went down the rabbit hole of leather dyes this morning… I think i saw that stuff!
Ya know… I have a new, totally plain natural leather (pinkish tan) western bridle w/a cavesson here that might work. I’d have to have somebody put conways at the bit and a buckle on the reins for me…but i can experiment on the long ends i cut off. And i could get some black, white and a redish dye *or balm! and go for it.
You can paint a black bridle any color you want with Angelus leather paint and a steady hand. If the leather is properly stripped first and the color is sealed, it won’t come off. In theory you could mix whatever gray you want.
I use it to paint custom sneakers. That said I’d only use it on a bridle meant only to show. I really don’t know how it would hold up to the daily wear of horse life, but I imagine not that well.
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It was mentioned before upthread, but worth repeating:
If you have even a tiny shadow of a doubt that a particular piece of tack or attire is not clearly within the rules, you can email USEF with your specific question and get an answer (even better if you can provide a picture of said item). They are very nice and helpful. You can then carry that email with you to shows in the event that an official questions you.
I would definitely do this prior to showing in a grey-colored bridle. Also, I think palominos look amazing in a rich, nutty brown color.
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I love her face! So pretty!
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There is a local pro around here who shows her palominos in brown tack, and wears a brown coat. It does look beautiful.
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full body pic of her summer coat which could do brown huh? And her coming-in winter coat which is much more pale.
hmm…i ride her a lot in my edgewood, it’s a dark brown. She looks ok, not as washed out as she does in black… but i’ve got a vision (LOL…and gawd help anything that stands in the way of an autistic woman and her minds-eye.) See the color of her nose and her hooves…THAT is the color i’m after! edit: she’s not actually longbacked, this is a weird angle…here’s a better body pic:
will google …thanks! Yeah, you’re right about only using a DIY colored bridle for show (and a little bit here and there to keep her adjusted to the feel of it. And same bit moved from schooling bridle…)
Yes, I think warm, deep browns (nothing too red!) would look absolutely elegant on both her summer and winter colors. And, since you said you also like navy on her, you could pair brown tack with a navy show outfit for yourself and do navy tack accents (bridle padding, saddle piping, a bonnet if you can lower yourself to use one!). Brown and navy is a stunning combo, especially on a golden horse!
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I’d be afraid that a deerskin bridle would stretch too much and/or not have enough structure on the face.
It’s one thing to wear deerskin on my butt or on my hands, quite another to be trusting it with my life as I would be doing with a bridle.
Likewise, I wouldn’t want it as the sole leather for a girth either.
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Ooo! You could do one of those long braids on her mane! Our shire loved to be fussed over & would stand there for hours letting you braid & rebraid his mane. Totally unrelated to tack, I know 
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A braid would certainly ‘stick’ on her! I probably wouldn’t need a single bit of tape. She dreds at the drop of a hat (or drop of a good mud roll!). My coach is dying to roach her, calls her ‘surfer girl’ LOL.
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i bought a new inexpensive bridle, did the whole cleaning thing with their product, applied the base coat of Angelus leather paint and WOW!!! That stuff is great! Put the second coat on this morning and am going to detail the noseband and browband in a lighter tone then put the finish product on. It really looks pretty perfect. Thanks for the recommendation 
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Pictures, please!
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Here are a couple more pics of my mare’s new gray bridle. BTW, she took a bite of that bit and was instantly OK. (she’s been in a rather thick and heavy full-cheek snaffle, so this is a graduation for her)
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That’s really pretty.
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Wow, that looks great. The golden brow and nosebands are perfect!
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I was a bit skeptical, having never seen gray tack before, but that’s perfect for her! Also cool that you tried something out of the box, as in not black or shades of brown. Very nice.
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The grey highlights her muzzle and soft kind eye and the contrasting color is perfect. Well done!
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it took a LOT of color mixing to get the right palomino color. First i got it too yellow, then too pink…finally got just the right tone of creme. But gray…omg, it was tough to get just the right color of gray. The reins are still one of the ‘other’ colors of gray that didn’t work, but i’ll just use them as-is for now and paint a set ‘for good’ while the color-mix of gray is still wet and viable.
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