Thank you Bluey!
I know this is not a dressage horse, but Kind Edward, show jumper, rides without a brow band. He’s often in some odd combination of bridles pieces to see what he likes best.
And at the Paris Olympics:
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The English bridle evolved on the hunting field where people falling off over a fence didn’t want the bridle to be pulled off the horse as they departed. If you look at 19th century hunting pictures you will see riders using double bridles without a noseband. The double was a sign to everyone that the rider had excellent hands, a bit like a Californian bridle horse, able to be ridden on a piece of thread. The throat latch holds the bridle on when suddenly pulled forward. The anatomical bridles often seem to do away with the classic throat latch: it could be unrelated but recently I seem to see more horses running off without a bridle after a fall.
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Most I see where the bridle comes off have the ear bonnets on.
The throatlatch-less bridles worry me a bit.
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Ear bonnets are pretty trendy now, but they also make slipping the bridle easier!
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Ooh that’s a nice find! I wouldn’t call the noseband a crank because I don’t think it doubles back on itself (unless I missed something), but it has padding and articulation points on both sides, which is what I want from a crank anyway. Does the padding attach by velcro? I don’t love that, but I’d be tempted to try it too if I were shopping. If you need any enabling, I’ve had good experiences buying from Fundis before.
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Oh good catch on the noseband, I saw the padding and just went straight to crank in my head. I’m also just here for the padding and rings so I don’t mind that. Also not sure how I feel about the velcro, I’d probably have to see it in person to decide.
I have several bridles on the way right now from stores with return options but I may pick up a similar Kavalkade bridle just to see how it fits in case I decide to jump on the Caliano. I’ve also had good experiences with Fundis but I already have one bridle from them sitting in my living room right now that’s lovely but didn’t fit, so I need to slow down a bit before I take that risk again 
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We should set up a bridle swap of COTH. 
Seems like we all have some sitting that just didn’t quite fit right.
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I just got the Passier Starlight for my girl. She’s been a bit tricky to find the right bit and while we are 90% there, I still think we could do better. So I was chatting with a bit and bridle fitter the other day and she said given what I’ve tried with the bits, that she would go with making bridle adjustments next. I have her in a traditional style Passier bridle…but her size is a bit small horse/large cob.
I looked at a bunch and decided to try the Starlight and it came in a few days ago. I went with a full size and it actually fits her perfectly (yay, since I ordered from Hypostore, it would be more work to send back).
Haven’t ridden her in it yet, but even if it doesn’t do much, it’s still a really nice looking bridle and we will be no worse off!
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I have a Starlight on the way too, good to hear the full fits correctly because it sounds like mine has a similarly sized head. I like everything about it except the patent noseband so I’ll have to see how I feel about that in person. They have a non-patent version but I can’t find it for sale anywhere individually, and the full bridle it comes with isn’t USDF legal. The Marcus Ehning has no patent but also no rings on the noseband which I don’t love… but I ordered one anyway just to see that too.
Of course what I like may not matter at all in the end with how picky my horse can be, which is why I’m hedging my bets with currently 6 (?) different bridles on their way plus the one from Fundis that’s already here. Bless Dover and Smartpak and their generous return policies.
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I have a starlight for my smaller TB (maybe a tick on the small side of standard horse-sized) and I LOVE it. It’s gorgeous and it just sits how I want it to sit. Right amount of padding too, without a bulky crank noseband.
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I played around with a little bit of western while my mare was rehabbing this year, including using a western headstall (with a loosering snaffle). It weirded me out every time I put it on, because it’s literally a bit hanger with an ear loop–no full browband, no noseband, no throatlatch. Mare went perfectly fine in it, even if I’m still not sure how it stayed on her!
Typically the one-ear bridles are used with a curb. When I showed WP >20 years ago, the 2-eared headstalls were being used with snaffles. My mare managed to shake her head just right in a class line up and dumped her bridle on the ground, so I ended up having to fashion a throatlatch to prevent that. With a snaffle, the direct pressure can cause the headstall to lift up a bit, and it can go right over the ears if there is no throatlatch. The curb with some leverage and typically more weight in the bit will usually prevent that from happening. So yeah, if I’m riding with a snaffle, I’ll use a browband and throatlatch.
