Saturn Anatomical Bridle from Horsemanship honest reviews needed !

[Tabs]

Want to buy an anatomical bridle and I've heard great things about the Saturn bridle from Horsemanship. Not loving the removable brow band as i have found pieces like this end up being gimmicky and tend to be a flash in the pan. I've already read about someone not being able to get a piece for their Horsemanship bridle as it has been discontinued. Can you use a conventional brow band with it? Is it as good as people say and is it worth getting a fitter out?

Reviews on any of Premierequine Anatomical bridles welcome too as i dont hear much about them.

I am willing to put a little money into it as my 5yo newbie is really irritated by my old one and her comfort is paramount. A simple cavesson (no flash) is all i want.

Thanks so much guys.

 

[flat3]

I bought one a few years ago after a session with a bit fitter and I've been very happy with it. It made an instant improvement to my horse's comfort and way of going. Leather quality is great, it still looks as new. You wouldn't notice that the browband isn't the conventional attachment, the poppers don't come loose or anything, and looks like it sits much more comfortably than most.

 

[oldie48]

Not bought one as my horse was happy in the bridle she had but have seen them and thought they were good value and not unattractive on the horse. The detachable browband means you can switch to a fancy one for competitions very easily but I think you are limited to their designs. I would consider one if I were buying.

 

[ihatework]

Ugly things aren’t they!

Honestly, I’d just go for a good quality monocrown bridle. My favourite it sabre cordoba, but Henry James seem to do some nice ones too.

 

[HelenBack]

I bought one a few years ago after a session with a bit fitter and I've been very happy with it. It made an instant improvement to my horse's comfort and way of going. Leather quality is great, it still looks as new. You wouldn't notice that the browband isn't the conventional attachment, the poppers don't come loose or anything, and looks like it sits much more comfortably than most.

Ditto this. My horse was very difficult to get comfortable in a bridle but he liked this one straight away and it sits very nicely on his head. I think some of the anatomical bridles can be a bit chunky whereas this one is quite slender. It's also really nicely cut behind the ears, which I imagine helps with comfort.

I did have a fitter out as this enabled me to ride in one before buying it and to make sure I had the sizing right. You could always combine it with trying a few different bits if that was of interest to you.

I don't really care either way about the removable browband as I never change it but it does sit nicely round their head. The other bonus is with the bridle being so simple it's really quick to clean

ETA: I had some emails with the owner of the company and found her quite rude but I still continued with the bridle because I liked it so much!

 

[Littlebear]

They are such lovely bridles, a few people i know have them and they are very nice.

I did buy a decathlon anatomical bridle which is a bargain price and am pleasantly surprised by how nice that is.

 

[vmac66]

My horse is happy in hers. She would rub her face after being ridden before I switched to the horsemanship saddlery one. I like that I can use it without a noseband without having a loose strap on the bridle, alternative throat lashes are available. Ive had a lot of nice comments about how pretty the blingy browband is.

 

[LJF0664]

I’m really pleased with mine, great value for money, and the horse is happy in it. I have a standard shires blingy brow band I use for dressage, and it fits fine. There is no sign of the poppers on the included browband giving up, and I am tempted to get one of their own sparkly ones because they are so easy to swap!

 

[Griffin]

I really like mine (I have had it for a few years now). My sensitive mare goes really well in it (we bought after trying with a bit fitting session). I don't mind the poppers, you wouldn't know when its on and it is very easy to take apart to clean.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I love mine. I previously had a Henry james one which I also loved but it was just a bit too bulky for my mare.

This bridle is lovely and soft and I also have their reins which are great too.

 

[Pippity]

I really like mine, even the detachable browband, despite being sceptical at first. It means I can easily switch between her hi-viz LED hacking browband and her sparkly princess tiara. There's no special attachment to the bridle, so it's easy enough to pop on a normal browband instead, if you don't mind dismantling the bridle. The browbands are a really good size. Blue needs an XXF/XXXF from a lot of manufacturers, but her blingy browband is a straightforward Full.

Biggest downside is that the throatlatch invariably slides down to the cheekpiece buckle, rather than staying just below the browband.

I suspect I'm the person you heard of who was unable to get shorter cheekpieces for my discontinued bridle. That was the Orion, the heavy-duty version of the Saturn, and the difficulty was purely because it was made with particularly thick leather. You wouldn't have that issue with the standard Saturn which would take most off-the-shelf bridle parts.

This is Blue modelling her Saturn, completely with sparkly princess tiara.



And the Saturn Orion (with HS hunter browband, without the poppers).

 

[Pippity]

Ugly things aren’t they!

I'm intrigued by this! They look like pretty standard bridles to me, especially compared to things like the Micklem and the Stubben Freedom bridle, so what makes them ugly to you? Is it just the throatlatch?

 

[Regandal]

I’ve got one and I love it. Looks smart and really nice leather.

