The question is as simple as that. Which bridle, in your opinion, is the best value for $200 or under. The most important qualities for me are leather quality and workmanship, and since I’m up here in the great white north I can’t get to many tack stores to feel the leather quality for myself- so I’m asking you guys for help! :yes:
I have a lovely new Hanoverian gelding at home who would really love his own bridle 
Thanks so much!
I really love my Stubben with the crank. It was much more than 200.00 but the regular Stubben dressage bridles I believe run right in that range. IMO it has wonderful leather and holds up well. They look great and have nice craftsman work.
dressage extensions has some nice bridles under 200
I love my stubbens. I’m not using mine right now because my horse isn’t doing anything “fancy” enough for them, but for a couple years they held up beautifully for schooling & competing. They still look new- no stretching, buckle-marks, scuffs, drying, or loose stitching. I got great deals on both of them (including rubber reins) in discount boxes & bargin basements at two different nearby tack shops. There are a lot of options with the bridles too (I don’t think they have any of the uber padded bridles with contoured crown pieces… at least not the last time I looked).
I have had three Kavalkades from Dressage Ext. I love them, excellent leather, really nice.
I know “Bobby’s Tack” bridles have been discussed before - some people like them some don’t (just like anything else!) I have a Bobby’s Tack bridle which I bought through Dressage Extensions.
Price was 130.00 They do not list it as a “Bobby’s Tack” bridle. Listed as Raised Snaffle Bridle No. 2142. I have had it for 2 or 3 years and like it very much. I use it for schooling and for show. I think the quality of both the leather and construction is good for the price. I believe that Bobby’s also has their own web site.
I have a Bobby’s Bridle that I love. It was given to me but it was originally a cheap bridle. It is in surprisingly good condition with very supple leather.
Just don’t opt for any of those awful Kincade (sp?) bridles. Cheap but nasty.
Definitely don’t forget Ebay, Craiglist or the Bits&Barter BB.
Barnsby, hands down the best bridle I have ever felt. I don’t know how much they run for normally, but I paid $150 for mine at a tack shop that was going out of business. They also had a Treadstone that was drool-worthy, but not in the right size for my little mare.
I did win a Treadstone on Ebay the other day. Can post about it when I actually get it. It is new, but was broken, so I paid like $23 including shipping, and its a VERY easy fix. I think they sell for about $200 normally.
I have a Bobby’s dressage bridle that I got on TOTD for right around $100 - LOVE IT. I get lots of compliments on it and it has held up very well. It is the model with all the buckle ends. It looks great on my 16.3hh, 1,350 pound, rather large headed warmblood mare. I recently got a great new browband with silver accents for this bridle from VTO Saddlery for something like $15. It added the finishing touch! (My mare is solid chestnut with a teeny, tiny star that you can barely see. She has no chrome so the silver accented browband keep the picture from being too boring.)
I just got a new horse and bought her a Keiffer bridle from Dressage Extensions. It was $170 and has buckle ends and a very tasteful bit of bling on the browband. It also has a padded crown. I think it is the Olivia model, or something like that - might be too “girly” for a gelding. But, Dressage Extensions did have several to choose from under $200.
Bugs inspired me and here is the link to the Kieffer bridle I bought. It looks really great on my new mare who is dark bay (she is almost black.)
http://www.dressageextensions.com/ProductDetail.asp?KEY=21041 The Kieffer buckles look like they might not hold up under tough wear. I do love the padded crown feature of the Kieffer, though.
This is the Bobby’s bridle. http://www.eqtack.com/catalog/product_info.php?pName=933-padded-dressage-bridle&cName=dressage-tack-flash-bridles It is very well made and the buckles are super sturdy (but bigger than the ones on the Kieffer. It would over power a delicate head.)
I like the Passier Gemini bridle. I saw it online for $179 the other day but usually it runs around $219.
I hate to sounds like a broken record, but, I love my Kieffer bridle.
Here it is at Dressage Extensions:
http://www.dressageextensions.com/ProductDetail.asp?KEY=2153
Here it is on Frodo: (It needed to be cleaned, which I did today. It actually looks brand new when it is clean and it is SOFT!)
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i309/bugsnfrodo/Frodohead2008jpg.jpg
Courbette
I have three Courbette bridles and have been very happy with the quality. My oldest Courbette bridle I bought new in 1983. It is still in excellent condition. I have another Courbette bridle I have used daily since 1993. It is also in beautiful condition and I also use it for shows. My newest is two years old and looks absolutely brand new and is used several days a week. With good leather care your bridle should last for years. There are many good bridles out there but I prefer to stay with Courbette because of the many good years I have gotten from them. Have fun shopping. I’m sure you will find something wonderful too.
I have a bobby’s bridle that must be a knock off of a Royal Oak Bridle, at a third of the price. It is wonderful and the leather is great! I got it on TOTD as well.
Kieffer bridles hands down!
I love my Kieffers, find the leather suberb and the bridles beautiful. The only quality note I have is that the keepers seem to break early and often on these bridles. No big deal, I just replace them.
I recently bought a Bobby’s (at an event for a horse I am leasing) and am quite impressed with the quality of the leather and how attractive it is (but can’t speak to how long it lasts, as I’ve only had it for 2 weeks).
I’ve also had Courbette’s that I’ve thought were very nice, but not for a very long time. For the past 8 years or so, almost exclusively Kieffer (in part because they fit my cob sized horse heads very well).
Sommer sold at Dressage Extensions.
Hands down, my Bobby’s Bridle is the best bridle I’ve ever purchased. I have a lovely high-end Courbette I purchased for $250. My Bobby’s Bridle was the “high end” Bobby’s brass buckle dressage bridle at $160, and it blows away the Courbette. I have purchased other Bobby’s leather items (stirrup leathers, additional nosebands) and been equally thrilled with all of them.
I think Keiffer bridles are stylish but the leather quality is quite inconsistent in my experience.
Spectrum.
great thread. I am bridle shopping too and want one under 200
Of course I really want the Passier or the Vespucci… However I am trying to be more reasonable. I will need a full by the end of the year, so I need to pace my bridle spending!!
My only comment is on the Kieffer… I had one that was lovely but it reallllllly stretched. Maybe a dud, but I wasn’t impressed.
Love my bobby’s. Complimented many times (I clean it daily and “shoe polish” it before a show, it looks new 3 yrs later!) $120 at a show. I love the padding and how the leather looks smooth even after such exstensive use. Yep, its gone through the sprinklers and been left out side in a summer before… I mean I NEVER forget to put my bridle up when I’m in a hurry 
But you’d never know.
[QUOTE=Spectrum;3002723]
I think Keiffer bridles are stylish but the leather quality is quite inconsistent in my experience.[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard things like that about the Keiffer bridles, I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.
I’ve also found that the Keiffer buckles are… overpowering. I might like the bridles more if they were stud ends or had the option of stud ends. The buckle ends might work for the bigger-featured horses but end up dominating the features of the finer-headed horses.
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