You came back! Yay! First off, thanks for coming back. And secondly, I bet you are here to find out more about the bridles I talked about the other day, and to see if you were right of the cost of the bridles.
And if you were really curious, you could have clicked on the 3 links I provided and figured out which bridle was which. I mean, that’s what I would have done if I were reading this blog post instead of writing it.
So let’s go over the bridles, from least expensive to most expensive.
Suffolk Fancy Stitched Single Crown Bridle
I found this bridle at Dover’s. The cost is $95.95. And if I remember correctly, they had it on sale when I bought it, and I also got to use my USEF discount too. I love that discount! 10% may not seem like a lot, but when you spend $100.00 on a bridle, that’s $10 dollars off! And I will take every little bit of saving I can get, especially when I’m buying things for my horses.
Ok, but back to the bridle!
Now while it isn’t the cheapest bridle, I think it look really nice. And having the single crown that is padded is one of my favorite things about this bridle.
The leather is pretty nice too. It’s just as soft and pliable as they more expensive bridles.
The raised and padded noseband and browband are nice, and I find the keepers work very well. And you even get the reins with the bridle too. That’s definitely a win win right?
If this was the only bridle I could afford to show in, I think it would work. It’s a very nice piece of equipment, and I’m really happy I have it. It’s also not too expensive that I am going to be worried about using it. It stands up to use, as well as the elements.
Bobby’s Tack Fancy Stitched Padded Wide Noseband Bridle
This is a very nice bridle. The leather is soooo soft, and I think it looks really nice on Plezant. Of the 3 bridles, this one was the middle cost at $174.95. It does come with a pair of fancy reins too, which is an added bonus.
The reins are raised and have the fancy stitching on them, which match the browband and the noseband. But I’m not crazy about the reins. Maybe it’s because I need to fully break them in, maybe it’s something else. Whatever the case, while the bridle is beautiful, I prefer reins that I have on another bridle.
The leather the bridle is made from is Italian leather. And even when I opened up the bag that the bridle came in, the leather was soft and pliable.
I got this bridle from Riding Warehouse and it cost $174.95. Overall it is a very nice bridle. And the leather is great. Hopefully I can break the reins in to feel the same way.
Schockemöhle Montreal Select Anatomic Hunter Bridle
I really do like this bridle. The leather is super soft, and it fits Plezant (and Frisby) very well.
The Schockemöhle Montreal Select Anatomic Hunter Bridle, engineered in Germany, combines elegant details with advanced horse comfort features. The softly padded and anatomically shaped single crown has a unique cut with narrow center especially designed to work with the horse’s poll and neck anatomy. It’s designed this way to reduce pressure. The description says it has a wide browband, but I would consider it to be of standard size.
The browband is also a “U” shape. But mine is a little disfigured. So the “U” kind of goes off to the side a bit, no matter how much I clean or oil it. The noseband and browband are padded and it really does fit the horse’s face comfortably.
But again, this bridle does not include the reins in it’s purchase price. But with my plethora of tack, I had an extra pair of nice reins to use with the bridle.
The Schockemöhle Anatomic Hunter Bridle is the most expensive of the three that I tested. You can find the bridle on Amazon and at Dover Saddlery for $329.00 for the full size.
Which Bridle is The Winner?
After doing a thorough test on all three bridles, if I had to chose one, I would choose….
The least expensive one. Yep. The Suffolk bridle is the one I would choose. Not only is it affordable, but it has the same qualities of the more expensive bridles AND it includes the reins. Maybe once I get the Bobby’s reins broken in I will change my mind. But I’m not sure how I like the wide noseband on Plezant.
What do you think? Would this bridle be appropriate in the show ring? Now I know the bit guards would not go into a hunter show ring, nor would the awesome Mulberry pad that Plezant is wearing in this photo. But just look at the bridle. Would it go in the hunter ring?
If you have shown the A circuit, I would love to know your thoughts. And if you have a favorite bridle, what is it?
Is More Expensive Tack Really Better?
Umm, that’s a big “No!” from me. The bridle you’ve chosen as your favorite doesn’t even fit the horse properly. The split of the headpiece is way too small for the horse! Where the browband sits, you can see the top of the split & buckle holes ABOVE it which is really ugly, and then it totally distorts the throatlash.
Hahaha only positive comments allowed here? You MUST BE AMERICAN!
As a bridleholic myself, I love this post and the previous one! I have to say, even as someone with a strong preference for bridles like Edgewood, Hadfield’s, Jimmy’s, older Beval, older Crosby, etc., I was surprised by how nice the Suffolk looks compared to what I was expecting. It really has nice details for the price, and I think based on the pictures, both it and the Bobby’s look about the same in terms of quality and details. The Schockemöhle looks buttery soft and beautiful as well!
I have many, many more bridles than I’d like to admit (LOL), but I think out of my entire massive collection, some of my favorites are Jimmy’s, older Beval and Dover Wellington (both made by E. Jeffries), older Crosby (while they were still made in England), Edgewood, Hadfield’s, HK Aramas/Americana and SmartPak Nantucket (all made by Harmohn Kraft), Stübben, Courbette, and Northrun. There are others I love as well, but this is already a laundry list, LOL! I got all of these used or old stock for amazing prices (the only way I could afford them) and love all of them.
For more middle-priced bridles, I like my Collegiates, especially the Miller’s-era ones, and I also really like my Ovations. The Harmohn Kraft bridles I mentioned in the last paragraph are excellent for the price as well (though the Nantuckets have sadly been discontinued).
Sorry for the book, I could talk about bridles all day!