Fairfax bridles - clever or just clever marketing?

milliepops said:
Thanks GS, not sure if that was aimed at me, I can see they are different to a standard dressagey bridle but from afar you wouldn't tear your eyes from their sockets in horror, they do look pretty normal, unlike, say the Stubben freedom bridle.

.
Click to expand...

I had to go look up the Freedom bridle out of curiosity. I see what you mean. Perhaps in 20 years time, these types will be normal and everyone will be looking on traditional style as archaic.

http://www.stuebben.com/start.php?l...trensenzaum-2500-freedom&id=1995&top=2&top2=8
 
I wonder how many horses would improve in conventional bridles that are fitted correctly. You see so many with tight browbands, badly positioned buckles and nosebands too low. I probably spend as long getting the bridle right when tacking up, as I do the saddle.
 
Goldenstar said:
The Headpiece is very different to a micklem ( and a standard bridle ) their testing showed significant pressure from the browband where it attaches to the headpiece the fairfax browband attaches with a clever little hidden screw.
The drop type noseband fits much more nicely than a micklem my horse loved it and I was very impressed .
The cavesson was a big disappointment however it may well be the fit was wrong for my horse and he will be better when we sort that .
The appearance of the bridle is awful IMO but then I think micklems look pretty awful as well .
I will report back when I have tried again .
Click to expand...

Great stuff, I will wait for your report before I do anything. One of mine is particularly sensitive around the poll, that's why I liked the look of the pse of Sweden one. I'd pay the extra money iF someone who was unbiased rated it
 
Wow, lots of replies and useful insights here, thanks everyone! I do agree that "in the flesh" the fairfax is quite ugly looking. Goldenstar, please do update us once you have tried the cavesson in the correct size. As for the PS of Sweden bridles, I am pretty sure I saw a recent post where someone (one of the Sparkle sisters perhaps, but forgive me if I have misremembered) said they were disappointed with quality. It's a minefield out there....and an expensive one at that!
 
Asha said:
Great stuff, I will wait for your report before I do anything. One of mine is particularly sensitive around the poll, that's why I liked the look of the pse of Sweden one. I'd pay the extra money iF someone who was unbiased rated it
Click to expand...

I think there have been some quality complaints for the PS ones if you search the BD facebook page.

Oh and yes Nic or Fran def had one and had quality issues too.
 
Asha said:
Great stuff, I will wait for your report before I do anything. One of mine is particularly sensitive around the poll, that's why I liked the look of the pse of Sweden one. I'd pay the extra money iF someone who was unbiased rated it
Click to expand...

Have you seen the Dyon difference bridle ?
 
Asha Victoria Hammond (she was VictoriaEDT on here but doesn't really post any more) has recently trialled the stubben bridle on a very head/poll sensitive horse and been pleased with it especially with regards to poll pressure and obviously she knows all about horse's heads. I am sure she would talk to you about it :)
 
Have googled all 3 of these - interested in the tech and I do like that manufacturers are looking into new designs, although mostly these are UGLY. I'm sure some of it is what you're used to seeing, but - blurk. I like the fairfax although that noseband looks really odd.
 
Ok I have just tried the Fairfax bridles again .
First I tried the standard size with the drop on C , C had six KS removed at the beginning of December he's two weeks into ridden work now .
He's a 14 yo advanced event horse who came to me with a persistent longstanding problem of putting his tongue over the bit .
I have tried various things with the bridling and bitting and have settled on him being best into a Albion KB bridle with a grackle teamed with thick bendy rubber snaffle .
We started with a simple ported bomber bit with the fair fax drop fitted not loose but not tight either he worked fine but popped his tongue over we corrected it tightened the nose and worked again he popped it over again .
We then swopped to his rubber bit and he was not pleased ,he can't get his tongue over this bit as I worked him he settled and worked very nicely taking more contact and feeling easier to flex within the contact , like J the down ward transitions went a bit astray but after a few try's they where coming beautifully he defiantly had more swing in the lateral work ( although he's been better every day as he gets used to the feel of his new back ) I could not do to much as we needed to try him in the jumping saddle ( he's on monthly saddle checks ATM ) .
Used the same set up with the jumping saddle but concentrated on cantering very big difference softer sitting more easily and the changes were much less tense ( naughty to try but I only did two ) .
There was a huge difference in his work in the two point seat he has been difficult to keep straight and tends to push his ribs ,in this was transformed soft sitting more I was able to but in much more energy without him getting tense .

We then got to J , using his normal bit ( thickish kk loose ring ) he normally wears a very loose standard cavesson .
When we tried him before the bridle did not look right on him and he hated the crank ,this time we got him in the large size long story short he needs the large head piece with a smaller throat lash standard cheek pieces and standard drop .
In this set up the bridle sat well on him and he looked happy in work he felt great taking more contact full of energy .
I did not try the crank tbh C is not going to need one and I know J hates them he always has.
I bought the black bridle for C and shhhhh ordered it in the brown for jumping .
I am going fiddle about using C ' fairfax drop on J 's bridle and decide later what to do with him .
 
