I’m in the market for a new bridle. I’m a total leather snob so quality is important to me. I don’t mind paying extra if it will last me forever. So what’s your favorite brand with the best leather?
I’ve been looking at ps of Sweden, red Barn, and shockemohle… it’s hard shopping online without holding it in my hands. TIA
I have a PS Sweden - it is nice enough, but I doubt it will “last forever.” I bought it because of the design (Nirak).
Have not read good things about the Schoeckemohle, and it sounds like Red Barn has lowered its quality. That was always the lower tier of KL Select products anyway.
The higher line Stubbens might work for you. Albion might be another possibility (not too pricey from UK). There was a thread here not too long ago with lots of suggestions. It seems for a really top quality bridle, you’re often paying $400 and up.
ETA: Thread: https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/dressage/10207484-top-quality-bridle
If you are a snob (no shade, I am too!) you will be disappointed in the three you’ve listed.
PS of Sweden has great design, very innovative with the comfort of the horse in mind… but for the price, the leather is subpar. The other complaint I have had with PS Of Sweden, as a tackophile (and as someone who will voluntarily clean a barnmate’s crusty tack because it bothers me to see good leather filthy - so I’ve cleaned a lot of PS Of Swedens!) is that the PS Of Swedens don’t tend to clean up well… they break in fine, but then take on a bit of a dingy look - even fresh after a glycerin top-coat. I think if comfort is your #1 priority they are a great bridle line, but they don’t clean up well.
Red Barn is quality leather, but poor quality control. Great leather, bad stitching, and not very good glue. I used to have to return many RB bridles when we ordered them at the tack-store I worked in. Sometimes the cheek pieces would be different lengths, or the bridles would arrive with scuffs and/or blemishes in the leather.
Schockemohle I on record do not think deserves the price they ask for their goods. Their bridles are beautiful, but so fragile and poorly made. When I worked at the tack company above, I dealt with many people wanting to return their bridle[s] after a few months because the stitching broke, the keepers split, or the nosebands disintegrated. Most often, it was that the flash noseband tab came off the noseband, or the soft lining separated from the leather. I was even willing to give Schockemohle a third (fourth? fiftieth?) chance when they came out with the Equitus Alpha, and I bought it for my horse because the comfort aspect appealed to me – the bridle came with a fairly big blemish in the leather on the noseband, where the padded leather was not properly stitched onto the noseband (click here for the album). This is about par for the course with my experience with Schockemohle… so I shouldn’t have been surprised - but it was a $300 bridle. I swapped it and reluctantly kept the second one, but it wasn’t blemish-free either – there were some stitching flaws that I think are superficial on the bit attachments. Other people have reported good things from Schockemohle, but I think if you are a leather savant, you might get disappointed by the longevity of these bridles.
If you want good quality, longevity, and very little stitching blemishes, I would go with Stubben, Passier, or Kieffer. They have different lines of quality, but in my experience as an owner of their goods and also as someone who sold them to customers, the returns were few and far in between. I ordered a Passier Ingrid Klimke that has held up really well, though it does have a small stitching blemish. It is a beautiful bridle that I’ve abused by keeping it in the shed during our NE winters (rather than bring up to the house where it’s climate controlled). It came out of the bag super soft and I think I overconditioned it, oops - I think it broke in a little too well – but it’s still a very nice bridle and the padded parts of the bridle are top quality and have held up very well.
My Stubben bridles have all held up wonderfully. I love the Stubben line and have never once ran into quality control issues with Stubben.
If you want something that will never die and, almost never comes with any sort of blemish or defect, there is Courbette. Not blingy, not en-vogue, but all of my Courbette strapgoods break in beautifully and last through hard work + sweat, winters, rain, snow, etc.
I also am impressed with Eponia. They offer leather that IMHO is underpriced - I think for $150-200 they are a steal, and much better quality than competitors that are in that price range (or above, like RB, Vespucci, and Schockemohle). I really like the Eponia Ginger bridle I have. It has broken in well, seems comfortable for the horse, and was generously sized - which was a plus for me, as my horse has a Tyra Banks forehead (click here for image of bridle). I have had that bridle for two years and used it almost daily - and it still looks new in a good way.
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I love PS of Sweden, but I would not say it is the highest quality leather. That being said, mine have held up amazing and I always get a tonne of compliments.
Antares and Butet make by far the nicest leather bridles I have seen and felt. Antares especially.
Tyra Banks forhead LMFAO! Thank you both for your responses! I have never had my hands on the three brands I’ve listed…so it’s good to hear from someone that has! Beowulf you sound like me…I clean other people’s bridle because I can’t stand them being hung up dirty! Call me the cleaning fairy!
