A shadow roll is a piece of equipment, usually made of sheepskin or a synthetic material, that is attached to the

noseband A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson ...

of a horse's

bridle A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgear ...

. Like blinkers, it partially restricts the horse's vision, and helps them to concentrate on what is in front of them, rather than objects on the ground (such as shadows). Shadow rolls are most commonly used in horse racing, both on the flat and

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Austral ...

, as some horses will try to jump shadows on the ground, behavior that will slow them down. They are also occasionally, albeit rarely, seen in

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

. The shadow roll is also seen in show jumping competitions, especially for horses who have a tendency to raise their heads too high and evade the bit. The shadow roll is intended to correct this by forcing the horse to lower his head in order to see the jump; when the horse's head is raised the roll blocks his vision.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shadow Roll Headgear (horse)