Is the honeymoon period over for Micklem bridles??

I'd love to know where they were testing the pressure and how they were testing the pressure. Plus how tightly the bridles where fitted.

IRL, I see grackles done up as tight as possible so regularly that it seems to be the 'normal' way to fit them. I also see cavessons with no flash done up loosely. Crank cavessons or cavessons with a flash seem to be done up tightly however. I can't see how a loose (no flash, no crank) cavesson puts more pressure on a horse's head when compared to the tight-as-possible-grackle? So did they test a loose grackle and a loose cavesson?
 
Faracat said:
I'd love to know where they were testing the pressure and how they were testing the pressure. Plus how tightly the bridles where fitted.

IRL, I see grackles done up as tight as possible so regularly that it seems to be the 'normal' way to fit them. I also see cavessons with no flash done up loosely. Crank cavessons or cavessons with a flash seem to be done up tightly however. I can't see how a loose (no flash, no crank) cavesson puts more pressure on a horse's head when compared to the tight-as-possible-grackle? So did they test a loose grackle and a loose cavesson?
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The testing was done by Fairfax and you can see more about it on their website. They used it as the basis of their bridle and noseband design.
 
It does chime in with my own experience of a horse that hated a cavesson even loosely done up. As I needed a noseband for competition, tried a drop. Sharer discovered the cavesson thing when the bridle had got tangled and people were waiting for him to hack and he didn't bother to put it on a d reported back how much less fussy he was. Though it did emphasise the whole failed racehorse look.
 
Muddywellies said:
I’ve noticed recently, an awful lot of second hand Micklem bridles being advertised for sale. A dressage judge a few years ago said to me she thought they were a fad. Are people now reverting back to traditional bridles?? Are they not all they are cracked up to be?
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I think people buy them, and then sell on if they don't suit as they have a good resale value...

My pony loves his, and won't go in a normal bridle now.

Fiona
 
annagain said:
I thought they were just a fad and resisted trying one but after a conversation with a friend with a very similar horse she persuaded me to borrow hers to try. I was fully prepared for it not to work (I probably even wanted it not to work so I could be proved right!) but the difference in A was amazing. He was light, he didn't argue and because he wasn't constantly leaning on it, when I used my rein he reacted to it and I had brakes! My instructor has a theory that it's nothing to do with nerves and anatomical design but that it holds the bit incredibly still in the mouth and if that's what your horse likes it makes a huge difference. This is why it seems to have a miracle effect on some and no effect on others. No idea why there are lots of second hand ones on the market - maybe as some have said people have changed/lost horses or are doing different things with them.

As good as mine is in terms of performance, I don't particularly like the leather. I bought mine second hand about 7 years ago so it's a pretty old one but it's cheap leather and took lots and lots of conditioning to get it nice and soft and supple. From what I've seen, the newer ones are even worse unless you go for the very expensive English leather one and I've heard some people say even that's not great quality.
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I totally agree with your instructor, I am convinced that Fionn likes his because it holds the bit extremely still in his mouth.

Would also love them to be better quality leather though.

Fiona
 
Faracat said:
I'd love to know where they were testing the pressure and how they were testing the pressure. Plus how tightly the bridles where fitted.

IRL, I see grackles done up as tight as possible so regularly that it seems to be the 'normal' way to fit them. I also see cavessons with no flash done up loosely. Crank cavessons or cavessons with a flash seem to be done up tightly however. I can't see how a loose (no flash, no crank) cavesson puts more pressure on a horse's head when compared to the tight-as-possible-grackle? So did they test a loose grackle and a loose cavesson?
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I see Criso has pointed you to the Fairfax website. I think it also found that a loose cavesson put more pressure on and that it needed to be fitted correctly and that a crank was actually better than a cavesson if correctly fitted. anyway have a look, I found it very interesting as it ran counter to much that I thought was true. I find I am constantly havng my assumptions questioned these days which perhaps is no bad thing.
 
So,has anyone tried the collegiate one that has a similar shape? Think it’s the comfi tec. Seems to have a similar action but I prefer the look of that one.
 
We've used Micklem bridles for years & obviously over time people will sell Micklems that they no longer need. I don't think it's a reflection of people no longer liking the bridle. Our family really likes the Micklems only issue we have is why is the leather they made of such poor quality!
 