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I have taken browbands off with no ill effects. I’m pretty convinced they don’t do any thing. They might keep the bridle from scooting back (towards the withers) but that is so opposite the issue most people have (which is the bridle going into or near the eyes).
Throat latches can keep the bridle on but I’ve also ridden plenty in just a bit hanger of a western headstall without any issue? I suppose it depends on your horse and where you are riding. One of my mares is a big face scratcher while being worked, I would worry about her accidentally pulling the bridle. My other mare though never rubs on anything and isn’t big on shaking her head so I wouldn’t worry about her for example.
I have a horse that has mastered the “Grooming Halter Headflick.” He’s sooo nonchalant as he saunters off free and completely naked.
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I have an old PS of Sweden ergonomic bridle that I purchased used and for cheap. It doesn’t have a throat latch, which I was worried about when I purchased it. That said, my girl is a Fjord, and it’s hard to fit a bridle unless it’s a “franken-bridle.” The crown piece is quite wide and fits nicely around my horse’s ears. The bridle didn’t come with a browband, so I bought a very sparkly browband from Lumiere. The noseband is thick and padded. It is a crank, but I keep it very loose.
My girl is very, very knowledgeable and adept at taking things off her face, and she has yet to take this bridle off her head.
I’m not sure if the “ergonomics” of the bridle make a difference, but her other two bridles are traditional (yes, I have three bridles for one horse), and she seems to go better in her PS of Sweden bridle. Granted, it could be the bit or my brain when I ride her in it. Who knows.
When I take her out for a hack, I do use her trail bridle that has a throat latch, and it attaches to her halter. The last thing I want is for her to “accidentally” take off her bridle.
So, I don’t know if anatomical or ergonomic bridles make a difference. I did start her in a Rambo bridle, and she didn’t seem to like it. I didn’t immediately start her; I just put the bridle on and let her adjust slowly to wearing the bridle. I led her (with her halter over the bridle), fed her, let her hang out (while attended), etc. When I switched her from the Rambo to the PS bridle, her attitude did change. I can’t really say why, but the PS bridle is really, really padded and doesn’t hit any “strange” spots on her head.
That said, I’m still wary that the bridle doesn’t have a throat latch, so I don’t let her rub her head on anything. I know that she knows that I know what she’s capable of. 
I have an EvoEquine bridle that doesn’t have a throatlatch either. I’ve used it for 2 plus years at this point, and it’s never come off.
And my horse is a dedicated nose scratcher, especially at the beginning of a ride when she’ll lean down after the first few minutes of trotting and rub her nose on her leg.
The bridle has a noseband (no flash) and a browband. I ride in a snaffle
And when his rider fell off at the Paris Olympics, the bridle came right off and then you had a loose horse with no bridle. The reason for things like browbands and throatlatches is to keep the tack secure, so removing them adds some risk of things getting even more problematic if something goes wrong.
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I bought an anatomical bridle from Lumiere. It has rose-gold bling on the browband (which it came with) and rose-gold metalwork. It is so beautiful, I don’t care what horse thinks. (I am kidding; he gets whatever is most comfortable for him.)
Waiting a bit longer to actually try it on the horse, because of footing/weather issues, just now. I wouldn’t be able to tell if the fella were reacting to the footing, the weather, being out of shape, or the bridle change.
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I am not at all disagreeing. I’m was just posting that some horses do use unconventional bridles. King Edward in particular has issues with pressure around his face and ears, (so I’ve read) and they have to set the bridle back, which shortens the browband, etc. I’m not advocating unconventional bridles, merely stating that some riders feel that that is their best option for their particular horse. Some would say ear bonnets create the same danger and I think those are often times used as a fashion statement, not because all horses need them for a particular reason. (I don’t use them, personally.)
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