Micklem Bridle?

[Cat_Tap]

Anyone using this bridle, if so do you like it? What are its benefits?

A horse I am working is coming back from having time off. Not because of the horse, but the rider. The horse previously had a tendency to go behind the bit but I could work him forward enough to get him to take a hold.

His owner purchased the bridle but she is not riding him right now. With this new bridle he is really behind and not wanting to take a hold. It could be that because he is out of shape he is trying to avoid working properly.

Was hoping to get some ideas.

[FLeventer]

I have the Micklem and honestly out of the 9 horses Ive used it on, it only made a small difference on one. He would brace in his jaw a bit and ge seemed happier in it. So he goes in it now.

My others had no change. My fussy mare, nope. My easy gelding, nope. My three months off the track ottb, nope. My head tosser, nope. My easy, preliminary horse though it worked on.

Its worth a try, but dont expect miracles. Some horses it works on, some not. Lots of posts about them on here.

[leheath]

My horse much prefers the Micklem bridle to standard bridles (including bridles with no noseband, or only a loose cavesson noseband). She is much steadier in the Micklem and easier to bridle. I have the schooling version and love the fact that I can easily lunge without having to put a halter or lunging cavesson on over the bridle. My horse is very thin-skinned and sensitive. The Micklem bridle is supposed to avoid sensitive facial nerves, and I think that is why my horse prefers it.

[jaybird660]

It is the only bridle that one of our horses will go in. It didn’t make as much of a difference with another one but that with a Nathe bit made a big difference with this one.

[Luna]

I agree with what others have posted–it seems that the bridle can work wonders for some but certainly not for all. I was fortunate to see an immediate improvement in my gelding upon making the switch, but there are rental programs you can take advantage of to try one. The fit can sometimes be a bit tricky, though.

[Cataluna]

My mare was a chronic nose itcher while tacked up and would try to slam on the brakes while on the lunge and while being ridden just to try and scratch her nose. Bad behaviour aside, something was clearly diving her insane so we tried a few things and eventually threw a micklem on her. Instant difference. Nose rubbing is gone :). I also find her much softer in the bridle and a happier ride in general.

That being said, I’m not impressed with the quality of these bridles. The leather feels cheap and spongy and is already cracking in a couple spots. If my horse didn’t love it so much, I wouldn’t be using it.

[Inclined]

As stated above, the fit can be difficult, based on the shape of the horse’s head. IMO, it’s worth watching the videos that Rambo produced and looking at the average shape of the head of the horses wearing the bridle comfortably. Shorter headed, larger jowled horses are much more difficult to fit. Even my former OTTB mare (typical thoroughbred head) didn’t have much leeway in the throat strap of the full horse size.

[mjhco]

Miklem works great on one horse because of the conformation of his head and location of facial nerves. (Figure 8 noseband is also good for him). Regular cavesson puts pressure on places that annoy him.

Makes NO difference on my other horse.

Your mileage may vary.

[asterix]

My sensitive horse can be very fussy in his mouth and with contact. The Micklem was not a miracle fix but it was a noticeable improvement. Like Jay, I found that pairing it with a Nathe bit works best for him.

[NoSuchPerson]

One of mine is much more comfortable in the Micklem, although getting a proper fit was difficult (had to combine pieces of two different sizes).

I think it’s two different things. One, he is very thin skinned and sensitive and he seems to really like the way the sides of the Mickem sit back away from the front of his face.

The other is that I’ve paired it with a loose ring Bomber Happy Tongue bit. This bit, plus the Micklem with the bit clips, creates a bit-noseband “cage” that is practically immobile on his face. The bit mouthpiece can slide up and down the rings a little bit, but he seems to find it too much trouble to bother trying to do so, so he is much quieter in the mouth and head than with other bridles/bits that I’ve tried.

Of course, I don’t show this one (yet), so it matters not that this combo isn’t legal for anything I’m likely to try to do with him. We’ll cross that bridge when/if we come to it.

[drumlins]

My horse goes beautifully in hers. I definitely can see how it might not work on all head types, but the reasoning behind the bridle’s design makes a lot of sense to me.

[SarahandSam]

I don’t know that it makes much of a difference in my horse, but he’s comfortable in it and there are other horses at my barn that very clearly prefer it. I will say that I was really happy with the quality of the leather on mine (it’s one of the show series ones); it was wearable with no breaking in at all. The full horse size fits my QH, though it’s on the last hole of the throatlatch because of his jowls.