I am in need a a dark brown figure-eight for my new guy and I am having a hard time finding what I want. I do not like the white stitching, nor the raised fancy stitch look. Rings on the noseband are a must, and I would also prefer a monocrown.
I am looking to spend under $300
I do have an old Nunn Finer bridle for my pony that has no white stitching and is a beautiful dark brown but it has no monocrown and the sizing runs quite small and does not fit my new gelding.
This is the closest thing Iāve got to what your looking for.
https://www.argentoeq.com/collections/bridles/products/ovation-ats-square-raised-taper-figure-8-fancy-stitch-bridle
Right now white stitching and fancy stitching is very popular. Its going to be close to impossible to find anything new without those. But from a distance you canāt really tell. You can also dye the stitching if it really bothers you
I think like finding a barn, you have to take the two most important things to you and compromise the rest - FIG8s are really hard to come by for that price, with the bells and whistles. So if youāre like me, the fancy-stitching is non-negotiableā¦ so you might have to either up the price youāre willing to pay, or be flexible on whether or not it comes with a padded crown. Alternatively, buy the headstall you want and find a āgrackle nosebandā separately.
There is a Kieffer Figure 8 called the āCarmenā that is quite lovely. It is more than $300. Thereās a more economic line from Kieffer called the Cassiopeia, which is much more readily available, here:
http://www.kieffer.net/en/bridles/snaffle-bridles/337-cassiopeia.html
The picture drives me nuts - whoever fitted that bridle needs a new job, as thatās not what a fitted bridle looks likeā¦ Me thinks that the person in charge of Kieffer bridle photo-shoots needs a horse-savvy groom that really knows their tack.
The other bridle that I have that I love, is the Passier Ingrid Klimke. The noseband is interchangeable, and the figure 8 option is lovely. I have it in black with brass padding. Itās very, very softly padded.
I like the Stubben bridles too - theyāre a steal used. Just about any of their āfloor modelsā on their website can come with a figure 8 option insteadā¦ but againā¦ $300.
Bartville Harness makes Nunn Finerās bridles. You can call them and they DO make custom, and they can do padded/monocrown bridles. A custom figure 8 from them will run you just about at the end of your budget.
beowulf, Thank you so much. I am really surprised how hard this is to findā¦I had no idea the white stitching was so popularā¦and yes, it is probably the most non-negotiable to me. I can live without the monocrown.
I had no idea the Passier bridles had a figure eight option, I would definitely go a bit over budget for that. Any tips on where I can order the noseband from?
I got mine as a special order from Dover, but you can also go with Calevo (they are not a US based company). Dover carries Passier products and can get anything Passier manufacturers, but the catch is there is a 6-8 week waiting period because itās a special order shipping from non-US vendor.
The Ingrid Klimke can come with just about any noseband you want. I actually was a huge PITA with mine and special ordered it out the wazoo. I wanted the Ingrid Klimke Bridle + browband, but did not want the reins or the noseband that came default with the IK bridle, so I asked for the Special Noseband Cavesson (the one with the cut-off before the bit that is hyper-padded) and the Eventa rubber reins. They accommodated and IIRC, it was only $20 more for the Special cavessonā¦ and I bought the the bridle as a whole unit, it wasnāt sold as parts (if that makes sense).
Flexible fit bridles. Build your own. They take about 2 weeks to get to you, but they under $200, great quality, and completely customizable. The company is awesome as well! For some reason brown bridles cost more than black, but my black bridle with reins was like $130 including the shipping from AUS.
I love my Sabre bridle, the browband if it isnāt your style would be easy enough to swap out, or iām sure you could e-mail the company and have them do a plain one. http://www.shop.sabreleather.co.uk/sabre-cordoba-german-silver-mexican-grackle-snaffle-comfort-bridle-737-p.asp
I have this exact bridle from Five Star. monocrown, plain brown leather, with rings.
The Eponia 2-in-1 is close. Flat, no fancy stitching, but there is white stitching (granted, itās pretty easy to make stitching not be white 
). It comes with 2 nosebands and reins for under $200.
Plugging for Eponia - I have a gorgeous dressage bridle (the Ginger one) and it is very high quality and has exceeded my expectations in price-vs-quality. For some reason Iām blanking on how much it was - it was either $150 or $170 and it came with matching very nice web reins. I normally hate web reins but these have a great feel and weight to them. I consider it the deal of the century, as itās just as nice as my other very expensive dressage bridles.
They are very accommodating too. I bet you could ask them to buy the headstall you want and swap the noseband out for the figure 8 one if you wanted. I got to meet the founder (and her husband) last year at EA; her husband was so incredibly nice and I had the feeling he would do backflips for the customer to make them happy.
Yeah, Iāve seen the Eponia bridles in person and was quite pleasantly surprised with them as well! Theyāre probably the best Iāve seen in the price range. Also agree on your assessment of the founder - super nice and accommodating!
How is the leather quality on this? I love the look but I have ordered from companies similar before and never ended up liking the leather. I had this happen to me with both Flexible Fit and PS of Sweden so I hesitate to order leather I have never handled.
I think I may just save for another month and go with Stubben. I have a friend who is a rep who can get me the bridle to try and as long as their Ebony is dark enough and the figure-eight is a good fit I know I will like the quality.
I am also tempted by the Eponia. Their bridles look beautiful and the price is certainly right.
Thanks for all the help, I now have a few options to explore.
Sabre quality is way nicer than PS of Sweden or Eponia. Sabre is bench-made in Walsall England with Sedgewick leather. I have a brown dressage bridle with plain simple noseband from them and they swap out any size parts, so I was very happy to āfrankenbridleā it!
I have an Aramas that meets all your requirements. I got it used and love it - hunt around - it exists!
I have a Vespucci figure eight bridle. I love it, no fancy stitching - it is a bit raised but nothing over the top.
Sabre is far nicer quality than PS of Sweden. I have both, and there is simply no comparison (I wish I hadnāt purchased the PS of Sweden, not to mention the sizing was very irregular). I have two bridles by Sabre, both are over 5 years old, and are in perfect condition, hardware and leather have held up extremely well to frequent use. The browband is a PIA to clean, but I love it because itās not overtly āblingyā.
As for sizing I have two petite WB mares, both wear the full size bridle on the very last holes. In retrospect, I probably could have gone with a cob size.
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