Micklem Bridle - successes?

NiceNeverNaughty

NiceNeverNaughty

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anyone used one and genuinely found a big difference??

I tried one on a mare I had a few years ago and noticed no difference whatsoever so sold it on. However i am thinking of trying one for my son's pony. He is a 12.2hh welsh cross, 19 year old complete saint... been through pony club several times over. However he has always had a reputation for throwing his head about, sometimes this just manifests itself as a noseflick which the previous owners thought was him being so clever he was just trying to snatch the reins away. Back, teeth and saddle have all been religiously done by a succession of caring owners. We are quite happy to continue and just accept this but pondering trying a micklem but at 19 will it really make a difference?
 
I've used one on my welsh D, and it did make a (good) difference but he hated it (doesn't like nosebands) so I've gone back to his noseband-less bridle. Will be trying it on the other horse eventually
 
Yes, no longer need nosenet and horse not rubbing face on legs etc anymore. Wish I'd bought one years ago, but thought it was a gimmick
 
I noticed a big difference in my horse when he first got one. He seemed a lot happier in it and more willing to stretch down and out. The quality of the actual bridle though i find shocking for the cost. I had to replace one after a year because of issues with it and the new one was the same but its ok to use so far. Im considering changing it to be honest.
 
I noticed a huge difference in my boy. I resisted for years, thinking it was just a gimic but someone lent me one and I couldn’t believe the difference. He was light in my hand and he wasn’t constantly fighting me which meant when I used the rein he actually listened so I had far more brakes. My trainer has a theory that the ergonomic design isn’t that big a deal but some like the fact it holds the bit very still in the mouth. This definitely seems to be the case with Archie. He was in his late teens by the time I tried one.
 
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Changed one of mine into one when she was 15, as above resisted them for a while as thought they were a gimmick but the difference was amazing. She became much happier and willing in the contact, and stopped being so itchy when bridle was removed.
 
Sorry a sort of side question, has anyone ever used on one the 'copy' version of the Mickelm and found them just as good? Or is it worth just forking out on a 'proper' one?
 
I had a mare who wouldn't take a contact and very unsteady in the head. The Micklem made no difference, but found a bridle with a heavily padded headpiece and protection over the TMJ, and she is so much better and will actually stretch down now. We did find last autumn that she had sustained a heavy blow to her Atlas bone, which caused sensitivity.
 
LaurenBobby said:
Sorry a sort of side question, has anyone ever used on one the 'copy' version of the Mickelm and found them just as good? Or is it worth just forking out on a 'proper' one?
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I bought a 'copy' by mistake, it was very cleverly advertised including using the actual Micklem description. I had my original Micklem to compare it to and the shaping, although at first glance looked the same, had a few differences that I thought were important, mainly in the shaping over the nose. The sizing was even more weird than the Mickelm and the buckles were very lightweight and flimsy. If you're not sure about the Mickelm I'd buy one secondhand and it'll hold it's value if you want to sell.
 
Happy with mine. Once I’d done some reading about its design etc, it was a done deal. Plus I like the look of it, especially the throat strap
 
LaurenBobby said:
Sorry a sort of side question, has anyone ever used on one the 'copy' version of the Mickelm and found them just as good? Or is it worth just forking out on a 'proper' one?
Click to expand...
I bought a copy. Compared to friends actual micklem, they're identical. Leather is much nicer on the copy. I am selling the copy now as have sold horse it was for, PM me if you're interested in trying a copy before forking out for a proper one.
 
Just out of interest is it worth buying the deluxe version of the competition bridle? Looking to get one for my youngster but I know a lot of people have said the quality of the regular bridle isn't great so was wondering whether the English leather version was better?
 
My previous horse was much better in the contact in a Micklem and I have just moved Rose into one and it seems to suit her too. I like the science behind it but I did need larger browbands for both of mine as I found the original a bit tight.
 
Can I just reiterate the importance of getting the nose flick investigated!

My story seems a bit long but...

on 24th May, my mare came down with this nose flick and throwing head about. I had everyone saying head shaking, try a micklem etc. I just knew something wasn't right.

Fast forward now to almost two months later and a lot of investigation and she has a soft tissue growth in her sinus...

There is always a reason for the head flick- changing a bridle is just covering up the issue.

My mare started with just a tiny flick- like a bee landed on her nose. Her investigations are below:

-assessment under lunge
-Nerve blocks of feet
-Nerve blocks of neck
-TMJ nerve blocked
-Eyes, ears, teeth checked
-X rays of neck, head and back
-Endoscopy
-Ulcer scoping
-CT Scan- it was here the soft tissue growth was picked up.

She now has to go for sinuscopy to figure out what it is and then treatment. Your horse is trying to tell you something. If I had listened to everyone else (my mum included) I would have worked her through this as behavioural when actually shes in pain.
 
I have the deluxe version and the leather quality is very good. My horse was initially suspicious but almost immediately stopped the snatching down behaviour, which hasn't happened again since. I'm very happy with it. I don't think the copies are at all the same and wouldn't personally go there.
 
Cat91 said:
Just out of interest is it worth buying the deluxe version of the competition bridle? Looking to get one for my youngster but I know a lot of people have said the quality of the regular bridle isn't great so was wondering whether the English leather version was better?
Click to expand...

