Championship, Middle Tour Championship, and Area Festival Championship, Swedish nosebands were the most common at 39%, followed by flash nosebands at 29%, cavessons at 21%, drop nosebands at 9%, and grackles at 2%. The authors note that earlier published competition data found much larger proportions of overtightened nosebands, and they suggest the newer results may reflect better education about welfare or the effect of mandatory testing itself. Notably, the abstract says no behavioral assessment was carried out, so the paper speaks to pass rates and steward observations, not to horses’ stress or comfort during competition. (lifescience.net)
There’s also an important nuance in the available British Dressage reporting. A September 30, 2025 executive summary from the federation’s Sport Development Committee said 91% of horses checked at that year’s National Championships passed the test first time, and that the device would also be trialed at the Area Festival Championships before data were compiled for the board. The 95% figure in the journal abstract appears to reflect the broader combined championship sample, so the two numbers are not necessarily contradictory. That’s an inference based on the scope described in the study abstract and the narrower event reference in British Dressage’s committee summary. (lifescience.net)
Industry reaction around the device has generally split along two lines: support for a more objective welfare check, and debate over whether the FEI tool is strict enough. The FEI says the device is meant to ensure fairness for both horse and athlete through a consistent, evidence-based method. At the same time, outside commentary has noted that some welfare advocates would have preferred adoption of the long-used ISES taper gauge, which requires more slack under the noseband. That means the current study may reassure regulators and stewards that the FEI protocol is workable in the field, even as debate continues over where the welfare threshold should sit. (fei.org)
Why it matters: For veterinarians, stewards, and equine welfare teams, the study offers an early real-world signal that formal measurement can be implemented at scale with high apparent compliance. That could reduce friction around enforcement and help normalize pre-emptive adjustments by riders, trainers, and grooms before horses present for inspection. But the data shouldn’t be overread: a high pass rate doesn’t by itself resolve the underlying welfare debate, and the absence of behavioral assessment means it can’t answer whether passing horses were more comfortable, less stressed, or simply adapted to the new compliance standard. (lifescience.net)
What to watch: The next key step is how British Dressage and other governing bodies use these early field data as the FEI device becomes standard practice. British Dressage said in 2025 that championship findings would be reviewed by its board and steward working party ahead of full implementation from January 1, 2026, so further reporting on pass rates, steward consistency, and any welfare-linked outcomes will be worth watching closely. (files.britishdressage.co.uk)