How can both of these be true?
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Yes. The crown piece on these is really nice, but I couldn’t make the noseband (without the flash) sit right on my horse. It only really made contact on the bridge of the nose and left a big gap either side of the bridge, and in order for it not to shift around it had to be tighter than I liked across the bridge. I ended up swapping with a Vespucci noseband that I like the fit of better.
I think it would actually work better with the flash which runs through about 5" of the noseband rather than attaching through a loop on the front. It would pull in those gaps a bit and take the pressure off the bridge and would stabilize the whole thing, more like a Micklem. Wouldnt need to be done up tight. I keep meaning to give it another go as I did go back to using a flash on my horse anyway, but haven’t got round to it yet as threading the flash back through is going to require me to sit down in the barn and focus for a minute! I’ll let you know what we think if I do it.
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I think they are relying on the idea that the crank distributes pressure evenly?
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Thank you. Very helpful! Was the issue with the noseband more a shaping issue or a stiffness issue do you think?
Good question. A bit of both I think. My horse has a long, narrow, bony nose which doesn’t help. It is substantially padded so quite hard to soften up and shape. I really need to try it with the flash, just to see if it works better.
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I have 2 which I like. One thing I looked for is a browband which is made so the bottom loop doesn’t come into contact w horses’ face. To me, that would be irritating. I have the quantum, and this bridle- https://www.shadowhorse.co.uk/collections/silver-crown/products/silver-crown-code-01-bridle. The quantum, like the stubben freedom, has a curved cheekpiece so not to impair vision. But in order to stay in place, it is rigid. Sometimes the cheekpiece tips slightly onto its side and I wonder if that edge, being rigid, is irritating. The silver crown is made w beautiful and supple Sedgwick leather. My horses, if they have a preference, haven’t made their views public.
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I’ve been meaning to post comparison pics of the two very similar bridles I bought on Black Friday, the Correct Connect Pro-Fit and Kavalkade Ivana on my 15.3 hh TB.
Here’s the Kavalkade:
(I thought it was weird that only one of the six keepers was patent. Also, I’m not a leather snob but the quality of the Indian leather seems really poor to me.)
Here’s the Correct Connect, non-patent with clincher browband:
(I like the crownpiece contour better on the Kavalkade because the Correct Connect curves forward a little too high and widens just behind his ear.)
Correct Connect, Kavalkade, and PassierBlu Spirit (whose crownpiece contour I love but which he kindly broke earlier this year):
Ultimately I returned the Correct Connect because of the contour issue. My TB wears a cob in most bridles because horse sized nosebands are too large, but I wonder if that’s why the crownpiece contour is so tricky for him. A lot seem to widen just behind his ear.
I’m keeping the Kavalkade for now but haven’t actually used it on him yet. He’s been going in a Shires Velociti Figure 8 and I actually love the shape of that crownpiece on him even though the bridle is super cheap. I swear the leather isn’t any crappier than the Kavalkade, which I think cost about twice as much (though to be fair I haven’t oiled the Kavalkade yet since I’m not sure I’m keeping it).
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The Correct Connect seems to be set too low on the left side of the browband, seems to be sitting on the bony protuberance there, not in the wide space between it and bottom of ear?
Our old double narrow leather racetrack bridles always seemed a bit to stiff, not as soft as English bridles are.
When they came out with nylon ones, they conformed better on horses’s heads.
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Your post made me realize I wrote “browband” instead of “crownpiece” three times. I have corrected it now! Yes, you’re probably right that the browband is sitting a little low but my issue was with the crownpiece. 
If you don’t crank the crank noseband tightly, it’s super comfortable, at least for my horse. It’s padded, and distributes pressure evenly. I haven’t used this bridle, though.
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My horse does the face rubbing, too. He is so dramatic about it! I’m not sure if it is about the bridle, though. He does it no matter what bridle I use.
I don’t currently own a crank noseband but they tend to be nicely padded all the way around. You don’t need to actually crank it tight.
I know a few people who put a chin pad on the noseband. A crank just has it built in.
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I second this! My crank is set on the first hole so I can slip the bridle on and off like a halter, I cannot be bothered to fasten the crank every time, and it stays at that first hole. My horse doesn’t rub after I take the bridle off either! I was very hesitant to buy a crank because I was afraid of what I’ve heard but my horse seems pretty comfortable with it.
Granted, if it was way too loose it would flop around and irritate them, thankfully my horse has a fat head so the first hole is loose enough for it to slide on/off without flying around.
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I don’t get the pearl clutching around the crank noseband. I think the name “crank” doesn’t do it any favors though.
It’s actually a fairly ergonomical piece of equipment and can be quite comfortable for the horse. It’s just like most equipment, in that it has the potential for misuse, and that’s on the user, not necessarily the piece of equipment.
I really don’t mind them.
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That’s my beef with it–not the style so much as the people who use the leverage provided to overtighten it–where it got its name from.
I have nothing agains a cushy padded cavesson.
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I use a fleece pad under the noseband. It’s not “cranked,” just snug enough to not move around. There are also decorative pads you can buy to put under the top of the noseband. I haven’t used one, so I can’t determine if they provide any comfort or relief.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1264627238/solid-noseband-cushion
Has anyone tried this one? I ordered it once but it wasn’t going to make it in time so canceled.
So I ride in a crank (this one, to be exact)
I don’t overtighten it nor do I use a flash and as the leather has stretched, I’ve had to add some holes.
I had an L graduate with distinction at a schooling show pull me aside at the end of an intro test and tell me that I was “letting my horse get away with opening his mouth” and that I needed to tighten my cavesson.
It was my last ride of the weekend anyway but there was absolutely no way on Dolly Parton’s green earth that I was going to take any part of what they just told me seriously. I told them yes, I knew it needed an extra hole or two however I don’t like to change my tack leading up to and/or during a show weekend. They continued to tell me I needed to track down someone on the show grounds with a leather punch and crank his mouth shut in what amounted to punishment for being tense & looky about the food truck parked right next to the arena.
My trainer, bless them, asked me what the judge pulled me aside to say at the end of the ride and when I relayed the message, they just stared at me and said, “excuse me, you were told WHAT now?”
I don’t EVER complain about judges but I took it upon myself to inform the show office.
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Yikes. How are we supposed to take the cavesson tightness rules seriously when we have judges like this?? That theoretically got through the certification process and still think that’s a solution/okay?
Assuming you didn’t have it so loose it’s flipping around like a safety hazard (which I highly doubt you did).
Makes me crazy. It’s one thing for a judge to “miss” or “ignore” details that are acceptable in the mainstream. It’s another to pull a competitor aside.
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