I would guess (based on general internet browsing) that given how long the Micklem has now been around and how popular it's been, the relative number being sold second-hand is much lower than the relative number of Fairfax bridles being sold second-hand. I think there will always be a place for them and the bit clips are a god-send for some horses.
 
The research I saw had the cavesson properly fitted as the kindest with a mexican grackle second and flash and drops a long way behind with cranks the very worst. Mostly cavessons fell down on always being fitted too tight and often used as a crank the mickleham incorporates the nose band so no extra strap over the head so is looser over the head as most of the issues with bridles is the fit over the head behind the poll and top ofthe cheek straps
 
spacefaer said:
How convenient - bit like research done by Cadburys which discovers that a bar of chocolate every day is good for you!
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Not really, more like discovering people like the taste of chocolate and then inventing a chocolate bar to take advantage of this. The original research predated their bridle coming on the market.
 
I just bought one a few years ago because it was in the sale, however I found it very useful, and a couple of ponies who were not previously ridden in loose ring French link snaffles seemed happy with this bit/bridle combo
 
Agree with this. I could get a saddle fitter easily but a bridle fitter nowadays is hard to find. My pony is ridden bitless and I would like to change from her current sidepull but I haven't found someone willing to fit a bridle, let alone a bitless one. Although you get online guides it isn't the same as a proper fitter.
 
Tihama said:
When people say a loose cavesson can put pressure on presumably they mean as part of a flash not on it's own 👀
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I think it's on its own. Under the front of the noseband and under the back of the noseband were 2 of the 6 high pressure zones, a loose cavesson is still going to put pressure on the front at least if not the front and back when the horse moves its head and the noseband inevitably moves, if it were tighter and so more stable against the head it wouldn't move around so wouldn't cause additional pressure. All depends on your definition of loose though, if it's too loose to do anything and moving too much it's probably better going nosebandless or just tightening it.
 
Tihama said:
When people say a loose cavesson can put pressure on presumably they mean as part of a flash not on it's own 👀
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In the tests, a flash came out worse than a cavesson (theory being that the flash strap pulled it down causing problems) but a cavesson on it's own was just above in second last place. A crank just above (theoretically they have rings rather than a single piece of leather and the movement helps?) with the drop in second and the grackle top.

My Tb didn't like a plain cavesson and preferred a drop or no noseband. Loose or tight made no difference. If it was just the drop I would have wondered it it was the action of the noseband holding the bit steady but nothing was good too. He doesn't seem to like anything round that part of his head. He had a comfort bridle with the noseband going over the headpiece rather than under as did the drop when attached and my saddle fitter commented that how well the bridle fitted him in terms of straps and buckles being in the right place. That was when the I saw the study in H and H which caught my eye as it seemed to chime with my personal experience.

I haven't seen the other research that WindandRain refers to but I am looking for it..

Then I got bay tb v2.0 and like most people tried to make do with what I had from retired horse. Played around with mix and match cheekpieces, browbands and headpieces to try and get a fit and no noseband cavesson or drop, full or cob was right. I was at the point of a bespoke bridle when I saw Micklems for sale at Sports Direct for £65 and figured at that price I could sell it on if it didn't fit. And it did and saved me loads of money. People used to come up and ask about it and I had to say that I couldn't comment on whether it helped with issues as mine was bridle fit. Small horse was just big enough. Not being that great quality it has stretched and the noseband got a bit loose and he was happier when I did it up a hole.

If I get another horse what he gets put in first will depend on headsize and what fits from my collection but I would probably now try a drop first before the cavesson.
 
My friends horse had sores form from her micklam. And it wasn't tight at all.
The vet said he had seen quite a few related.

Also they don't have proper scientific studies.
The Fair Fax is the only Bridle to have any studies done on it.
 
I was really against micklems because I thought they looked weird and were a fad. Having had current pony in one I love it. I tried her in all sorts of nosebands, she hated the flash but loved the drop, but I couldn't get a nice drip noseband that fitted. She goes really well in the micklem now and is very receptive to contact without being overly strong and leaning. They are a bit of a faff to fit though which is why so many are for sale, plus the poor quality leather really let's them down for the price. I now have a knockoff in English leather which is far nicer than the actual genuine micklem, hence why I sold the real one
 
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