I am looking for the best bridle that is contoured and padded for a horse that has some poll/C1 issues.
Also, anyone try the fleece crown/noseband padding at Dressage Extensions?
Albion!
it’s lovely. it has the shaped comfort crown, it’s made of high quality leather. it’s beautiful! i don’t own one but i covet them and hope that one day, i’ll have a reason to buy it. for now i just look at them every time my saddle fitter visits;)
I’ve been very happy with my Jeffries Elevator bridle, though it’s expensive. I was very lucky to buy it on significant sale at our local tack shop before the pound/dollar exchange rate went so far south and raised the price even more. Looks like Rick’s Heritage has it for a relatively good price though (much better than the Dover price). http://www.saddlesource.com/proddetail.asp?prod=XBSELS%2FXBSELF
There’s a Passier that has a soft, single-piece padded crown and looks very nice. And Dover shows a Vespucci dressage bridle as having a single piece padded crown, but I don’t know anything about its quality.
I have a similar problem with one of my horses. He really likes the Jerry’s Harness Shop All-In-One best, with Jeffries’ Elevator a close second. I had an Albion KB for him, but it just didn’t work on his head shape - his poll is a rather odd angle, and the Albion sat on his ears even with a (very large!) browband.
re Albion
i’m not sure whether the one Andalucian refers to was the new contoured crown. i can’t imagine how that would sit on the ears since it’s shaped…
I have the Heritage which is padded but not shaped. I do pine for the Jeffries though. My big guy has very itchy ears- the padded crown and an ear net have helped him.
I haven’t seen the new Albion with the contoured crown yet - mine was the original KB Competition Snaffle, like what’s pictured at Dutchess Bridle & Saddle and Performance Saddlery. Would love to see the contour crown version, though.
The Vespucci is LOVELY … as much a work of art as it is a bridle! Peter DOES have reason to brag on his own products! Nothing was comprimised in the design and material for this bridle.
Magnum
[QUOTE=Andalucian;3296414]
I haven’t seen the new Albion with the contoured crown yet - mine was the original KB Competition Snaffle, like what’s pictured at Dutchess Bridle & Saddle and Performance Saddlery. Would love to see the contour crown version, though.[/QUOTE]
I just got a new KB snaffle for my Bellinger, with a contoured crown. I haven’t noticed a huge difference versus the “normal” KB, but he loves it just as much as the old KB, and that works for me! Mine came from Advanced Saddle Fit - www.advancedsaddlefit.com.
I second Jerry’s harness. The crown is contoured and padded, and there is no separate strap for the noseband over the crown. Pricey, but OH SO worth it.
Anyone have an Avalon Comfort Crown? Would be a bit easier on my bank account, but I’ll be getting the one that fits the poor bugger’s head the best! How about the Napoleon that I found at Smartpak? I think it’s made by Arc De Triomphe, so no price break. Ah well…my credit card will be burning before long… :sigh:
I have this one and it’s lovely!
eta: I’ve heard this one is nice also:
When I said it’s not contoured, I mean it’s not shaped with little cutouts for the ears. It’s nicely padded, though, and my horse thinks it’s heaven.
Those heritage bridles are such good deals, I might just have to get one 
and if it doesn’t fit, I’m sure I’d be able to pass it along! Thanks for that link Ambrey!!
YW 
I admit the leather isn’t as wonderful as a $300 bridle, but it’s very nice and soft
I haven’t compared it to a Rhinegold to see if the Rhinegold is $20 nicer, lol!
I do have three of the Avalon comfort crown bridles. I use them on lesson horses - gives them some poll protection, but they’re cheap enough (particularly if you buy during one of the VTO sales, which should be happening in a couple of weeks) that I don’t worry about how the clients treat them.
For the horses who are more sensitive in the poll and/or ear area, though, the Avalons just don’t compare to the Jerry’s All-In-One or the Jeffries Elevator. My most sensitive horse preferred the Avalon to his old work bridle, but I didn’t get dramatic improvement until switching to the Jerry’s and Elevator.
i had the rhinegold and at least the german leather one has fabulous leather and is made very well…however my horsey has a very big brain, and so the distance from the base of one ear across the poll to the base of the other ear was longer than any of the “off the rack” warmblood size crowns 
and so the bottom points of the standard ear cut outs poked at the base of his ears.
I had Jerry’s harness make a custom sized of their all in one contoured padded crown and I am very happy with it and it fits perfectly!
I can’t say that pony has expressed a preference, but I feel like it must be more comfortable for him as he has a very narrow space behind his ears before his poll muscles start and regular crowns shove forward against his ears.
Hmmm, the Jerry all in ones look so nice. So it looks like I’m gonna spend $400 for his bridle. I might as well just resign myself to that and get one of the really nice ones. Now I’m just going to have to try a couple of them and see what fits him the best.
I don’t know about the Avalon, but I have an Ovation Comfort Crown for my hunter bridle and it works just fine. It’s a good price and the leather seems to be pretty good.
I have three different bridles, and they’re all some version of a comfort crown, but they’re all different. The dressage is the aforementioned Jeffries Elevator, the jumper is the Peter Wylde Jumper, and the hunter is the Ovation Comfort Crown. I’ve been happy with all of them.
Go with the Elevator bridle
I have a Jeffries Elevator bridle which I absolutely adore and my horse loves. I purchased a Vespucci for another horse and it fits well but I have some issues with the quality of the leather. I am already seeing some cracking after only 9 months at some of the buckle holes and I clean my bridles after each use with Passier saddle soap. I probably would not buy another one and would rather put the money into an Elevator bridle. I think the fit and leather is far superior.
