Bridle to prevent rubbing on large, set-back ears

[Amordoro]

My PRE seems to have oddly set ears. Most bridles I’ve tried on him - including Schockemohle anatomic, Micklem, Fairfax with the regular anatomic headstall - have the same problem: the headpiece ends up pulled hard against the back of his ears. The browband is not the problem. It seems to be something about his ear set and shape and poll conformation - when the headpiece is in the right position for the noseband and bit hangers to be at the right angle, it is pulled forward against his ears. It’s like his ears are weirdly large at the base and set back. Plus he has a deep “bridle groove” right behind his ears. He’s a grey, and the bottoms of his ears are solid black because there’s no hair there anymore! He doesn’t act uncomfortable, but it can’t feel good.

Does anyone have suggestions for a bridle to try that might relieve the ear pressure? I am at a loss since the standard anatomical choices, like Fairfax and Schockemohle, don’t work.

Thanks!

[dmveventer]

Which Schockemohle did you try? My big-eared gelding didn’t like either the Schockemohle Equitus or the Micklem crown but he’s very happy in the Schockemohle Select line. It had the most generous clearance of all the bridles I tried. The Passier Starlight was the runner-up.

[Amordoro]

It was in fact the Equitus! That’s very helpful, I’ll look into those options, thank you!

[beowulf]

Antares has a pretty generous cutback crown. I have a horse with a similar issue and it’s one of the few bridles that doesn’t ride his ears when fastened.

[Amordoro]

Do you know which bridle in particular worked for you? Some of their anatomic ones are not show legal - the one with the really wide crown piece specifically isn’t; I’m not sure if there are any others.

[DMK]

This post made me curious so I looked up the equitus and it reminded me when I did see it hanging up in the store, it was a hard no. I could tell that it wasn’t going to fit a fjord head! But the PSoS crown is nicely cut back and fits well. They do sell just the crown, if it fits the bridle that might be a budget friendly option. I think I have 3 different brands on my full bridle, it might be 4 if you count the reins

[Amordoro]

Does PSoS have only one crown style, for all its different bridles? Or is there one in particular that you like?

I actually used to have a PSoS bridle for this horse - I can’t remember why I switched. I think because the PSoS fell apart!

[DMK]

I’m not sure if they do, but I have the paladin, one for the snaffle and one for the full bridle.

I’ve heard some bad reviews on their stuff, but it’s been all good for me, bridle and saddle pads. The bridle gets used as a daily bridle and show bridle, mostly because I don’t show enough ridden dressage to bother with a separate headstall… As long as you don’t take into consideration the brown patent leather FB I just impulse purchased

[anonevent]

Have you tried something very padded like Finesse or Laura Tweedie’s “anti-gravity” bridle?

[beowulf]

I’m sorry, I don’t know exactly which model. But maybe @Jealoushe remembers, I might be getting my users mixed up but when I found mine at the consignment store I think they had the same one. Here’s a picture of it if it helps.

[4wdNstraight]

I am also considering one of those bridles and would love so feedback!

[outerbanks77]

@anonevent

Have you tried something very padded like Finesse or Laura Tweedie’s “anti-gravity” bridle?

That is what I was thinking.

Also, I had a very thin skinned mare who would be almost bald behind her ears in the summer, so I just use a sheepskin tube on the crown piece and that prevented additional rubs.

[IPEsq]

I use the CWD anatomic bridle. It is available in black as well as a full bridle, though mine are brown. While it’s not especially situated away from the ears, the crown doesn’t get tight on the head anywhere. It’s generously padded and still dressage legal. My WBs go in an oversized crown and brow band.

[Amordoro]

I have not tried a super-padded style. My hunch is that it wouldn’t help, because the issue is that the crownpiece is pushed (pulled?) right up against his ears. The problem is lack of space between his ears and the crownpiece. The bridles I’ve tried do have some padding - it’s the padding that’s pushing against his ears, not rough leather edges With thicker padding, it seems like there’d just be more to rub against his ears. Sheepskin possibly could help though…

I’m actually curious whether a thinner, straighter crown, rather than one of the anatomically curved ones, might work better. Fairfax has a thinner straighter one they call the “stallion” headpiece, which they say is for horses with forward bridle grooves, large crests, and sensitive ears.

[islgrl]

Not sure your budget but I had a bridle made bespoke for my horse by Kelly J Leather
It’s magnificent and she can work with the various issues people deal with in fit and comfort

[GreyDes]

@Amordoro & @beowulf - That Antares looks like their Origin model - https://antares-sellier.com/shop/en/bridles-and-double-bridles/45-origin-anatomic-flash-noseband-bridle.html

As far as I know it’s dressage legal. They do have a model that is extremely cut back behind the ears and not.

If you look at Antares don’t bother with the Signature line. It’s nothing like their higher end bridles and is not worth the money.

[anonevent]

It works well for my bunny-eared horse because it kind of molds around the ears. I’ll look up that Fairfax crown piece though. That sounds interesting.

[anonevent]

The new Finesse crown pad is great. Easier to break in.

The LW is really nice, but you have to check your noseband and bit position every single time you use it. The design allows them to rotate. Your bit can wind up 4" higher on one side than the other if you’re not attentive. I’ve been experimenting with velcro to hold things in place. Personally, I think the price is bonkers for a bridle I have to get arts and craftsy with. Great crownpiece though.

[Amordoro]

So do you find that the Finnesse, even when it is right up against the ears, doesn’t chafe them because of the way that special padding stuff molds to them? I wonder after thinking about it if the Finnesse might actually work - it’s just a very expensive experiment if it doesn’t, since it’s not returnable!

I was looking at his ears today trying to figure out what’s going on, and it seems like the bases of his ears are very large in circumference, and his ears are wide set - set more to the outside of his head than on my other horses. The bridle rubs are from right behind his ears around to the outsides, where the crown starts to curve to the front.

The regular Fairfax headpiece, which works great on my other PRE - whose head is, if anything, larger and more stallion-y - jams right up against his ears, just as badly as the Schockemoehle Equitus we’ve been using. But I’ve never tried, or even seen, the stallion headpiece. I could at least have them come for a fitting though.

For right now I’m thinking maybe sheepskin! Do they make anatomical bridle sheepskin? Ugh.

[SBrentnall]

My Lusitano has very large ears and my schokemohle pressed too hard at the base. He loves the Finesse. Even though there isn’t much of a cutback, the fact that it’s memory foam rather than straps seems to help. His head-shaking totally stopped, too.