I have the “competition” bridle. It’s a very nice bridle.

When I was looking into them, I received this info from a Micklem bridle hire company..

“The Competition & Multi bridle are padded Indian leather but they now do the Competition bridle in English Leather. Either the Deluxe or Diamanté. Obviously the English Leather is more expensive £245. I use a black Micklem Bridle every day & the leather wears well. I can understand that some people would want a smarter leather Micklem to compete in”

I bought mine 2nd hand.
 
I was keen to try one on my 12.2 but it was just too big so bear that in mind.

One thing that helped us tremendously were balance support reins, ham fisted youngsters had taken their toll on one of my ponies who would snatch and throw his head around even with a gentle rider. The reins give a steady contact
 
Yes, really helps my mare who started to shake her head about in a normal bridle. I think it might just be she likes the wider part behind her ears and the bit being held a bit stiller in her mouth, Im not sure. But overall she does seem a lot happier in it. Just be aware that if your child does eventing or dressage then some dressage judges are apparently a bit anti-them. At my last BE event, the judge felt the need to write in the comments section "perhaps not a Micklem horse" when she had absolutely no idea why she was wearing one and that our test would have been ten times worse without it!
 
MagicMelon said:
Just be aware that if your child does eventing or dressage then some dressage judges are apparently a bit anti-them. At my last BE event, the judge felt the need to write in the comments section "perhaps not a Micklem horse" when she had absolutely no idea why she was wearing one and that our test would have been ten times worse without it!
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Do you feel your marks reflected this at all?
 
I know of a number of BD gold members who use Micklems because they like the science behind them and their horses go well in them. As judges see more horses in Micklem/anatomical type bridles I think you will see fewer who are prejudiced and I would always want to use what is best for my horse rather than what pleases a judge. It does make me rather cross that judges think they can make comments about perfectly legal and properly fitted tack.
 
Interesting. Keen to try this but it just looks so bulky. I like a traditional looking bridle! My guy is a mixture of pony cheekpieces, cob nose band and full browband and headpiece so goodness knows how it would fit.
 
I'd been riding my 4 for old Friesian in an old, regular type of bridle that I'd found, long forgotten about in the back of a cupboard - he was going very nicely in it. So, I thought I'd treat him to some nice new tack, and bought him a Micklem....within 5 mins of putting it on him (properly fitted and bitted) I knew he hated it - ran back to the tack room and changed him back into his old one......one very happy horse again.
 
Yes to the Micklem - although mine has a very wide thick head and the Micklem I think is for a long thin head. Mine is short lipped so the bit straps were just way too short so bought two flash straps, punched holes in them and cut them down to size and he likes it. The bit sits nice and still in his mouth, he is super picky about nerve endings and the Micklem avoids those well with their shaped cheek pieces. I did have an anatomical bridle for him with curves behind the ears - turns out it wasn't the ears he was picky about - he prefers the relief the Micklem gives him poll wise rather than the ear space the anatomical bridle gave. In an ideal world - and probably I will do this - I will have the cheek parts shortened by a saddler - because the buckle is up too high by the TMJ for his head conformation. I have had to punch more holes in the throat lash and also in the nose band - and the noseband straps - because he is so wide and quite short headed - were at a weird angle to fit over the bit. So I have just put the nose straps underneath the bit - and he has gone from a horse who was rearing being bridled with an anatomical bridle (which I thought would be perfect for him and highly recommended with all buckles correctly placed) to a horse who is quite happy being bridled. Mine is an odd horse though - most horses don't have major reactions like he does so my opinion would be 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it!)
 
Oh - edited to add - the whole nose flicking/shaking and yanking down - I changed my saddle at the same time as I changed the bridle - my original saddle was far too narrow in the gullet - it wasn't particularly narrow in the gullet and it appeared to fit well - I subsequently bought a Lavinia Mitchell saddle which was far wider than even the XW gullet in a Kent & Masters and whilst it requires some padding - my horse really likes it. My lad has a very wide spine - a lot of saddles have not very wide gullets - or they narrow toward the back. I also changed my bit at the same time - went from a lozenge bit - very expensive Sprenger bit to he came with to a Bombers ultra comfy lock up single jointed snaffle. My lad has a huge tongue, low palate and lozenge bits aren't great for horses with that mouth conformation. So I did it all wrong - changed everything - but its all for the best in our case. Tricky horses are like a detective series I think - there is always one killer and sometimes two or three!!
 
Have you thought about having a bitting Consultant out?

We have just had someone from Horse Bit Fit to our yard and I can say it was really worth it.

She didn't just look at the bit, she looked at the horses mouth conformation, head, poll, how the Bridle fit and explained in detail everything she did.
Would highly recommend
 
It made a huge positive difference to my Connie X but the leather is very poor quality. I now have a Fairfax copy which is much better quality leather for the same price as a Micklem and the horse is happy in it.
 
I had a mare who was quite opinionated about what she would tolerate, and tried every bit / noseband combo until I got to the Micklem. She was much better in it- again like others have said not sure if it was just because it kept the bit stiller, but it worked.
 
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