Grackle bridle recommendations? Has anyone tried Caldene?

Patterdale

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Need a grackle bridle for my pony - don’t want cheap, needs to be good quality and not crap welfare leather (so English ideally). Also needs to have comfort headpiece and sheepskin on the nose pad. But I dont want to spend hundreds!
I’d like the Jeffries Pro Wembley one, but want to explore the options before spending £150(!)

Has anyone tried the Caldene one? Found it on sale for £55! Thanks
 
I haven't used the Caldene grackle one, but I did buy a Caldene snaffle bridle a few years ago and it's actually very nice, I like it a lot. Nice and padded and the quality is fairly decent.
 
I have a Jaguar Equestrian (now Harry Dabbs but exactly the same) grackle & its the best piece of leather work I own. Beautifully supple & looks very smart, comfort headpiece, slightly raised nose band with a big sheepskin patch on the nose. They're £175 new but they can usually be bought around £100 used on ebay still in fantastic condition.
 
You can buy the sheepskin pads for the cross piece so don't rule out one without that meets your other criteria. The last one I bought whole was a Jeffires and it is still going very strong but I tend to buy bridles as separate peices now to get a better fit - I have a large collection of wrong size cheek pieces and browbands form over the years - must get around to selling them!
 
I got the premier equine grackle & cavesson bridle this year after always getting JW ones but found theirs are pretty naff quality now. PE one has lovely headpiece but would recommend going a size down!
 
Thanks all!

I’ve seen a Harry Dabbs one on eBay, but it’s Autumn Gold and I’m not sure if the colour will be a bit garish!

And I spoke to Caldene but they’re Indian leather so that rules that out.

Does anyone have the Jeffries one?
 
I’ve got a Jeffries one and a JHL. The latter cost me around £40 for the whole bridle. I honestly can’t see the difference any more. It may be that the Jeffries one will last longer, but I’ve had the JHL one for 3 years now and no sign of wear.
 
i had a caldene grackle, really soft leather and nice quality, only got rid of it as it went with the horse, would recommend as a very good work bridle. Genuinely shocked they are indian leather as it was as soft as butter!
 
I've got a Premier Equine one. It's got a lovely headpiece and the whole thing is smart and looks to be good quality. I'm really pleased with it.
 
You HAVE to get the GFS one. They are only about £45 too. I bought one recently and I literally can't recommend it enough - beautifully soft leather, padded headpiece and very light too. Just a shame it didn't fit my horse's massive head!
 
I have a Jefferies grackle. Had it ages and tbh im not the best at caring for my tack but its still in great condition (well all except one cheek where free range shitland tried to grab and steal my horse as I was putting boots on!)
 
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