I need some ideas guys my dressage mare is very sensitive in teh poll arean and i was wondering if i could ride her with a pad there but obviously im not sure due to BD rules??
Albion KB or Elevator are both gorgeous bridles which are padded over the poll.
I like the Elevator because it is cut back behing the ears but have replaced mine with an Albion KB as I felt the quality of the leather and the customer service had slipped with the Elevator plus the D ring on the noseband rubs very sensitive cheeks!
i tried all sorts of things - inc the gel pad (which my horse took major offense to and threw herself on floor because of it!!)
she has a narrow bridle path and bridles would pull forward onto her ears - in the end i just got a m-2-m headpiece that is cut away at the ears/poll so only just wider than her noseband - as i don't use any poll action on her (in straight bar eggbutt) it's perfect and she's got far less headshy and fussy round her ears with it.
Stroud Saddlery custom made my bridle for my horse - recommend it as they make it to suit him and he has a bent headpiece to fit his ears so it's more comfortable for him.
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Stroud Saddlery custom made my bridle for my horse - recommend it as they make it to suit him and he has a bent headpiece to fit his ears so it's more comfortable for him.
My kate Negus double has a lovely soft contoured poll area and is one of the nicest bridles I've ever seen. Bought it ahead of the Albion KB because it is more lightweight and elegant. Highly recommend (and yes I have the patent version being an official dressage diva LOL)
I have an Albion KB snaffle and Elevator double, both of them are fantastic, and the leather is very soft. Before buying the Albion I used to have a gel pad, but I found that it was a bit of a pain when cleaning tack.
I use a prolite gel pad. Think mine is tecnically a noseband one as the headpiece one looked quite bulky and had suede to wrap round headpiece whereas noseband one just has 3 little tabs. Sorry can't remember where I got mine from - think local tack shop but sure major prolite stockists could supply and would be worth trying in meantime till you got your posh new bridle!
Also, in addition to a suitable crown piece, make sure you have a long enough browband, even if you have to get one made/different from the bridle.
I know it's not good form to have a gaping browband but I see quite a few that pull the crown piece forward and/or have to sit up so high that they actually pull the crown piece down/forwards. This seems particularly likely to happen with the padded bridles as there is often only quite a narrow section where the browband loops sit properly on the crown piece/noseband head piece, which may or may not be the "right" place for the horse's head.