All very interesting about the bridles. My daughter is having two weeks trial with the Stuben Freedom her horse is sensitive around the face and an improvement has been seen he salivates more and generally seems more comfortable.
I made enquiries about the Fairfax which is very similar but was told by someone in the know that the machine they use to measure pressure at demos was the one used for the girth and cannot measure poll pressure only cheek pressure !.
We also considered sending for a ps of Sweden but more difficult as there is no uk stockist.

Downside to all of this is that these bridles are approved by BD but not by BE which is ridiculous and currently having a discussion with them regarding such.

I also cannot get an answer from them which comfort bridles they do approve if anyone knows please enlighten me recommendations gratefully received to make our young horse comfortable this all started with a retained wolf tooth last year.
 
This thread is really interesting. I do wish some of these bridles had been around before my mare retired - she was incredibly poll sensitive and I reckon something like the Stubben bridle would have helped her massively.
 
It seems clever but don't forget they also have a huge amount of money and resource behind them for the marketing and testing!
What I don't understand however is why they have to make it so expensive? If they really care about horse welfare and comfort then why would they not make it more affordable? The average equestrian does not worry if every inch is hand stitched! And I'm not sure if the horse is concerned about hand stitching either.
I'm also not sure why they have made them quite so chunky, or at least why don't they have something that was a little more refined too.
And then there's the fitting!! It just all seems like a bit of a con!
I think PS of Sweden have done a better job tbh. EvoEquine who are new have done a good one that seems to be beautiful quality and no where near the price of the Fairfax! It's not the same however so it really depends what you want to get from your bridle.
 
I have had my fair fax bridle six weeks now .
The bad , the noseband bled dye leaving a pale patch I returned it to the saddler who has sent it back to Fairfax that's was a week ago I await with interest their response .
The straps on the noseband are hugely long if your horse was a fine head this means both ends won't stay in the keepers and they expect you to cut them I this this is ridiculous in an item costing £400 they need to make two strap lengths on the drops .One horse loves the headpiece he's really happier in it but dislikes the drop however he goes really well in the headpiece with the grackle from his other bridle .
He does less head rubbing after you remove the bridle that's defiantly noticeable .
My other horse hated the crank but likes the drop ( goes better than in his cavesson ) but the head piece did not suit him ( the saddler thought perhaps he needed the bigger one I have not had a chance to try this yet) this horse is going very well in the drop attached to his Albion KB bridle .
This horse hated the crank and reacted to it noticeably he did not go happily in it at all . I thought it was ugly and difficult to fit (although I am not a crank fan so perhaps I am biased
So a mixed bag .
I have one new bridle and am using half of it on one horse and was using the other half on another except now I don't have that bit as it's been returned .
I have looked at the PS bridles what I would like from them is more clarity about what each type of bridle they sell .
 
Last edited:
ester said:
I do think more actual thought/science has gone into the stubben tbh.
I did see my first 2nd hand fairfax for sale (horse preferred the stubben apparently!)
I also saw a different make put up as a micklem comparator the other day but it reminded me more of the fairfax. found it!
http://www.evoequine.co.uk/store/p1...fference when remove the bridles after work .
Click to expand...
 
Ah it was the noseband/flash that I thought looked similar. I just noticed someone had already posted about them too!
 
I am not clever enough to decide whether it is clever marketing or just plain clever, but all I see is clunky ugly bridles on lovely heads.

The carthorse had sensitivity issues around the poll and a micklem helped him, I was also fortunate enough to be able to see a skull and have all the pressure points explained to me. Carthorse has moved on now and settled down, he wears my butter soft leather, light as a feather, elevator with the flash off the crank noseband done up loosely. Looks a mess as it is padded and he is so plain.

I do wonder if we set ourselves up to fail with bridles. Just watching the dressage at the nationals last week every horse was squished into tight nosebands. In the lower levels some of the flash straps were so tight the skin was pinched. Why ?, that skin is crushed into the jaw and teeth inside the mouth. Years ago the choice was plain or a drop both fitted to enable two fingers to be inserted between leather and flesh.

I freely admit I live in the dark ages ! I do possess a drop and a flash, never had a grackle and hate those ugly things that sit right under the eye, what does that achieve ?
 
I like new ideas, I like old ones too .
I like grackles J taught me that his poor jaw is very happy in a grackle .
It will be interesting what fairfax do to the grackle that's not been seen yet.
Actually C looks ok in the Fairfax it suits him however he is wearing it in a funky brown /black grackle combo ATM not to everyone's taste .
Grackles faired well in the pressure testing beating conventional drops and flashes .
 
I'm totally with AA on this. It's not the bling I object to but so many bridles on dressage horses seem so heavy, swamping the heads. They also often seem to have a battery of buckles lying very close to the edges of the eyes. Ghastly.
 
anguscat said:
I'm totally with AA on this. It's not the bling I object to but so many bridles on dressage horses seem so heavy, swamping the heads. They also often seem to have a battery of buckles lying very close to the edges of the eyes. Ghastly.
Click to expand...

While I would rather anything the horse wears looks good I would rather the horse was happy in it .
 
I have had the Dy'on bridle for mine for many years. He puts his head down for it and is very happy. Having said that, it doesn't have a crank noseband - I would never use one - and I always do the noseband up very loosely - more for decorative purposes.

For us, it was the cutaway headband that helped I think - now there are several makes that do cutaway headbands or I would have not spent £200 odd quid on a bridle - I absolutely wouldn't spend £600!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top