I haven’t bought a bridle in eons. So I am looking at some now and see all the padded ones. But the way the padding is stitched on, It is not smooth but creates almost like piping which does not seem like it would be that comfortable. I like to over think things (a hobby) so I have to wonder if it is really comfortable.
What are you thoughts?
If you ask my horse, no. The trend lately is to “pad all the things” and it has my horse in a tizzy. She hates hates hates all the bulk, especially behind her ears. We’re months into trying to find a dressage bridle we both like.
On top of that, like you said, they definitely aren’t all created equal. On many bridles, the padding is more for aesthetics than function and is not sewn on with the horse’s comfort in mind.
I think more ergonomic bridles compensate for super tight nosebands and flashes that pull the poll piece tight behind the ears. In a simple snaffle with no noseband or a loose one, there is no particular pressure on the poll.
In my opinion, you can have all the padding you want, but if the bridle is still too tight or digging into a sensitive part of the horse’s face, it is still not comfortable. I see so many bridles digging and rubbing into the horse’s TMJ and/or the straps are so close to the horse’s eye. There is no way a horse is comfortable with that, even if they tolerate it. I can’t stand the way my winter hats feel on my forehand at the base of my hair, or wearing handbands for hours, or having my hair in a pony tail for hours. I like to think that the weird, uncomfortable sensation that I feel, is somewhat similar to how the horse feels. It doesn’t bother me at first and it doesn’t “hurt” on a pain scale, but it is annoying like no other.
Its no wonder so many horses want to rub their heads when their rider dismounts.
I rub the crap out of my head when my hairline feels weird from my headbands & hats when they come off.
Alequi Equestrian just came out with an interesting crown piece design that has me intrigued.
I also appreciate the number cut back styles that Waldhausen has designed lately.
The head rubbing part of this intrigues me. I’ve been debating looking for a new bridle because the one I have is kind of crappy, and I’ve noticed lately that my boy very much wants to rub his head when I get off (I don’t encourage it at all, but he wants to). I’m now wondering how uncomfortable the bridle is and if it would change with a different bridle. I just can’t spend $300 plus bucks on one right now.
I always thought that horses rubbed their faces after unbridling because there was sweat and they were itchy. And my horses always rubbed more in summer with the heat (causing sweat) than in the winter (less or no sweat). I would not attribute it to a bridle being uncomfortable.
IMHO, the best way to make a bridle more comfortable for the horse is to make certain the browband is long enough so that it doesn’t put pressure behind the ears and put the cheeks too close to the eyes. You really don’t need all the padding and cutback crowns if the browband is long enough, at least for ordinary snaffles with nosebands that aren’t reefing a horse’s mouth closed. If you’re doing that, then all bets are off. (Pet peeve of mine are nosebands that are done up so tightly that they squash the horse’s cheeks into their teeth causing cheek ulcers. We had one idiot instructor at our barn who continuously yanked the nosebands on hunter/jumper bridles as tight as she could pull them. I felt like doing the same thing to her.)
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