Anybody's horse hate the micklem?

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TT55

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I'm a self confessed hoarder and decided to treat my mare to a micklem. I figured that since i'd read so many wonderful things about it, i might whack it on and it work miracles. Realistically, though, i thought that it would make no difference, but my mare actually seemed to hate it and go worse in it.... at first she wasn't too bothered but would not come onto an outline, then she just started throwing her head around a lot! I'll give it a couple more goes, but i guess back on preloved it goes...

Anybody else's horse hate the micklem bridle?
 
All the horses I have tried it on have loved it, bar one. But she's a fussy mare in any case and doesn't like most things if it involves being ridden.
 
I'm not a fan of the micklem; it certainly doesn't work on all horses, and I'm not so sure it really "works" at all.......
 
Go on William micklems website and check you have it set up properly? Send William an email with a photo to check?

But yes, it could just be she doesn't like it- you can't please all people(or horses) all the time!:)

( I have only used it on two horses, they both are noticeably happier, though adjusting it for the first was a little trial and error, once it got it right he practically breathed a sigh of relief).
 
It's black and small horse sized, but i'm going to give it another go before i decide to sell it just yet. Will double check the fit before i ride in it again tomorrow. I don't know why i bought it.... "if it ain't broke...."!
 
I borrowed one to try, it was for free and I thought I would see what all the hype was about, and if it had made a difference to his Ginger Highness than he would have had one.

Jay does not wear a gob shutter normally, and he did not like it. Jay prefers a loose cavesson, or no nose band at all. It was well adjusted, but he just did not like going back to "more" tack. So, I gave it back to the kind person who loaned it to me and saved my money :-)

I also tried a Fairfax, and THAT worked a treat, so he got one.
 
I tried a (very loose) drop noseband on mine last weekend in preparation for a micklem and she went gradually more and more beserk as our hack went on, resulting in her ditching me. Therefore I shall be going back to a cavesson and forgetting the micklem!
 
Red-1 said:
I borrowed one to try, it was for free and I thought I would see what all the hype was about, and if it had made a difference to his Ginger Highness than he would have had one.

Jay does not wear a gob shutter normally, and he did not like it. Jay prefers a loose cavesson, or no nose band at all. It was well adjusted, but he just did not like going back to "more" tack. So, I gave it back to the kind person who loaned it to me and saved my money :-)

I also tried a Fairfax, and THAT worked a treat, so he got one.
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They've got to be fitted properly and not tight. My mare hates a flash too and fights it, the strap on the Micklem is not a flash and shouldn't be done up tight...............I'm guessing this is what you did here? I apologise if Im wrong.
 
Orchardbeck said:
I tried a (very loose) drop noseband on mine last weekend in preparation for a micklem and she went gradually more and more beserk as our hack went on, resulting in her ditching me. Therefore I shall be going back to a cavesson and forgetting the micklem!
Click to expand...


A micklem shouldn't be fitted like a drop or flash! The noseband should sit where a cavesson sits. The bottom strap only goes in the chin grove to hold the bridle in place, it should not be used to 'shut the mouth'. The point of the bridle is that it doesn't work like a drop or flash....
 
I worked at a large equine retail company for quite sometime and found myself chatting with quite a few customers about the Micklem bridle. Most people, I would say a good 80% found that it worked very well on their horses, and thus raved about the bridle ad nauseam. The remaining 20% of people didn't seem to notice a difference on their particular horse, and frankly from the many, many people I spoke with about 3 people said their horses really didn't like it. So I'd say that your experience isn't unheard of, but certainly not the norm. I think that it's definitely worth your while to check the fit (as it can be a bit tricky, I know I had a hard time at first) just to be sure. Possibly even worth playing around with different bits to see if your horse prefers something else in the new bridle.
 
Orchardbeck said:
I tried a (very loose) drop noseband on mine last weekend in preparation for a micklem and she went gradually more and more beserk as our hack went on, resulting in her ditching me. Therefore I shall be going back to a cavesson and forgetting the micklem!
Click to expand...

i think this is your problem - a micklem is nothing like a drop noseband, the whole bridle is completely different and you wont be able to replicate this with any arrangement of noseband/traditional bridle combination.

I put mine in a micklem as a last resort - it was a life saver, i cannot express how close to the end of the road we came before this, however we have since found a few underlying issues in her mouth which would explain why she was so different in the micklem.
 
I think the length/circumference ratio is wrong for some horses which can cause difficulties in fitting correctly.
Mine has the small horse, cheek pieces are done up roughly in the middle but the throatlash is nearly on the last hole and it needed a longer strap for the back of the noseband to make it fit properly. He also wears it with a browband 2 sizes bigger than the one provided. Having got all that sorted he loves it
 
I bought one after my mare had broken her jaw in a freak field accident and would no longer tolerate a cavesson noseband as it sat over the fracture site. Have never looked back she loves it, goes easily forward into an outline. Very happy :)
 
Look out for the older ones. There is a major design flaw in the stitching where the d ring on the underside of the noseband fits. The d ring can pull out so letting the bit fall away. I have repaired many of these. The newer ones have cross stitching on the noseband to hold the webbing inside. But then again they are expensive for 'imported bridles'
 
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