Settle an argument - Does a bridle need a throat latch?

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Expo

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(A friendly yard debate!) A fellow livery has recently bought a new bridle for her horse. It is one of the more costly European brands and it is lovely, but it doesn’t have a throatlatch. She argues that it doesn’t need one as it should stay in place perfectly well without one and a correctly fastened throatlatch isn’t actually tight enough to stop a bridle coming off over a horse’s ear anyhow. All thoughts welcome.
 
Rightly or wrongly, I use the throatlash to put my reins out of the way if I'm having a lunge/doing groundwork before I get on. My bridle is a new fangled anatomic & the throatlash threads through the head piece so it's possible to remove it altogether. I think it would look very streamlined & modern without it...but how would I put my reins up...?!
 
Well it seems I have been neglecting my throatlash as I can’t see it does anything being worn other than hang there and I haven’t used it for any of the above ideas.
 
A lot of westerns bridles don't have them, including for working and reining. I'd imagine that if there was ever a risk of a bridle coming off, it's likely to be in those activities.

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I have Mim in a headstall bridle on the farm at home, no throatlash, when I ride her with our western saddle.

I ride her in a micklem competition for schooling and micklem multiway if I'm riding bitless or and lunging, so both are non-traditional throatlash type bridles. I lunge of the off the cavesson ring on the multiway, and none of my bridles have ever come off.
 
I would say that the only bridle that needs a throatlash is a driving bridle and that is due to the weight of the blinkers, which have a metal plate inside them.

The throatlash was standard equipment when tired horses were pulled about by their bridles, in the days when they and there owners had jobs to do.
 
Have used a Micklem for years and I'm a fan - I think the 'throat latch' type strap is a good design.

I recently bought a Felix Buehler anatomical bridle because it give a lot of clearance around the eye area and my pony seems to love it. That bridle doesn't have a throat latch at all and I can't see how it needs one.
However, I would say that both the Micklem and the Buehler have quite substantial cheek pieces, much thicker than a normal bridle, so perhaps this helps them to stay put!
 
I eventually got my bridle down to a headpiece, cheeks, a bit and reins for general use, I used to go and ransack the tack room for extra bits when I wanted to go to a show. Never had one come off, and that was doing all sorts of hacking and schooling on loads of different horses. Also jumping in the field.

Sometimes I’d forgo it completely and just use a halter and reins in the field. Less cleaning.
 
LadyGascoyne said:
A lot of westerns bridles don't have them, including for working and reining. I'd imagine that if there was ever a risk of a bridle coming off, it's likely to be in those activities.
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Likewise Icelandic tack - basically just a headpiece. They scramble all over crazy terrain at speed and don't seem to have a problem with their tack falling off.
 
For western bridles, we don't have the throat latch, and often no browband or ear-loop when we're riding in a curb bit as the action of it doesn't cause the crown on the bridle to lift.
When we use a snaffle, we should also use a bridle with a browband and preferably a throat latch, as the action of the reins on the snaffle can cause the crown to lift.
Crown lift = bridle can fall off.

I've seen it happen a fair few times over the years, and it's always been with one-ear or just headstall bridle and snaffle combo. The other reason is concho's coming loose, which is why I avoid them altogether :)
 
Expo said:
(A friendly yard debate!) A fellow livery has recently bought a new bridle for her horse. It is one of the more costly European brands and it is lovely, but it doesn’t have a throatlatch. She argues that it doesn’t need one as it should stay in place perfectly well without one and a correctly fastened throatlatch isn’t actually tight enough to stop a bridle coming off over a horse’s ear anyhow. All thoughts welcome.
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Western bridles have no throat lash though have to say mine does. (some of them) they stay on ok for general riding, but in an emergency they would come off, but then any bridle would regardless of throat lash
or not.
 
On most bridles, probably not needed.

I use an endurance combination bridle so the throatlash is attached to the part connected to the noseband with the ring you'd attach the reins/leadrope to when using as a headcollar.
 
I used to ride/jump/hack/lunge/long rein in a dually
 

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No.

And wrapping reins up in the throatlash will generally stretch the throatlash, not the reins. Personally I love a properly put up bridle with figure 8 throatlash but that's from eleventy years ago for me!
 
sbloom said:
No.

And wrapping reins up in the throatlash will generally stretch the throatlash, not the reins. Personally I love a properly put up bridle with figure 8 throatlash but that's from eleventy years ago for me!
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A yard I was on, the owner has us all put our bridles up that way, and it certainly did look neat. We didn't mind as they'd repainted/refitted the tack room, so taking the extra few seconds to make her happy wasn't a hardship.
Mine was a Wintec Synthetic Bridle at the time, so stretching wasn't a concern for me.
 
Nasicus said:
A yard I was on, the owner has us all put our bridles up that way, and it certainly did look neat. We didn't mind as they'd repainted/refitted the tack room, so taking the extra few seconds to make her happy wasn't a hardship.
Mine was a Wintec Synthetic Bridle at the time, so stretching wasn't a concern for me.
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If I were a YO I'd insist on that too, a row of bridles needs to be neat & straight.
 
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