Comfort bridles

[vels mum]

Who owns one and would you recommend?

Just looking through ebay for a new bridle for Vel and am noticing a lot of comfort bridles, they are padded at the poll and the noseband attachment comes up through the headpiece making it more comfortable for the horse.

So are they worth paying a little extra for?

[CityLights]

cant say i notice much difference with them to be honest, unless you do have something really really sensitive around the poll

[vels mum]

Ok thanks ;)

[black crow]

Id be careful of the cheaper comfort bridles, there are a lot of copies out there that are frankly dangerous.

Something like a heritage bridle, although cheap, is good quality. I bought one for Spud about 4 years ago. He has a large scar and hole in his poll/crest area, right where a headpiece would go. This would result in a lot of headshaking if any headpiece went in there.
I tried the heritage one on him, which is a copy from the Elevator bridle, and it did the trick. The noseband is a crank which he was fine with [always remember to never over tighten them, it is so easy to] and the headpiece was perfect for him. It is well padded and quite chunky so spreads the pressure. From then on he didnt headshake. He now has padded everything, including headcollars and a padded sleeve for his western bridle. Best buy for him ever. Will get an elevator for him one day.

They are usually more chunky on a horses face which for a horse like Spud suits him pretty well. They are lovely bridles, although the quality has lessened a little over the time i had his first one as i know that the second one i bought wasnt quite as good.

For some horses they dont make a lot of difference if they are usually working well from a standard bridle, however taking into consideration that the crank can be a very good noseband when not over tightened, or for horses that are sensetive or with scarring up there, it can be a great buy!

[vels mum]

Is a crank just a flash but thicker leather on the cavesson?
The comfort bridle I was looking at was rhinegold, looks very padded and good quality, however should I buy a comfort bridle as a first bridle, the bridles he has had so far have been show bridles and he leads well in them.
Is it a case of 'if its not broken dont fix it?' should I stick to the traditional style if he goes well or would a comfort bridle be.....well comfier?

[black crow]

I'd say its entirely your choice. As his first bridle it would probably be nice and comfy for him, if you chose to switch at a later date, i wouldnt have thought that it would cause a big aversion to the difference.

No, cranks instead of having a fixed side for the buckle, have two rings with a piece of leather, usually also having a large pad for the chin - mainly used for dressage. The buckle is in the center of the chin pad, and when tightened literally pulls in both sides of the noseband. Technically they create a much more even pressure, compared to some very lopsided nosebands. Only problem is that they need to be kept loose, its just easy to strap them in tight


Not sure if these will help, but.. :lol:

His second one [note this was the first time he had it on so was fitting it, the noseband needs to go up a hole as it is a bit too low, just needed a general adjustment]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/oasispegasus/Photo5894.jpg

[you can see the scarring on the end of his cheek bone in this, before i got this bridle i had to put sleeves on the sides of his cheekpieces, but dont have to anymore]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/oasispegasus/Photo5897.jpg

Better!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/oasispegasus/Photo5906.jpg

His first one
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/oasispegasus/Spud/Picture084.jpg

[vels mum]

Oh spud your too damn cute, cant even focus on the bridle with that face looking at me! ha