My horse noticeably likes his Micklem. Those are quite reasonably priced and dressage legal.
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Late to this thread and I hope others will chime in. I’ve been using a Micklem with my mare, and truth is she really hates it. For Christmas I am getting a new, ergonomic bridle. It came yesterday and I put it on her (sans bit) to see if it fit at all. I was horrified at how HUGE the noseband was. She has such a feminine face with a narrow nose - very much like the poster upthread - arbeegirl - but she does not want the strap by the bit like that Collegiate.
What I ordered was an Ovation Berlin. Lovely bridle, but even over time that noseband will never work for this mare’s nose.
I started looking for a different option, and what I’m finding is almost all the nice bridles have these huge nosebands!
Any thoughts please???
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The huge nosebands are ugly, but they distribute pressure over a larger area.
Two bridles I’ve been keeping an eye on because their nosebands have multiple ‘attachment’ points (which does help distribute pressure better)
Neither are cheap, unfortunately. The Kieffer is probably too big in the noseband for your mare, but Acavallo has another bridle line called “Amazonne” (sp?) that is probably up your mare’s alley.
There is also the Fairfax, which is really the only currently studied bridle on the market that backs its claim of reduced pressure and difference in the horse.
Has anyone heard of or used Flexible Fit Equestrian? It offers a ‘mix and match’ - I could get a cob size noseband in a full size bridle.
That Kieffer looks a lot like this one…
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That thick bulky noseband is just a fashion trend. Something to separate HJ from Dressage so people will be pushed into buying a second bridle for their eventing. Just a marketing ploy imho.
I also don’t know how any horse would automatically ‘like’ a strap around their lips. I can see how riders might like it, and i can see how a horse could be made to accept it, but LIKE it…nah.
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Oooh! And a fraction of the price, too!
The half-moon ring that is on either end of the noseband, where the chinstraps attach, are at least proven to help distribute the pressure of the noseband better.
Now, if I could combine that feature with a true cutback crown and have the cheekstraps anchor to the actual bridle hangar versus cheek straps… then we’d be talking.
Maybe I need to make this bridle myself? Lol.
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Has anyone seen or tried the new Horze Peckham bridle? I’m intrigued…
https://www.equinavia.com/horze-peckham-anatomical-fancy-stitch-bridle-p_10155/p
Kavalkade does sell some nosebands separately and I think some may have the moon ring thingy? However if you do ever make a bridle with a true cutback crown and cheek straps attached to the actual bridle, I’d definitely buy it!
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I’m cornfoosed. Can you post an example of a bridle with what you describe so I can untangle my brain?
I didn’t explain it well so no wonder you’re confused lol!
A bridle with cheek piece design like this, where instead of being independent, they are connected to the noseband hangar:
FYI I have nothing positive to say about Schockemohle’s leather quality or the hook/pin design in that bridle. I hope another bridle company can offer an alternative ASAP.
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Ah I get it. To some (small!) degree, doesn’t this have the potential of acting like a “combo bit” with rein pressure translating across the noseband?
And yeah, for the $$ I returned the Schockemohle bridle I ordered. It didn’t look much better than the HDR I tried.
For example, look at the separation between the bit hanger and the noseband strap in this picture. If it were the above bridle, wouldn’t there be substantial pressure across the noseband?
There very likely is some degree of pressure change with a set up like that, absolutely. And the rider’s preferences for how tight the noseband is will definitely come into play too.
What appeals to me about the bit being fastened to the noseband is the greater degree of stability in the bit, and the reduction of pressure across the back of the poll and corners of the mouth. Having a bit held by a piece of leather that goes up your face and around the back of your skull sounds, to me, intrinsically uncomfortable – so I’ve always looked for better ways to hold a bit in a horse’s mouth. I think having the noseband with multiple free-functioning “articulation” points (half moon metal rings on each side of noseband, and ideally a sliding point of attachment for the actual headstall) would make for a less rigid, more comfortable bridle. If they have to have a bit in their mouth either way, I mean.
Your picture does show how this design would be restricting for certain types of bridles and/or disciplines. I don’t think a weymouth could be compatible with this type of design, but I’ve been proven wrong before. Part of the reason there is so much separation in that photo is because there is tremendous rein pressure on that horse’s mouth - that snaffle bit is practically being pulled out of that horse’s jaw.
