A chambon is a piece of

horse tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domestication of the horse, domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as Saddle, saddles, Stirrup, stirrups, Bridle, bridles, Halter, ...

. It is a strap that runs forward from the bottom of the

girth Girth may refer to: Mathematics * Girth (functional analysis), the length of the shortest centrally symmetric simple closed curve on the unit sphere of a Banach space * Girth (geometry), the perimeter of a parallel projection of a shape * Girth ...

surcingle A surcingle is a strap made of leather or leather-like synthetic materials such as nylon or neoprene, sometimes with elastic, that fastens around the horse's girth. A surcingle may be used for ground training, some types of in-hand exhibition ...

, and forks. The forks continue to a ring on either side of the

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. It prov ...

halter A halter or headcollar is headgear placed on animals used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears (behind the poll), and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. ...

, at the base of the crownpiece. Running through those rings, the forks follow the cheekpieces to the

bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...

. They may attach to the bit or pass through the bit rings and attach to themselves below the horse's neck. A chambon prevents the horse from raising its head beyond a fixed point. Raising the head causes the length of the chambon along the cheekpieces to shorten and thus puts reciprocal pressure on the horse's mouth and on the horse's

poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

. Horses generally dislike pressure behind the poll and learn to release the pressure by lowering their head, and when in motion, this encourages the horse to relax its back and bring its hindquarters further under its body, thus encouraging

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

. The chambon has the opposite function to an overcheck or

bearing rein The Bearing rein also called a check rein or overcheck, is a type of rein attached to the bit on a bridle, that runs over the head of the horse, attaching to the harness saddle or pad. The primary purpose of a bearing rein is to prevent the hors ...

, which is used to raise the horse's head.

Use in lungeing

The chambon is used mostly in training horses via

lungeing Longeing (US English, classical spelling) or lungeing (UK English, informal US) is a technique for training and exercising horses where the horse travels in a circle around the handler. It is also a critical component of the sport of equestria ...

. The chambon was originally intended for

and free schooling and rolly polys . It is advanced equipment for use by knowledgeable trainers. A chambon is not a way to quickly fix the head set of a horse; its purpose is to help develop the correct muscles. Chambons help a horse to develop the muscles of their back and topline. It applies pressure to the poll and mouth of the horse when he raises his head, releasing when the horse stretches long and low, down toward the ground. When a horse is lunged correctly, and the chambon is correctly adjusted, the horse stretches down and raises his back. Before using a chambon, the horse is taught to give correctly while worked in hand. If not, the horse may not understand that it needs to lower its head in response to the pressure, and thus may panic when it feels the upward and ungiving pressure on the bit, and possibly rear. The advantage of the chambon is that it only comes into effect when the horse raises its head, so the horse has some control on its action. It generally works very well on horses in adjusting their head position. However, it has no direct effect on the hindquarters, so the handler must use a lungeing whip or other method to encourage impulsion in the horse. If a horse is not lunged properly, he may begin to go on his forehand. Chambons can also cause sore neck muscles if overused.

References

{{Horse equipment, state=uncollapsed, tack Headgear (horse)