Bartville hunt bridle price and fit question

[caballero]

I’m in need of a hunt bridle and realized that I have the old Bartville catalog.

First about fit. My horse is a 15.1 TB with a relatively fine head. His current bridles are horse sized but they are near the small end of their adjustments. Would I be better off with a cob bridle from Bartville?

Would any COTH’er with the new catalog be so kind to let me know of the price for both the cob and horse size hunt bridle as well as that of a pair of 3/4" laced reins?

PM would be fine.

Thanks

[rocky213]

Don’t get the cob size from Bartville (unless you have a pony) !!! Eli will tell you that its made for ponies. My horse is cob size and Bartville’s horse size fits her perfectly. I did have the cheeks swapped out for cob size though. Measure your current bridle and compare to the Bartville measurements and that will help alot. The Bartville bridle measurements are in the catalog.

I can’t find my catalog right now, but if I find it, I will post the prices.

[caballero]

Thanks rocky. I’m headed to the barn in a little while and will do just that.

[SLW]

I have small horses and the Bartville cob brow band is too short for both of them. I believe my bridles are: cob crown piece, horse cavasson, horse brow band and cob cheek pieces.

[caballero]

I hadn’t thought of mix and match. I may have to do just that. I’m off to the barn now and will bring back measurements of my cavesson bridle to see where everything fits.

[Reminisce]

Bartville is wonderful about swapping out parts to make the best fit for your horse! My advice would be to measure your current bridle and compare it to the measurements provided in their catalog. Luckily for me, they are only about 45 minutes from my house. I drove up with my current bridle and Eli helped me put together the perfect bridle for my guy. He had an overized bridle with a horse brow band and cheek pieces

[caballero]

Well it turns out that my guy will take a horse-sized bridle almost to the inch. So if someone would be so kind to let me know the new price for that size hunt bridle as well as the price for a set of 3/4" laced reins I’d be grateful.

[SLW]

[QUOTE=caballero;6813974]
Well it turns out that my guy will take a horse-sized bridle almost to the inch. So if someone would be so kind to let me know the new price for that size hunt bridle as well as the price for a set of 3/4" laced reins I’d be grateful.[/QUOTE]

If you are fox hunting, spring for the 1" reins. You will never go back to narrow reins.

[caballero]

I’ve never had reins that wide. Seems they would be clunky in your hands. Can you shed some insight about why they are preferable? Do they make it easier to keep a grip when the going gets tough? They are hardly any more money than the 3/4" so I can be convinced to get them.

[jawa]

I rode a friends horse that had the 1" reins sewn onto the bit, so there wasn’t an option for me to use a different size. And these were flat 1" reins as well. I thought I was going to have a devil of a time holding the horse I was to ride, especially since he came from a drag hunt and once he heard the horn for all on/full cry he would think it was time to gallop. They were SO easy to hold. I would think that they would also be great if the rider had a titch of arthritis or carpal tunnel.

[caballero]

jawa, thanks for sharing your experience. I do have a wrist that is NQR, so it sounds like the inch reins are the ticket.

Plus I bet they look very correct.

[SLW]

A 1" rein is more comfortable in your hand, especially if your horse is a bit of a lug on the bit. Think of it like this- put a narrow belt on your waist, eat a big meal, and the belt digs in. With a wider belt the pressure is spread out. And with wider rein leather there is a built in safety factor- it will take more force to break them than to break a more narrow rein.

It is mostly personal preference but yes, a 1" rein is traditional in the hunt field. I have very small hands and do not find the width a problem at all. My schooling bridles have 3/4" reins and smaller and those feel like I am riding with threads.

[gypsymare]

Forget laced and get their soft rubber reins. They are the Nunn Finer ones. Super flexible and grippy! They don’t look as traditional but they sure are comfortable.

Everything in this photo is horse sized and this mare usually fits in a cob sized bridle. You can see the rubber reins. If I had a big D rin in I might need shorter cheek pieces.

Their breastplates run a bit small in the shoulder. I wish I’d listed and gotten the over size for my 16.3 TB.

http://i48.tinypic.com/29vgm50.jpg

[caballero]

Wow, nice photo! Really makes the bridle come alive.

I have a pair of brown rubber reins lying around, though I may get the 1" laced ones too. Sometimes it’s nice to be uber-traditional.

Now I gotta find the phone number for Bartville. I keep forgetting to bring the catalog with me to work.

Beautiful horse, BTW.