Sorry to hear your experience about the Schockemohle too. I’ve shared mine a few times but I bought the Schockemohle Delta because the design is, in theory, very good. The first one came with an obvious defect on the noseband (padding completely separated from the noseband), and the second broke on me almost immediately - the stud pin holding the bit strap to the noseband popped right off. 
The leather quality was not any better than a $100 bridle, so it went right back. Thank god for Dover and their generous return policy.
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While I don’t disagree with the assessment of the photo, that is Charlotte and Valegro…
And yeah, I ordered mine through Dover as well and they didn’t even flinch when I returned it. I’d be interested to try the design, but I think it has some pretty big limitations on anything but a snaffle with a horse with a VERY soft mouth - otherwise it will come out of it’s hanging position and begin to pull on the noseband. That would sort of defeat the purpose of pressure relieving.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the pair… Flamesuit zipped for a second: I think dressage at that level is very different than the numpty ‘dressage’ I will ever do. I stopped enjoying watching dressage at that level a long time ago. The movements, the horses, and the sheer talent there is beautiful and incredible to watch and always took my breath away in person as a ring steward and bit checker. The culture of tight nosebands (seriously - I can’t tell you how many horses I could barely fit the tool under their noseband) and unhappy expressions from the ridden horses left me cold. Even if it is Charlotte, who I do think is a world class rider.
Dover didn’t flinch about me either - and I came back to them with a $370 bridle that was totally broken/unusable. They took it back and refunded me without even putting up a protest, sent a label for return, and I got a different bridle without having to pay shipping. Some things about Dover might suck, but not their return policy!
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That hits the nail on the head. I think that is something my mare would be thrilled about. I sent back the bridle I had ordered (it was an Ovation Berlin Anatomical) and ordered a Kavalkade. Here’s hoping it fits. If it doesn’t, I may look into something like you’ve described.
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Tight nosebands drive me nuts, as do excessively loose ones. I notice the subtle things - in that video of Charlotte and Valegro’s freestyle, lots of lower lip twitching. Of course I am no pro, but I’ve seen in countless stoic horses that that is the ONLY thing they do to indicate they’re stressed. Their workaholic nature tells them to shut up and grind, but the anxiety still exists there, if only in the mind.
That said, I am no where near that level, and some stress associated with a routine that complicated is not out of the normal realm.
And finally, there are photos that show chafing/sores on the bridge of Valegro’s nose from overtight nosebands.
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I dislike the tight nosebands too. I hate to pull the blame away from riders, but it is also something that is indirectly rewarded by judges, too. Horses who gape with their mouths, grimace or gnash their teeth, or hang out their tongue are penalized – and these are very common signals from the horse that can be quieted or erased with a tight noseband or flash. So that lip twitch you’re seeing, may be the only thing a horse in that position can do expression-wise to express their unhappiness.
I almost think on some level not a lot of people are familiar with all the quiet signs of discomfort a horse can express either. I’ve genuinely not seen a happy expression at the UL in a long time - but, at the same time, these are horses who have their every need met and I don’t think it’s necessarily cruel that the tradeoff is they work for a living, either.
That is sad to hear about the chafing and sores. Unfortunately I don’t find that so uncommon here either. I’ve handled lots of horses with knots or scarring or white hairs where the noseband sits, in eventers too.
One of my horses even came back from a naturally concluded lease with new white hairs over his nose from, I can only assume, a very tight noseband. Made me feel so sorry for him. He had great care and his rider was a lovely rider, but it’s there.
It’s certainly a culture in trainers, too. I can’t tell you how many trainers and clinicians have told me I need to tighten my horse’s noseband. In every clinic I’ve assured them he will go worse, and they ignore me, and the horse gets worse and worse because now instead of just worrying about the bit in his mouth, he’s now fighting the noseband too. This horse goes best in a hackamore, but you can’t show in a hackamore in dressage.
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Yes I never realized how common overly tight nosebands were either until seeing my horse has kind of a divot sort of thing where the noseband sits. Unfortunately it was too late by that point; when I was in high school and started ignoring all my trainers’ advice to crank it.
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