I’m finally going to break down and get a lunge cavesson but I’m not finding any with good reviews. Can anyone recommend one that is stable on the face without twisting near the eyes.
thanks
There is one that Dover carried at one time when they were carrying a line of tack used by the Spanish Riding School.
They were very expensive, very well made, and will last a lifetime, if you can find one. I was lucky enough to buy one in England 50 years ago. I have not yet found one as good.
Perhaps they still have some or can put you on a line to buy one.
I have one of the SRS ones from Dover and love it. (I have cob sized horses so I had to have it modified to fit since they never offered a cob size option.)
The other one that I use with some of the horses that the SRS one doesn’t fit is made by Hastilow: http://www.hastilowusa.com/shop/index.php?action=item&id=37&prevaction=category&previd=9&prevstart=0
The center ring doesn’t swivel, but otherwise it works well and it does fit a variety of horses. (I use this one with my smaller headed Arabs whose muzzles are too small for the SRS even though I had the SRS one shortened/modified as much as possible by my local leather guy.)
On the cheaper side of things, this one is actually very nice for the price and doesn’t twist. http://www.equestriancollections.com/product.asp?ic=ER05661R&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=Froogle&utm_campaign=ER05661R
The padding is really nice, as is the hardware. The leather itself isn’t superb or anything, but its hefty, resists twisting or shifting and does the job very well.
It does run small however, I thought mine was a cob sized (suited my purposes fine) but it is marked full. I don’t know if its mismarked or they just run small.
I have one from dressage extensions, paid $90 for it and it worked well–much better than the nylon ones that are available, it has a second set of straps to stabilize it, and it worked on my then 16.2 warmblood. I no longer need it and have contemplated selling it. I like the brown piping too.
http://www.dressageextensions.com/ProductDetail.asp?KEY=2231
Agree with Merrygoround - those old leather ones similar to the SRS cavessons are the best.
We have a set of leather lunging equipment (cavesson and surcingle) at the barn that belongs (belonged) to classical trainer Steve Martin, who just passed away yesterday. The equipment originally came from Germany, and is probably 40-50 years old. It is very well made and quite gorgeous. Steve had left it with the BO for safekeeping and for her to use, and I believe she may now inherit it. She said she had looked into purchasing a leather cavesson a few years ago, but couldn’t find anything close to the quality of that old German made piece.
I bought one from dover and it didn’t fit our horses at all. I will never use a cavesson again anyway after I saw a horse almost lose an eye.
Dover no longer has any and the tack shop for SRS leather goods has closed. Does anyone have a photo of the SRS cavesson? There are lots of different brands available but not all look safe. Does the SRS have a metal noseband or leather? Thanks.
The one I bought many years ago was spoken of as a “Wels” cavesson. I presume from Wels, Austria.
It does have a leather covered metal noseband, with three rings, the center one swivels. The ends nose band are set into rings,which attach to the cheek pieces, much like those used on a plain dropped nose band, only of course larger and heavier, the chin strap is attached to the rings. When fitting the Wels, it is fitted as you would a dropped nose band, so that a vibration of the longe line will be felt on the bit. This if used properly can mimic the feel of a riders hand to some extent, and help the green horse begin to understand “bit feel”. Podhajsky speaks of giving an “arrets” on the longe line.
The only other strapping is a adjustable buckle strap that goes from the cheek pieces under the jaw. This is set into the cheek pieces at eye level, and keeps the cavesson out of the eyes.
They are still made somewhere, obviously, but the challenge is finding out where.
Happy hunting. The world wide web is your frustrating friend.
In order to function properly and safely (like all equestrian equipment) a lunge cavesson must fit properly. Unfortunately, many that are available today appear to have been designed based on looking at photos of cavessons rather than by anyone with direct experience with how a cavesson fits a horse. After my original lunge cavesson broke after 15 years of use, I did not realize that finding a replacement that fit correctly would be so difficult! I must’ve tried 4 or 5 different leather lunge cavessons before I bought the SRS one from Dover. Most of them had chin straps that were poorly placed (if one existed at all) and/or the crown piece/cheek strap attached to the noseband too close to the midline so that the cavesson could easily be pulled into the eye.
The Spanish style cavessons (serrata) are another option, but I wanted more padding for my horses who are rather sensitive.
Here’s a pretty good article on the use and function of a lunge cavesson: http://classicallegacy.blogspot.com/2009/12/cavesson-part-2.html
There are a bunch of close up photos of an SRS cavesson here:
http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/ee/boards/index.php?topic=38817.0
An SRS stallion greeting the public in a lunge cavesson (the kind upon which the one Dover sold was based upon):
http://special.equisearch.com/blog/horsehealth/uploaded_images/FLK-cc-SRS-John-Harwood-3487384268_9be7bb9988-web-lr-712497.jpg
I’ve attached two photos of one of my young horses wearing a Dover SRS cavesson. Because a cob size was not offered for sale, I had the horse sized one shortened and use additional fleece padding to make it fit my Arabian’s heads.
allenglishtack
It does look similar, the zoom doesn’t work so that I can see the rings at the side, but the description is right.
Yup. I posted a link to that cavesson earlier in the thread:
http://www.hastilowusa.com/shop/index.php?action=item&id=37&prevaction=category&previd=9&prevstart=0 (allenglishtack.com is hastilow.com) It is a well fitting cavesson, though it lacks a swivel on the center ring which is a useful feature.
image here: [URL=“http://www.hastilowusa.com/shop/images/products/Longeing-Cavesson-LUN210-TN.jpg”]http://www.hastilowusa.com/shop/images/products/Longeing-Cavesson-LUN210-TN.jpg
Both the hastilow cavesson and the SRS one have metal nosebands that are curved over the top of the nose rather than simply jointed. Most leather lunge cavessons currently available have a noseband that is jointed over the top of the nose.
I quickly dug through my files to see if I had any views of the hastilow noseband. I found a photo of my dear 25 year old mare wearing that cavesson that shows the noseband and rings. I’ve cropped in to show the details.
I love this one. Easy to fit under a bridle too.
http://www.oglesaddlery.com/Ogle_Saddlery/Training_Equipment.html
Here’s one that appeals to me that I plan on getting:
http://www.horseheroshop.com/prods/showprod.asp?pid=16331
It’s lightweight and soft. Must be ordered from UK. Laura Bechtolsheimer was one of the designers.
I second the Spirig cavesson posted above. I have one and also one that Albion made for the SRS Kollection. I think the SRS only uses the Spirig ones. I like them both and they are very similar,except you can’t get the Albion ones any more.
Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions and photos. I believe the design of the SRS cavesson shown in the photos (thanks Dawn J-L) is the one I’d like to find. So many other brands are similar but the buckle near the eye, without adequate cheek straps scares me. None of the others have all the details and features that the SRS model has. So I’m still searching for the SRS model.
[QUOTE=ideayoda;6252546]
One of the makers for the srs: http://www.spirigsaddlery.com/html/bridles.html[/QUOTE]
this is what you are looking for.
i am going to try to order one too - thanks for posting this link!
The one that Albion made for the SRS kollection (sold through Dover and through the now defunct SRS on-line store) was a dressed up (brass fittings rather than steel, prettier finish on the leather, SRS insignia) copy of the one spirigsaddlery makes FOR the SRS. Functionally they should be the same. If I had known about the spirig one, I would have bought it. The SRS one is a bit ostentatious for my tastes. 
It functions correctly and is extremely well made, so I can live with the bling.
To be clear the photo of the close-up of the noseband is NOT of the SRS cavesson, but of the one sold by Hastilow. That one also does not impinge on the eye.