I am going to look into stubben and passier now. My dressage saddle is passier and I love that thing!
Not to side track, but any thoughts about Solo Equine bridles? I agree with the OP - hard to shop online without feeling it in your hands, first! (and even then that’s no guarantee it will age well!)
If you can find a Hennig bridle used, snatch it up! The leather is top notch and they wear like iron.
They are incredibly expensive new, which is why I suggested used. I got THE BEST DEAL EVER finding one in a used tack store for $70!!! It had no browband, reins or flash piece (flash loop was there but the strap was missing). I use custom browbands anyways, prefer crappy webbed reins, and had a bunch of flash straps laying around. It is stunning on my horse.
I now have an ebay setting for alerting me whenever anything Hennig comes up 
His former snaffle was a Stubben and the leather was really nice.
I also like Vespucci for bridles that wear like iron and have good leather. My one horse’s double is a Vespucci and the other’s snaffle is one
I agree with the other posters who said you will be disappointed in the brands you have listed.
I’ve heard good things about them (and I think there’s a couple threads on here too). I’m very tempted as they’re having a Black Friday one-day sale. I guess I’ll decide on impulse when the deals come out!
For schooling, I love my Solo Equine. I would not hesitate to order one again for the price point. The leather is soft and supple and while it hasn’t cracked, the side edges are a bit scuffed up. I’m not entirely sure how to explain it. But, I am also constantly adjusting my bridle too. I’ll see if I can remember to take a picture.
Sabre Cordoba Sensitive Headpiece Drop Noseband Snaffle Bridle. Great quality, pieces can be bought individually if you need to mix and match on sizes, or if you need to replace a part. I love the comfort head piece as it’s all one part, not one which has the strap going over the crown piece.
https://www.shop.sabreleather.co.uk/sabre-cordoba-sensitive-stainless-steel-padded-drop-snaffle-comfort-bridle-684-p.asp
I know exactly what youre talking about…my eponia has the same “scratchy” edges. Too bad because the eponias and solo equines have great prices. Good schooling bridles I suppose!
I bought a Solo last year during their Black Friday sale. I think it’s excellent for the price point but is not comparable to a truly high end bridle.
I bought a Solo Equine and while I love it, it is not the quality of leather I think you are looking for. It looks great and fits great, but there are these wrinkles in the leather under the sealant? It’s hard to explain. I’m hoping it improves with age.
My trainer suggested I purchase a bridle from Bobbie’s Tack back when I was looking. The leather quality is exceptional and they’re just to the point, no frills. The bridles she has from BT at the barn are the quality I would have liked for my Solo Equine bridle to be.
Also, consider looking into Equipe bridles. My other trainer I ride with sometimes is sponsored by them and has all the bridles and the quality is really nice.
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Passier Jupiter’s for the boys and the doubles I do Shockemohle (sp?) Venice. I really liked the leather Antares has but I really dislike the new buckles that they brought in! Good luck!
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I used to be a high-end bridle person only but after spending an absolute fortune on a PS of Sweden bridle which my horse hated, I discovered Solo Equine and have never looked back. I will never buy an expensive bridle again. The quality is very, very good - once oiled there is no visible difference between my Solo bridles and my pricier ones. The snaffle, which I have been using daily for more than a year, still looks brand new. The styles and colour options are great and the customer service is a amazing.
AND they are having a Black Friday sale on Friday! I’m trying not to visit the site because I really can’t justify another one…although the dark brown & black combo would look so nice on my horse
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I bought cheek pieces from Bobby’s Tack and it barely lasted 6 months of use. One piece was fine but the other cheek piece looked like the different layers of the leather were coming apart. I couldn’t get the strap through the keeper after switching bits.
I have a Tota double bridle that I love, it’s gorgeous, the horses love it…it was on serious clearance, so it was less than the normal prices of a lot of the bridles mentioned.
I also have an Otto Schumacher snaffle (with a drop) that I really like…it’s nothing super fancy, but the leather is sturdy and it has worn very well. YMMV…some people don’t like them…mine was also on sale, not sure if I would have been psyched to pay full price for it, though it was fully custom.
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I love my Passier bridles. I have two (one brown, one black) and they are supposed to be my show bridles but I use them more or less daily. Excellent quality and the fit is superb.
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I have two black Stubben snaffle bridles, both second hand, one bought well worn and one bought as new.
I am a secret strap goods snob :). Sometimes I go to the high end tack stores and let my fingers walk through the racks of bridles until I feel something I like. And it’s always another Stubben.
I have Passier saddles and love them. I certainly prefer them to current Stubben saddles for design and quality. But my impression is Stubben outperforms Passier on the strap goods.
There might be something better than Stubben bridles out there, but I haven’t come across it locally.
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