Permitted Tack in Competition: Bits, Bridles, Nosebands and Saddlery

Dressage restricts tack more tightly than any other Olympic equestrian discipline: a test may be ridden only in a plain snaffle bridle or a double bridle carrying permitted mouthpieces, a noseband is compulsory, and nearly everything else — martingales, gadget reins, boots, bandages, whips in the arena — is banned. The FEI publishes the international requirements in a dedicated tack and equipment document with diagrams of every legal bit and noseband; national federations maintain their own, broadly similar, rulebooks. Two recent changes define the current landscape: since 1 January 2026 riders may choose snaffle or double bridle up to and including CDI3* and CDIO3* Grand Prix, and since 1 May 2025 noseband tightness at FEI events has been checked with a standardised measuring device rather than by finger-width convention.

Where the rules live

Internationally, tack was long regulated inside the FEI Dressage Rules themselves (the saddlery annex). From the 2026 edition the FEI moved the detail into a standalone FEI Tack and Equipment Requirements document per discipline, supported by an online tack database and the FEI Tack App, where individual bit and noseband patterns can be checked against the permitted diagrams. The dressage requirements currently in force are the edition effective 1 January 2026.

Nationally, each federation publishes its own equipment rules: the USEF Dressage chapter and its attire-and-equipment booklet in the United States, the British Dressage members’ handbook in Britain, the FN’s LPO in Germany. They follow the FEI’s families of permitted equipment but differ in detail and in which bridle each national level requires.

Two practical rules follow. The ruleset that governs is the one the class is run under — an FEI-legal bit can be illegal in a national class and vice versa. And tack rules change almost every year; any list, including this one, describes the editions cited at the end and should be checked against the current documents before competing.

Snaffle or double: the bridle question by level

Dressage recognises exactly two bridles: the snaffle (one bit, one rein) and the double bridle (bradoon and curb, two reins), whose purpose and correct use are described in contact and the outline. Which one a test requires depends on the level and the jurisdiction, and the trend of the last decade has run consistently towards snaffle permission:

The historical direction matters more than any single row. The double bridle was compulsory in senior international dressage for most of the sport’s history; the FEI first opened the choice at one- and two-star level and in the youth and seven-year-old divisions, and from 1 January 2026 extended it to Grand Prix at CDI3*/CDIO3* — the first time the Grand Prix could be ridden internationally in a snaffle. At four-star and above, and at championships, the double remains required, and the FEI’s full rules revision, in progress as of 2026, is expected to revisit the question again, including whether the double should be excluded from junior classes. Judges at levels where both bridles are legal are instructed to judge the connection, not the bridle.

The young horse classes and youth divisions sit at the protective end of the spectrum: ponies, children and five- and six-year-old horses compete in the snaffle only.

Legal bits: the snaffle family

The FEI requirements define a legal snaffle by its mouthpiece rather than by brand or name. It must have a smooth surface; twisted and wire mouthpieces are prohibited. It must be made of metal, durable synthetic material or flexible rubber, and may be covered in rubber or latex. It may have at most two joints; a barrel or ball centre link is permitted in a double-jointed snaffle provided the centre piece is solid, with no moving parts other than a roller, and does not act as a tongue plate. Mouthpieces may be curved or shaped for tongue relief within defined dimensions (a maximum deviation of 30 mm, with a minimum width of 30 mm where the bit contacts the tongue). Nothing may place mechanical restraint on the tongue.

Minimum mouthpiece diameters, measured next to the rings or cheeks, are 12 mm for horses and 10 mm for ponies. Permitted cheek patterns are the loose ring, D-ring, eggbutt and hanging cheek, plus full-cheek and Fulmer variants on jointed snaffles; loose rings may carry a sleeve.

The exclusions define the discipline as much as the permissions. Any bit acting with leverage or a gag action outside the double bridle’s curb — pelhams, kimblewicks, elevator and gag patterns — is illegal in a dressage test, as are bit guards. Bitless bridles are not permitted in FEI dressage or in mainstream national tests; a bridle with a bit and noseband is compulsory, though the question is periodically raised in rules consultations.

The double bridle: bradoon and curb

The double bridle carries two bits, each on its own rein. The bradoon is a snaffle made to sit alongside a curb: minimum diameter 10 mm, one or two joints, loose-ring or eggbutt cheeks, the same solid-centre-link rules as the snaffle, and no locking links that convert it into a rigid mouthpiece. The curb is the lever: its cheek below the mouthpiece may be no longer than 10 cm (measured at the uppermost position if the mouthpiece slides), the upper cheek may not exceed 5 cm or be longer than the lower, and a minimum mouthpiece diameter of 12 mm applies. Cheeks may be straight or S-shaped, with rotating lever arms permitted, and the mouthpiece may be straight or ported for tongue relief within the same 30 mm limits as the snaffle. The curb chain may be metal, leather or a combination, may be covered in leather, rubber or sheepskin, and must not be twisted or fixed so as to harm the horse; a lip strap is optional.

With a double bridle only a plain cavesson noseband is permitted (or a combined noseband with its lower strap removed) — none of the strap-below-the-bit designs legal with a snaffle may be combined with a curb. The training logic of the double — refinement of an already confirmed contact, never a means of imposing a frame — and the welfare debate around it are covered in contact and the outline.

Nosebands: types and tightness

A noseband is compulsory at FEI level, and the permitted list with a snaffle comprises the plain cavesson, dropped, flash, crossed (grackle) and combined nosebands, plus Micklem-style bridle designs; annexed diagrams in the FEI requirements settle borderline patterns. A throatlatch is required except with a combined noseband or Micklem-type bridle, and headstall and noseband must be essentially of leather or leather-like material.

