Bridle recommendations?

iknowmyvalue

iknowmyvalue

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 August 2016
Messages
1,490
Location
Devon
Visit site
Pepsi is now the proud recipient of a lovely new (to us) dressage saddle! But horror of horrors, it’s black and all the rest of my tack collection is brown (I haven’t had a black saddle since we sold my first pony when I was 14!)

His dressage bridle is a hand me down anyway, so I’d love to use the opportunity to treat him to a bridle of his own. Recommendations for brands?

Would like it to be anatomical, but plain cavesson style noseband. Budget was thinking around £150-200 (about what’s left over from the saddle budget as got a bargain)

Currently thinking Henry James or Sabre? I know people like the horsemanship saddlery ones but I can’t work out the different headpieces and the only fitter that covers our area never replied to my emails a while back.

Bonus points if you can mix and match sizes because he’s a little bit in between. If anyone knows if a brand runs particularly big or small please let me know!
 
Ooh can I hop on? I’d like a new bridle for Myka. What do people think of premier equine. And is a bridle fitting worth investing in? I read there was not much point in an anatomical bridle built for the average horse when underlying anatomy varies so much.
 
I was disappointed recently with my HJ as it went weird at the head.
I did get it replaced but it took a long time, lots of waiting for replies and no apology.

I bought a PE before the HJ and that was actually really nice. Sadly it didn’t fit and they didn’t have the right bits in the right size/colour at the time.
I’d definitely give them another go had I not been in a rush!
 
All mine have Henry James and the oldest must be around 7 years old and still comes up like new, sad if its true that the quality has gone downhill though :(. I bought my last one a couple of years back and its still in great nick.
 
Antares. The most exquisite, buttery soft leather you can think of. I so bitterly regret selling mine from a previous horse, and cannot justify to buy one again for current horse since he prefers being ridden bitless 😔

www.redpostequestrian.co.uk

Antares Precision Large Crank Noseband Anatomic Bridle - Black

The anatomical cut of the headband means the Antares Precision Large Crank Noseband Anatomic Bridle avoids applying any unnecessary pressure to sensitive areas. The removable flash strap allows you to easily convert it to a plain noseband.
www.redpostequestrian.co.uk
 
Sabre without a doubt. Although I was impressed with the quality of Le Mieux when I had to replace my double. Not sure if they do what you’re looking for though
 
I love English Bridles but they've become very expensive recently. Horsemanship Saddlery bridles are also lovely but a bit cheaper. You buy them all as separates so can build a bridle to suit.
 
Sounds like sabre might be the winner here… I do like the look of the English bridle ones too, but given they’re £50-60 more than sabre, not sure if they’re that much better?

Will have a look at some of the others suggested too! I have a collegiate for his jump bridle, which I do like but the headpiece doesn’t quite sit as well as I’d like it to.
 
I was tempted by Sabre after all the positive comments but I think their website is very off putting. A mess of different fonts, font sizes, font colours, random caps and sales speak jargon.

They clearly have a lot of fans so maybe it’s just me, but if they are so poor at web design, I am reluctant to trust their bridle design!
 
Ample Prosecco said:
I was tempted by Sabre after all the positive comments but I think their website is very off putting. A mess of different fonts, font sizes, font colours, random caps and sales speak jargon.

They clearly have a lot of fans so maybe it’s just me, but if they are so poor at web design, I am reluctant to trust their bridle design!
Click to expand...
I agree re the website! I also don’t think the pictures are very good as there’s no close ups of the different parts.

I’d be put off if I hadn’t seen the bridles in person a while ago, and everyone seems to suggest the quality is still just as good…
 
That is irrational . Leather workers and saddlers have a craft that involves touch and judgement beyond the scope of IT. My ancestral surname is Sadler and I am proud of it .
 
I don’t think it’s irrational to question the credibility, competence and quality of a business that has a website that looks like it was pulled together in 5 minutes by a group of people who didn’t speak to each other about the basics like font and colour!

But I accept that in this case perhaps the website is not a reflection of general quality/customer service/competence. Still odd to pay it so little attention though.
 
Their website is terrible so I get it!!
They must be that old fashioned in the dark ages type!
But the leatherwork is top notch. Traditional (not blingy tat). They were one of the first companies I’m aware of that had monocrown bridles, we are going back years here!
 
If it helps - this bridle is about 15 years old.

The cavesson set up is full sable. The grackle is the same bridle but with a fairfax grackle noseband (which I much prefer to the sabre option, which I also have)

IMG_3503.pngIMG_3502.png
 
I bought a Sabre bridle directly from their warehouse years ago, being fairly local helped! I think their website was the same all those years ago...
Definitely a case of don't judge a book by its cover in this case!
 
Sabre are out of stock in full size and they don’t have a restock date yet, so possibly back to the drawing board 🙃

Could probably get away with cob but looking at their measurements full is the best fit and if I’m spending the money it might as well be right!
 
Ample Prosecco said:
has a website that looks like it was pulled together in 5 minutes by a group of people who didn’t speak to each other about the basics like font and colour!
Click to expand...
I can comment here. In the early days of the internet many people, myself included, put up home made websites. They were made with a MS basic HTML editor which later became part of MS Word. But pne viewed the plannedsite as a text file. To get a vaguely academic site, I copied the code used for his site by a professor who wrote me an e-mail from the USA. Once my site was up, I didnt really bother to alter it although when aol gave up sites, I had to shift the whole thing to Google and lost his colour coding.
In those early days it was quite hard to alter the design or understand the code.



Another problem is that as well as making one's website, the design needs to ensure that it is visible to Google and to other search engines. I never really managed this. If you google my name you are more likely to find books for sale or my family tree than to find my academic website. And anyone looking for me is more like to find me via Linked in or Facebook
 
I went to buy a Henry James at HVS today but was unimpressed. Under the headpiece the leather was all buckled and bumpy. Would not have been comfortable at all. As it was over £200, I felt that was unacceptably poor quality. They had PS of S but that was over £300n! So instead I trusted the rave reviews and have bought a Sabre Sensitive Cordoba cavesson bridle online after measuring Myka today. Sorry IKMV for hijacking, but this thread was very helpful! X
 
Ample Prosecco said:
Ooh can I hop on? I’d like a new bridle for Myka. What do people think of premier equine. And is a bridle fitting worth investing in? I read there was not much point in an anatomical bridle built for the average horse when underlying anatomy varies so much.
Click to expand...
I’ve got a Premier Equine bridle I use for jumping, it fits well and looks nice but I find the leather quality a bit ‘plasticky’ if that makes sense. I have a PSoS bridle I bought second hand that I prefer.

But I compare everything to my Fairfax dressage bridle which is just like butter 😍 however I can’t afford 2! 😭
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top