Micklem bridles - are they worth it? Alternatives?

BenvardenRach2

BenvardenRach2

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Hi All,

I am looking into getting a Micklem for my gelding, he had a sports massage last week and found lots of pressure in his poll. I understand Micklems are meant to minimize poll pressure I also like the idea of the cheek pieces being set back from the cheek bones.

He seems to be comfortable enough in his 'normal' bridle however I want him to be as comfortable as possible.

Are there any alternatives that are also BS BE Show legal?

Thank you!
 
I highly rate the Micklem. My new horse came in one and goes lovely in it. I tried it on my little cob, who was in a drop before, and he seemed to really like it. Very settled.

If you're unsure, then you can hire one from Hire a Micklem Bridle. they are on facebook or online.

My friend has a Fairfax drop on her dressage horse; he goes beautifully in it and seems to really like it. The price is a bit painful though!
 
Depending on budget, PS of Sweden and Anatares. The Anatares leather is lush. PS of Sweden look lovely to start but I have heard that it doesn't wear too well.

Benefit of Anatares is that you can buy components separately. I cant afford it all at once so I am slowly building up the bridle! Just the headpiece left! I had a comfort bridle before so already padded and cut away. For my horse the noseband was most important to sort first.

Have a Micklem on another horse and while he seems comfortable in it, it isn't the best leather and I think the fittings are quite clunky. He doesn't go anywhere or do much more then a pootle though so cant justify the cost of smart bridle!
 
I love mine and my 4yo goes really nicely in it but the quality is pretty dire so squirreling cash away for something which lasts a bit better.
 
Just bought two and the quality is excellent. Very happy with the stability of the bit and the horse is going well in it.
 
I had Mr B in a Micklem and it was a definite improvement, the leather quality was fine, unfortunately we had a bit of an accident and it got destroyed (my fault). He's a horse that holds in his poll and sets his neck but it did make a difference and he seemed more comfortable. I've moved him into a double bridle and the change is astounding, he's a different horse.
 
BenvardenRach2 said:
Hi All,

I am looking into getting a Micklem for my gelding, he had a sports massage last week and found lots of pressure in his poll. I understand Micklems are meant to minimize poll pressure I also like the idea of the cheek pieces being set back from the cheek bones.

He seems to be comfortable enough in his 'normal' bridle however I want him to be as comfortable as possible.

Are there any alternatives that are also BS BE Show legal?

Thank you!
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The Trainer I use who competes high levels jumping and dressage - does not rate them well, he says over half the customers who buy one revert back to flash bridles and said they are over rated and over priced.
 
A lot of poll pressure is caused by too short browbands, even the more expensive quality bridles seem to have short browbands that simply do not fit big horses.

A very kind HH online member gave me a full size Micklem to try on the feral carthorse, he went really well in it and his head tilting/ear shaking habit stopped quickly. For me the modern bridles available today are all so clunky/raised/padded/piped etc etc it is no wonder horses are finding them uncomfortable to wear. Add the crank noseband crushing the molars into the cheeks or the hideous grackle with the rings half an inch below the eye and the horse looks like a trussed up chicken. Anyway, that was a bit of a rant ! yes i am old and a traditionalist.

Elevators are soft, supple and look attractive on most horses, I use those on my lot along with old fashioned hunter bridles that are soft as butter through years of being cared for and being made to fit by experienced saddlers.
 
I decided to get one after watching the equitopia film with Bill Micklem explaining the theory behind the design. Really interesting and made perfect sense. I think if you need to revert back to a flash strapping up your horse you have a training issue, not a shopping issue.
 
I have a VERY fussy in the mouth and sensitive horse. I trialled Micklem and though he didn’t go badly in it there was no significant improvement. When he had his teeth checked I asked the dentist to check bit placement etc and he made a few minor suggestions that worked, he then also asked me to put on his bridle and assessed browband length, cheekoiece length and also noseband height. With his current (plain cavesson) bridle we were able to pretty much mimic a Micklems claims by loosening and adjusting a few areas. IMHO a correctly fitting and non overly tightened regular bridle will not interfere with the horses facial physiology.
 
Ben2684 said:
I have a VERY fussy in the mouth and sensitive horse. I trialled Micklem and though he didn’t go badly in it there was no significant improvement. When he had his teeth checked I asked the dentist to check bit placement etc and he made a few minor suggestions that worked, he then also asked me to put on his bridle and assessed browband length, cheekoiece length and also noseband height. With his current (plain cavesson) bridle we were able to pretty much mimic a Micklems claims by loosening and adjusting a few areas. IMHO a correctly fitting and non overly tightened regular bridle will not interfere with the horses facial physiology.
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I have a problem understanding how you can mimic a Micklem with a standard throat lash?

The biggest effect from them, I believe, is that it stops the cheek piece moving on the face as the rein is applied. The only way that movement can be stopped with a completely normal bridle is to fit the bit really high in the horse's mouth to tighten the cheek pieces, something which is often seen in dressage horses. Or by tying the noseband to the cheek pieces. I did that with mine before deciding to go the whole hog and buy the real thing.

The head piece will sit where it sits, (and is a different shape on a Micklem) and the brow band will bulge or flop if it's too long. You can't push the cheek piece down in a lower position, you can only hold it there, and only if you have a strap to do it.
 
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I have a Micklem for one of my mares. She's a very picky horse when it comes to tack and extremely sensitive to any changes. She loves the Micklem, goes so smoothly and quietly. I have clips from the bit that are clicked to the noseband, so whenever I apply pressure on the rein, it involves pressure on her nose and a little less in her mouth. She seems to be very happy with this and is going better than ever (had her 6 years now). The quality of the leather is a tiny downside, looks a bit plasticy.
 
