Bridlepaths - yes or no?

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DD265

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Another thread got me thinking...

I'm in the no camp currently but if I had a plaited-type horse I may feel differently.

My boy is a Welsh Cob (I believe it is against the breed society trimming rules/guidelines although to be fair there does seem to be excessive trimming on welshies!) and he has a whorl approx 3-4 inches behind his poll which causes his mane to separate nicely into forelock/mane just behind where the headpiece sits.

He's retired so very rarely wears a bridle anyway, but when it would be an issue I'd just put a plait (left long) in his mane to separate it which is the traditional turnout for them anyway.
 
Depends on the horse my traddy cob no no no...

My holsteiner yes every time. It's all down to how they should be seen.

General rule if you trim up yes if it's in natural state no.
 
Depends on the horse. My fresian corss tb mare has a long, but rather thin mane, so no bridlepath. She doesn't need it and i don't think she's suit it either.

My sports type pony has a short pulled mane and a rather long bridle path- and suits it :)
 
Nope! Never on my natives and my Ex-racers I don't - I bring the bit of mane that sits just under the bridle.forward and plait it into the forelock.

The racehorses at work get them for ease. I hate the ones that get cut too far forwards so you end up with a spikey tuft sticking out from under your headpiece! Also ones that are cut too long annoy me. I hate what they do to the Arabs and Miniatures. Personal preferance lol!
 
I hate them personally. To me (unless there is some requirement for showing) they smack of laziness. It takes 5 seconds to part the mane behind where the headpiece sits and bring it forward as part of the forelock. I have had various types/breeds of horses, including a pony with an incredibly thick bushy mane, and have never used them. :)
 
A no from me too - largely because I've seen so many messy/disaster ones. My horse is sensitive about his poll area so he would never hold still long enough for me to cut a decent path anyway.
 
I think a bridle path is good when you will have to plait, as the plait under the bridle would be a nuisance, and his mane is a bit wispy to include it in the forelock.

If the horse is not plaited I actually think the mane lies nicer when naturally laid down than on top of a bridle path with sticky up stubble. But then, maybe that is because I pull Jay's mane so it is not unruly?

So, I guess it depends on how unruly the mane is, and weather you need to plait?
 
I am growing my horse's bridle path out as I reflected on it and decided that it must be really annoying having bristly hair being pushed down on/wiggled on by the bridle.
 
no - never really seen the point of them (mines a pure bred arab).

The bridle paths on some arabs are mind boggling!
 
My mare had one when ridden. But she had a very thick mane and forelock

My gelding doesn't have one, his forelock is very fine as it is, doesn't cause any issues.

Both the same breed but totally different
 
Red-1 said:
I think a bridle path is good when you will have to plait, as the plait under the bridle would be a nuisance, and his mane is a bit wispy to include it in the forelock.

If the horse is not plaited I actually think the mane lies nicer when naturally laid down than on top of a bridle path with sticky up stubble. But then, maybe that is because I pull Jay's mane so it is not unruly?

So, I guess it depends on how unruly the mane is, and weather you need to plait?
Click to expand...

When I plait I do as EKW says above and bring the mane forward into the forelock plait. I french plait the forelock - hopefully you can see it in this picture:

14de93c9-e23d-48a9-aa0f-f631f65c91d2_zps38st1jy0.jpg
 
I french plait into the forelock too but I can never get it looking nice and neat and chunky for lack of a better word! And yet I can do an awesome tail plait lol!
 
I like my enormous bridle path. :D

4447C5D4-FD0A-419C-A8F3-4F4639F055E5_zpsrgndl4aw.jpg


Never had a hogged horse before and now I am wanting to hogg everything! Must admit I don't like the way the bridle bridges over the skinhead mane (which you can't see with a full mane but its the same thing I am sure) so have ordered a dead sheep head doodah to solve that.
 
Yes, makes my girl smarter and tidier to plait. I keep it trimmed and tidy though, it doesn't grow into long stubble!
 
Why on earth do some people have to be so judgemental? It's hardly lazy putting in a bridle path and there really isn't a wrong or a right. It's down to the owners personal preference. I do it for my horses comfort. My horse. My bills. My choice!
 
Yes from me with my traddy cob (not shown). He's otherwise untrimmed, full beard etc. as generally I love the hairy look on him but I need a bridle path to keep the bridle on! It helps that he seems to enjoy having it done and always sticks his head down low so I can get it nice and tidy.
 
I have a cob who gets a very small one, my sister'r traditional gets a small one as otherwise his bridle etc gets all tangled however if you do a really small one then it serves the purpose and isn't visible so doesn't affect showing
 
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