 

[Tabs]

I’m really pleased with mine, great value for money, and the horse is happy in it. I have a standard shires blingy brow band I use for dressage, and it fits fine. There is no sign of the poppers on the included browband giving up, and I am tempted to get one of their own sparkly ones because they are so easy to swap!

Many thanks for that, great you can use other brow bands s

 

[Tabs]

Ditto this. My horse was very difficult to get comfortable in a bridle but he liked this one straight away and it sits very nicely on his head. I think some of the anatomical bridles can be a bit chunky whereas this one is quite slender. It's also really nicely cut behind the ears, which I imagine helps with comfort.

I did have a fitter out as this enabled me to ride in one before buying it and to make sure I had the sizing right. You could always combine it with trying a few different bits if that was of interest to you.

I don't really care either way about the removable browband as I never change it but it does sit nicely round their head. The other bonus is with the bridle being so simple it's really quick to clean

ETA: I had some emails with the owner of the company and found her quite rude but I still continued with the bridle because I liked it so much!

Ive been trying to phone her and cant get her so i phoned one of the fitters and she was lovely and very helpful. Might steer clear of the manager lol.

 

[Tabs]

I really like mine, even the detachable browband, despite being sceptical at first. It means I can easily switch between her hi-viz LED hacking browband and her sparkly princess tiara. There's no special attachment to the bridle, so it's easy enough to pop on a normal browband instead, if you don't mind dismantling the bridle. The browbands are a really good size. Blue needs an XXF/XXXF from a lot of manufacturers, but her blingy browband is a straightforward Full.

Biggest downside is that the throatlatch invariably slides down to the cheekpiece buckle, rather than staying just below the browband.

I suspect I'm the person you heard of who was unable to get shorter cheekpieces for my discontinued bridle. That was the Orion, the heavy-duty version of the Saturn, and the difficulty was purely because it was made with particularly thick leather. You wouldn't have that issue with the standard Saturn which would take most off-the-shelf bridle parts.

This is Blue modelling her Saturn, completely with sparkly princess tiara.

View attachment 67034

And the Saturn Orion (with HS hunter browband, without the poppers).

View attachment 67036

Lol yes it was. I think im going to go for the Saturn for sure and thanks for the reply. What a lovely horse!

 

[Slightlyconfused]

We had a fitter out at the yard and my horse loved the bridle. He is in a saturn. He has had it about two/three years now and I haven't had a problem with it at all.

 

[Tabs]

We had a fitter out at the yard and my horse loved the bridle. He is in a saturn. He has had it about two/three years now and I haven't had a problem with it at all.

Would love to avail of a fitter but there are none employed in our area and none will travel because of lockdown restrictions

 

[Leafcutter]

I’m not that pleased with mine, the paint has rubbed off the browband poppers and they’ve gone a bit rusty, the browband also slides down the cheek pieces quite a bit which is annoying. I even resorted to putting plaiting bands under them to stop them sliding, but didn’t help much. I have never bothered using the throatlatch, the fitter said you could use it without, so that’s what I do.

 

[Apizz2019]

We've had ours for 3 weeks now, from Horsemanship Saddlery.

It's lovely, not too bulky as some anatomical bridles are, sits well, made from good quality leather and I love the pop on/off browband feature.

Also, the customer service is to die for - a rarity nowadays!

 

[Apizz2019]

Would love to avail of a fitter but there are none employed in our area and none will travel because of lockdown restrictions

I had a Fit Bit fitter out - Rush Fisher.

I'm not sure if she covers your area but she came out to us, socially distanced and masks on etc.

 

[Regandal]

I recall there being instructions on their website on how to measure the horses head, I managed so they must be idiot proof!
I think he needed cob sized cheek pieces and a full brow band.

 

[lolabelle36]

We've had ours for 3 weeks now, from Horsemanship Saddlery.

It's lovely, not too bulky as some anatomical bridles are, sits well, made from good quality leather and I love the pop on/off browband feature.

Also, the customer service is to die for - a rarity nowadays!

This! I've had mine 3 or 4 months now. Quality is excellent for the price, fit is perfect and the customer service is exceptional!

I didnt buy a whole bridle as I wanted to use my own browband and reins, so dont have any issues with poppers on browbands.

 

[Apizz2019]

This! I've had mine 3 or 4 months now. Quality is excellent for the price, fit is perfect and the customer service is exceptional!

Worth every penny! Glad you're pleased with yours too ?

 

[Tabs]

I recall there being instructions on their website on how to measure the horses head, I managed so they must be idiot proof!
I think he needed cob sized cheek pieces and a full brow band.

Yes im in the miiddle of measuring and i find it complicated mainly because the photo demo doesn't match the description of how to measure. So far cob size for me too with a full brow band. I might have to go back and measure the cheekpiece on her as it is measuring slightly over an xfull! dont know whats going on there lol!