*Rant* Why does every bridle now come with a FLASH these days??!!

Kallibear said:
Seriously, just have the flash tab removed. It takes seconds and once it's off you couldn't tell. You can do it yourself too - just cut the 3-4 stitches that hold the tab in place ( on the underside of the noseband so the top stitchs look like they're still there) and it will pull out. If you really want you can sew the little hole back together using plaiting thread.

I just buy whatever noseband I want, with flash, and take the tab off. Much easier.
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This sounds like a very sensible suggestion which I'm going to follow from now on. I've just been hacking off the flash attatchment with a scalpel blade!
 
I feel your pain! Last year I was after a nice bridle for my mare as I wanted to upgrade her 'bits and pices' one that I had made up from spare oddments. I was after a comfort headpiece (with the noseband strap going over the headpiece not on a hanger) and a caversson (NOT crank!) and was happy to spend up to about £150/£200 for a nice english leather one. You would have thought I wanted the moon on a stick! Ended up with a crappy ascot one, then spent several months on bridlework courses and practise, then I made my own out of gorgeous english leather as it annoyed me so much!!!
 
I feel your pain re the selection in tack shops, but I got a rather nice, new, plain, Heritage bridle with a non-crank cavesson noseband for my arab off Ebay - think it was about £60 (mid-priced!) and it's brill. There was even an option to have a bridle assembled in the exact sizes you needed if your horse has an unusually sized head or with comfort headpieces or whatever! :)
 
I totally agree with the OP. This drives me nuts as well. WHY do all bridles have flash's as default?! Too many people use one without even needing one. Personally I hate them and dont use them on any horse.
 
There's loads of plain cavesson bridles. Off the top of my head : Sabre, Heritage (as in Matty Marlow who sells on ebay and will do made to measure), Collegiate, Jeffries, JHL, Kincade, Crosby, Black Country.................I'm sure there's loads more.
Cavessons, Grackles and Flashes are easy to get. What are tricky to find are Drop bridles!! For this reason I went to Sabre as I wanted a drop and a Grackle to switch. They were very good and will mix and match (I needed an X full headpiece and reins, full everything else!)
 
I know what you mean. Its almost impossible to go to our local saddlers and buy a suitable bridle for showing. I hate flash nosebands, I never use them and I don't believe they make that much difference, although I stand to be corrected. Online is great but sometimes you just want to be able to go and just get the thing you want!
 
blitznbobs said:
If you think that's hard, try and find an old fashioned drop... impossible

Blitz
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^^ This ^^

I spent a long time trying lots of nosebands on my horse and he goes best in a drop (though everyone I speak to who has tried one on their horse says they hated it!). The only places I could buy one from was either cheap and nasty from Robinsons (which I bought so don't have a problem with cheap and nasty apart from the fact it stretches badly), or super expensive ones.

I had less trouble buying a bridle without a flash as there are a lot with removable flash straps. In the end I went for a plain hunter noseband instead of spending money on a bridle with an attachment I will never use, since my horse hates a flash with a passion.
 
I wonder what came first, fashion for flashes, or the overabundance of flash bridles?

In response to the question 'Does she actually need the flash on?' yesterday, someone who has owned horses most of their life replied 'The bridle looks silly without it, it's just for breaks but she doesn't need it on i suppose' After years of having it on.

*headdesk*

I think a huge problem is that people don't understand their tack. And they don't care that they don't. It comes with it, looks good, stick it on. And so the cycle of flash popularity continues.

To be honest, for every day riding, i really don't care if the little unused flash tab is there. And most show bridles don't have them. So no issue for me.
 
somethingorother said:
I think a huge problem is that people don't understand their tack. And they don't care that they don't. It comes with it, looks good, stick it on. And so the cycle of flash popularity continues.
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I agree with this. I have lost count of the number of horsey people I know who say "oh but s/he looks so nice in a flash/grackle....". I had someone suggest trying my boy in a grackle for XC, which when I put on, they said "ah, finally he looks like a proper horse in a proper bridle". I don't care that a drop noseband looks old fashioned or might make his head look ugly (not that I think it does!), he goes well in it.

Same goes for people who don't understand - and don't *try* to understand / don't care - what their bit does. Or people who complain their horse is "too strong" when jumping so whack a gag in its mouth rather than do a bit of flatwork...

*steps down from soapbox*
 
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