Micklem bridle sizing - confused...

H

horse_sense

New User
Joined
28 December 2013
Messages
8
Location
Cracow, Poland
Visit site
Hello everyone,
I don't know if it's OK to post a new thread like this, but I've noticed that people who want to ask their questions simply post them, so I hope I don't make this forum messy. Sometimes there are special 'bridles', 'saddles' and 'bits' threads (I mean other forums), if something like that exists, please let me know.

I'm going to buy a horse around March/April and I started buying stuff for it. I won't be able to buy everything at once, I have bought saddle pads, saddle, cleaning accessories, halter and lead ropes so far... to be honest, the most important thing which is missing is a bridle (and reins, of course).

I would like to go bitless with my new horse, but I would also like to have a possibility to add a bit. I'm thinking about Micklem bridle, as it is 'all in one' - all I need in one bridle, good for pretty much everything I would like to try and train. As you have probably noticed, I don't live in the UK (so sorry for my English!). Micklem is available in my country (Poland), but you have to pay almost 165 pounds for it! My friends, currently living in England, will be coming back next month and they could buy me a Micklem multibridle, so I wouldn't have to pay huge shipping cost and additional money my bank gets for converting my PLN to GBP.

The problem is: I don't know my future horse! It will be at least 16 hh, but not higher than 17.7, I guess. Could anybody measure his/her bridle and tell be what does "standard horse", "large horse" mean? Should I rather buy a bigger bridle or a smaller one? How much do they differ?

Thank you very much for help :o
 
I wouldn't buy anything that needs to fit (bridle, saddle, rugs, head collar etc) because horses can vary so much and even on one horse you might need different sizes for different body parts or in different makes. Could your friend buy one and post it to you when you know what size you need?
 
I needed a saddle for my loan mare, that was a kind of a deal - me and my friend decided to share equipment and spread the cost. I bought a saddle, cleaning kit and headcollar, she bought rugs and some minor stuff. She is moving to Germany this summer, so the horse will be no longer ours. We will keep the stuff we bought, so I will leave with nearly brand new Wintec 2000 flock saddle. It doesn't cost thousands, so if I find an excellent horse and the saddle doesn't fit it, I will simply sell it and buy another, I will calculate it as a price of the horse. Of course there's no rule "one saddle fits all", even when there's a possibility to change it a little, as in Wintec saddles. It fits well most of the horses in our stable (sometimes gullet sould be changed, sometimes a bit of flock should be added, but it's OK in general) and our mare became much more pleasant while being saddled up since I bought it. But there's no problem if we talk about it.
The problem is: even if I know my horse pretty well, how can I check if I've chosen a proper size? I won't have a possibility to see it or try before I buy and I wouldn't like to send it back. I don't know if I would be able to make it on time... My friends are also a bit worried, because they know nothing about horses.
I would be really happy if I could buy it now or in the nearest future, because I could receive it as a birthday gift and reduce the cost a bit.

I think Micklem bridle would be a good idea, my Dutch friends have a little stable near Venlo and they decided to change majority of their bridles to Micklems last summer, I've noticed a big difference in some horses' behaviour and performance. Unfortunately their Friesians still have their old, good quality bridles, so I could only try Micklem on ponies and small horses. Therefore I have no idea about larger sizes.
 
Last edited:
I've just bought a SH for my 4 year old16hh irish sports horse and although it does fit her I am on the last hole on the bit holders and cheek pieces. I wish now I'd gone for large horse but had read they were big sizing.

That said I'm very happy with it but will have to replace it if she grows any more!
 
Thank you very much - I also thought they were huuuge, for me a big horse is... well, a Shire :). I'm not tall, but I love big horses and I bet I won't choose a horse smaller than 16-15.75 hh. My present horse is 15.7 and is slightly too small. But it's all about the head, isn't it? Why couldn't they make a regular pony, cob, full, extra full bridles - or publish a size chart at least? There IS a difference between an Arab and a warmblood of the same height. Their way of telling which size will be good isn't good at all...
 
Last edited:
You can hire one @ hire a micklem bridle. The lady who runs it, Susannah is really helpful plus you'll get to try the bridle on the horse and see if they like it. It's a nice bridle but as with all things, not all horses are going to like it :)
 
Thank you very much for help. I don't know why I couldn't find that measuring tips - maybe because I always forget to switch accounts on my computer and on a public one I have bing as a default searching engine, it does strange things sometimes. I know about the site, but I would have to find out a way to do that. She doesn't ship them to Poland (only in UK and Ireland). Anyway, big, big thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top