Crooked Necks

Archive for September 6th, 2009

If you look at any race card you will see if a horse is wearing any type of headgear. The more common types of headgear worn by race horses are Blinkers, Visor and Cheek Pieces. Another addition to a horses headgear is a tongue strap.

Blinkers. These are fitted to a horse to aid its concentration during the race. The blinkers are in fact cowls fitted to a head cloth and they can be either full or half cup. The overall effect is to reduce a horses vision from 180 degrees down to a around 30 degrees.

Visors. These are similar to blinkers except that the cowl has a hole or slit in the side to allow the horse to see other horses at its side.

Some people question how genuine a horse is that needs blinkers but there is no doubt that in some cases they can bring about a much improved performance. It is not uncommon that the first time a horse races in blinkers it has the desired effect but in subsequent races they seem to have no effect.