Tightness is the live regulatory issue, because a cranked noseband can clamp a resisting mouth shut and convert a visible contact fault into invisible tension. For years the convention was “two fingers” between noseband and face, applied inconsistently. From 1 May 2025 the FEI replaced convention with instrument: a standardised measuring device, 1.7 cm thick (dimensioned to roughly a finger and a half), must pass under the noseband over the nasal bone, drawn through from top to bottom. The rule applies to every noseband type and to both upper and lower straps, and the measuring point at the nasal bone is deliberately where pressure concentrates.

The consequences are graded by timing. At a pre-competition check the steward has the noseband loosened and re-measured; if it still fails, the combination may not start. At a post-test check a failed measurement means elimination and a yellow warning card. National federations have begun adopting the same device for national competition — British Dressage announced its introduction alongside its own rule updates — so the instrumented standard is becoming the norm across the sport rather than an FEI peculiarity.

Saddles and saddlery

The saddle rules are brief because the discipline’s saddle is conventional: a dressage saddle with long, near-vertical flaps, a girth, and English-style or safety stirrups is compulsory. Stirrups must have closed branches with no attachments, and the rider’s foot may not be enclosed or fixed to the stirrup in any way — a rule aimed at magnetic and locking systems. Saddle pads should be white or off-white (contrast piping is allowed, striped or multicoloured pads are not), saddle covers are not allowed in the arena, and a pommel strap is permitted. Reins must be continuous, uninterrupted straps from bit to hand — one rein per bit, no additions, attachments or rope material. Elastic inserts are permitted only in the crownpiece and cheekpieces, and the crownpiece must lie immediately behind the poll, not further back on the neck.

What is banned

The prohibited list is long and mostly welfare-derived. Under the FEI requirements the following are forbidden in training, warm-up and competition at international events:

• Martingales, breastplates and bit guards;
• Gadget reins of any kind — side, running, balancing and bearing reins (national rules commonly make a narrow exception for side reins when lunging);
• Nasal strips and tongue ties, and any device placing mechanical restraint on the tongue;
• Blinkers and anything restricting vision, including fly masks in the competition arena;
• Any tack that stops the ears moving freely.

A second group is banned from the test but allowed in preparation: boots and bandages may be worn in the practice arena but must be removed completely before the horse enters the space around the competition arena. Ear plugs are forbidden in competition (permitted only at horse inspections and prize-givings for safety), although discreet ear hoods, which may provide noise reduction, are allowed if not attached to the noseband. False tails are permitted only without metal parts or added weight, and artificial decoration of the horse is prohibited. Random checks at the after-test equipment inspection enforce the ear-plug and false-tail rules, with elimination and a yellow card for breaches.

Spurs and whips

Spurs were long compulsory in international dressage; since 2024 they have been optional at FEI level, a change several national federations mirrored (the United States from September 2024). Where worn, they must be metal, with smooth, blunt arms and shanks pointing back; rowels, if fitted, must be blunt and free to rotate, and round-knobbed “dummy” designs are allowed. In children’s and pony competitions only blunt spurs up to 3.5 cm without rowels are permitted.

Whips divide cleanly at the arena boundary. At international events it is forbidden to carry a whip of any kind while competing; one whip up to 1.20 m (1 m in pony competitions) is allowed in the practice area and must be dropped before entering the arena surround, on penalty. Several national federations are more permissive — one whip of limited length is commonly allowed in ordinary national classes, though typically not at championships — which is a standard example of national and FEI rules diverging on the same equipment.

How tack is checked

Enforcement belongs to the stewards. At an FEI event they supervise the warm-up continuously (where the rules on gadgets, boots and whips already apply), conduct the noseband measurement under the pre- or post-competition protocol, and carry out the tack check immediately after the test: bridle, bit, noseband, spurs and saddlery are inspected as the horse leaves the arena, with the bit check performed carefully by a gloved steward. Random checks cover ear plugs and false tails. Illegal equipment discovered after a test means elimination from that competition; deliberate or welfare-relevant breaches attract yellow warning cards under the FEI’s sanctioning system, consistent with the officiating structure described in the CDI system and judging and scoring.

At national shows the same logic applies with lighter machinery — tack checks are often random rather than universal, performed by stewards or technical delegates under the national rulebook. The practical habit competitors learn early holds everywhere: the bit and noseband that enter the arena must match the diagrams in the current edition of whichever rulebook the class is run under, because the check happens after the score can no longer be saved.

Sources

• Fédération Équestre Internationale — FEI Tack and Equipment Requirements: Dressage, effective 1 January 2026. https://inside.fei.org/content/fei-tack-and-equipment-requirements-dressage
• Fédération Équestre Internationale — FEI Dressage Rules, 26th edition, 2026. https://inside.fei.org/fei/disc/dressage/rules
• Fédération Équestre Internationale — FEI Dressage Rules, changes for 2026 (snaffle/double bridle choice up to CDI3*/CDIO3*), 2025. https://inside.fei.org/fei/disc/dressage/rules/changes-2026
• Fédération Équestre Internationale — General and Discipline Specific Protocols for the FEI Measuring Device (noseband tightness), 2025. https://inside.fei.org/system/files/FEI%20Measuring%20Device-General%20Protocol%20with%20Discipline%20Protocols-Clean-17Feb2025-With%20Discipline%20logos.pdf
• US Equestrian — Dressage rules and equipment (Chapter DR; Dressage Attire and Equipment booklet), 2026. https://www.usef.org/compete/disciplines/dressage/rules--equipment