IMO no, I don't think the quality justifies the price of Micklems and there are plenty of other anatomical bridles out there now.
 
My very sensitive TB was getting quite upset about being bridled and so I decided to give the Micklem another go. I tried it when I first got him, and he hated it so went back to standard cavesson (no flash). This time round, he’s going SO much better. He was very upset for the first few rides, but I think that’s cos it felt different. Three rides in, and he’s so much happier. Less head shaking and feels much more solid/secure in the contact. He’s also happy to be bridled again too.

I got the new Deluxe version (was on sale for same price as the normal competition one) and the quality of leather is much better.
 
ILuvCowparsely said:
The Trainer I use who competes high levels jumping and dressage - does not rate them well, he says over half the customers who buy one revert back to flash bridles and said they are over rated and over priced.
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I am one of those.

In fact I just reverted but left the flash off, and changed to a myler comfort snaffle instead. Much better. Was getting really wierd comments about avoiding the bridle in my dressage tests, despite me thinking she was going better.

back in a normal cavesson noseband and no such comments.

Said micklem is sold now.

Ben2684 said:
IMHO a correctly fitting and non overly tightened regular bridle will not interfere with the horses facial physiology.
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I wholeheartedly agree with this, an over tight noseband causes the nerves in the face to go numb. (or just a tight one)
 
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Thank you all for your advice.
I'm going to have a shop round, paying over £100 for a bridle which bad leather quality really doesn't seem justifiable to me, I've heard bad things about the quality from many people!

I agree with Ben regarding over tight bridles, my boys bridle is defo not tight as this is a worry of mine... we like to keep it plain and simple, he may as well not have the nose band on as it is so loose.
 
If you do buy one, be careful on the size. My 'normal horse' sized one is stretching like crazy and is only just fitting my Clydesdale cross with a big Roman nosed head. I am having to change the other because it's not going to fit a finer headed horse who is going to be 16.1 or thereabouts.
 
ycbm said:
If you do buy one, be careful on the size. My 'normal horse' sized one is stretching like crazy and is only just fitting my Clydesdale cross with a big Roman nosed head. I am having to change the other because it's not going to fit a finer headed horse who is going to be 16.1 or thereabouts.
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Thanks ymbc, I was going to go for standard horse but hes inbetween cob/full with bridles/headcollars his head is quite big... hmmm!! Photo of him and his big head below!


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BenvardenRach2 said:
Hi All,

I am looking into getting a Micklem for my gelding, he had a sports massage last week and found lots of pressure in his poll. I understand Micklems are meant to minimize poll pressure I also like the idea of the cheek pieces being set back from the cheek bones.

He seems to be comfortable enough in his 'normal' bridle however I want him to be as comfortable as possible.

Are there any alternatives that are also BS BE Show legal?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I really like the micklem. I know an eventing horse producer who has a few of his in them. It's quite an endorsement as he isn't the type to spend money if he can help it
 
tallyho! said:
Not a fan sorry :(
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Me neither. I have several students who went out and bought Micklems and were raving about how it cured all their horses problems. Honestly, there was no difference (except for one horse)...all a rider-placebo effect IMO. The one horse that did improve, I think the main problem solved was that the browband was a better size for him. The science/observations behind it make sense, but only for those small number of horses which have sensitivity. Owners want to do the best for their horses of course, but most horses don't need this.
 
I didn’t find much difference with the Diva in it really. Polly was much happier being tacked up but hated the mouth strap even though I actually punched a hole right at the tip of it to make it pretty much just resting there- she is extremely skin sensitive though so think this was the issue more than anything. Tobes liked it a lot!

Sizing can be weird, I used the same small horse one on a 14.1hh wide headed cob, a 15hh pony headed sports horse and a 16hh sports horse. A versatile piece of kit if nothing else!
 
Cortez said:
Me neither. I have several students who went out and bought Micklems and were raving about how it cured all their horses problems. Honestly, there was no difference (except for one horse)...all a rider-placebo effect IMO. The one horse that did improve, I think the main problem solved was that the browband was a better size for him. The science/observations behind it make sense, but only for those small number of horses which have sensitivity. Owners want to do the best for their horses of course, but most horses don't need this.
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Totally agree with you Cortez. Mostly a placebo.

I haven't bought them because my horses need them, but because I wanted new leather bridles to replace old biothane ones. I don't like nosebands that go under the headpiece (can't see how that can be comfortable), and I'm convinced that if we designed a bridle from scratch without ever having seen a traditional one, this is more what we would have ended up with. I think throat lashes are just weird. They do nothing at all except be there.

Having said all that, I have it in work on only one horse at the moment, who is a Clydex who's very thick through the gullet. So far, I haven't heard him gurgle once when I'm asking him to collect, which he used to do. I'm wondering if in spite of having it on very loose, he was still managing to strangle himself on the throat lash. Jury is still out on that one.

Other unexpected benefits I've found are how easy to clean they are, and how easy to put on. The new boy isn't keen on being bridled yet and it's certainly easier than having a loose nose band getting in the way.
 
Cortez said:
Me neither. I have several students who went out and bought Micklems and were raving about how it cured all their horses problems. Honestly, there was no difference (except for one horse)...all a rider-placebo effect IMO. The one horse that did improve, I think the main problem solved was that the browband was a better size for him. The science/observations behind it make sense, but only for those small number of horses which have sensitivity. Owners want to do the best for their horses of course, but most horses don't need this.
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Quite. There’s not much wrong with the original design unless of course there’s too much of it and it’s fitted to allow the least amount of air possible to enter s horses lungs - which I’m sorry to say is how bridles seem to be fitted these days :(
 
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