Yay or nay? Thinking of getting one for my large pony. I’d like to get something decent quality for under $300.00 and these caught my eye. I don’t show her, but her current bridle is an amalgamation of 3 different ones and I’d like to get her something better. She’s not the fussy, sensitive type, no special needs.
I’ve got one for my TB. He goes well in it, but the leather is not high quality, and the chin strap is way too short – no matter the adjustment or configuration. I don’t believe it’s an exception, since I have 2 and they’re both of inferior leather and fit the same way.
They have more models now which may be made of better leather.
Since my boy seems to prefer the Micklem design over a regular snaffle bridle, I’ll be trying the PS of Sweden Pioneer Revolution which looks similar. But they retail for $355 CDN/ $275 US.
Ah, thanks for the info. I’m looking more for something that is decent quality leather. Doesn’t need to be amazing, hand-crafted yada yada, but decent. I’ve been looking at stores that I can get to easily, and one of them carried the Micklems and they did catch my eye. Another store has some Kieffer bridles that are under $300.00 so that might be a better bet for my purposes.
Some horses seem to like them, some don't seem to notice a difference, and some seem to hate them with every fiber of their being. I would maybe see if I could borrow one before spending that kind of money. The leather quality is not great, and I personally think they're hard to properly adjust. They seem to fit better on narrow faced horses with petite heads. They're darn near impossible to fit to a wider forehead and broader cheek.
If it's the design you like, then I think there are much better options for the money. I personally think a nice classic Bobby's dressage bridle can't be beat though. Beautiful leather, lasts forever, never goes out of style!!
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Agree. I have a Bobby’s raised dressage bridle which is lovely. Classic design, nice leather.
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Agree on their being much better options for the money. Design is meh, leather quality is poor. If you want to spoil your horse with something anatomic, get a PS of Sweden. If she doesn’t need something like that, do a used stubben, a new edgewood, or Vespucci.
I have two client’s whose horses go in Micklem’s. One is a Connemara cross, and the other a roman nosed warmblood. We didn’t have trouble fitting either. No problem with quality so far, although I agree it isn’t high end.
I felt that the strap under the chin of the Micklem looked more padded/comfortable than with the PS of Sweden, but that is just based on pictures.
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I agree that for the price I’m pretty disappointed with the quality of the leather. Since I’m not showing right now, I’ve given up on the sewn in keepers. That’s how stiff the leather is in my training version of the bridle. And not using all the keepers on a bridle normally makes me crazy. Next spring I’ll be looking for other options before I head to a show.
I put up with it as my horse really seems to like the bridle. That being said, I’ve never tried him in a true dropped noseband, so maybe he’d be just as nice in that style.
I have two now, but if your horse can go in a regular French/crank caveson, I’d probably choose a different option. The fit on the Micklems is a little fussy/hit or miss, and the leather isn’t great. I do think the design is good though; I use them based on a few trainers’ recommendations of putting young horses in drops, but not liking how low on the nose a traditional drop fits. The PS of Sweden mentioned above looks like a better design, IMO, or at least more attractive.
I personally like the micklem for my gelding. However, when people ask me about them, I always say to try to borrow one first before purchasing. A few of my friends have liked headed horses and have borrowed mine. It has worked out for them because they know if the design works for their particular horse before investing in a pricey piece of equipment. I didn’t find mine hard to fit in the least bit. There are plenty of videos on YouTube. Additionally, as someone already mentioned, it seems horses either love them or hate them. My mare hated it when I tried it on her. However, for my uber sensitive gelding, this made the biggest difference. I think they are worth it if you horse enjoys it. As for quality, I got mine off Dover, the Rambo brand and have had several people comment on how on the nice leather quality.
I have the Rambo brand and it seems comparable to my bobby’s bridle of similar price quality wise. My horse quite likes it and I had no trouble fitting it or using the keepers. He has a moderate head but it’s a bit more wb than tb refinement.
My chunky-headed 13hh pony loves his. It was an immediate improvement.
His old bridle…plain caveson- no drop or flash) fit him very well, but his acceptance of the bit was so much better the minute I rode him in the Micklem.
No issues getting it to fit his chunky pony head. He has the ‘small horse’ size. Normally wears a ‘cob’.
A friend had to get the local cobbler to add a small piece of leather onto her mares throatlatch piece, but it is hidden underneath and you can’t even see it.
The leather is not super, but we’ve been using ours for 2 years and it has held up just fine.
The black ones seem to be slightly better quality than the brown. (I have both)
Most tack shops have a ‘test’ Micklem for clients to take home and try.
I have one for my guy and althought I didn’t really notice much difference in how he goes, I do find it a bit quicker to clean 
I occasionally ride a friend’s gelding. For dressage he goes in a Micklem, for hunters he goes in a standard bridle, and I haven’t noticed a big difference for him.
That said, I agree that for the money I was fairly surprised that the leather wasn’t a nicer quality. For the money, I would go with Bobby’s, personally.
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I got the competition bridle and thought the leather was actually very nice on that model, at least–soft and broke in right away. My horse didn’t end up liking it, I think because of the dropped noseband. However, several other horses at my barn all have them and love them, so I definitely recommend trying it first if you can. I have a QH with the typical wide QH build and the regular horse size fit him, and also fits the Welsh pony at the barn and my friend’s TB, while the other TB and WBs at the barn go in the large horse.
I thought the quality was OK - and the leather bit loops cracked with first use 
I ended up having to use the plastic bit loops - which turned out for the best anyway. The fit was kind of funky too. I eventually replaced it with a nice Stubben bridle.
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I have a black Deluxe model and I find the quality of the leather fine. It’s not high end, that’s for sure - I think the oil/conditioner you use makes a BIG difference on them. When I first got mine I lightly brushed it with Neatsfoot oil two times - then after that I cleaned it after every ride with Effax Leather Cream soap - It is now beautiful, buttery soft and is looking good, 9 months later. I don’t clean it after every ride anymore either.
Now here’s the kicker: My friend bought the exact same bridle in brown around the same time I did, and her chin strap was of a HORRIBLE quality after just 2 or 3 months, nothing like mine. The only two differences? Hers is brown and she’d been using lexol leather cleaner on it. So either it’s something in the dying process that makes a difference, or the leather just can’t handle stuff like lexol. She ended up getting the strap replaced at a local leather shop and now cleans her bridle with the same stuff I do and has no more problems. Either way, I thought I’d share my experience on the subject.
I bought the competition bridle, but I bought it from a supplier on ebay (UK) that gets directly from the manufacturer. I paid far less than US prices on the same bridle. The leather on mine is nice quality and my mare likes it. Agree that the chin strap could be longer.
I bought a Micklem years ago and although I wanted to like it, I also suffered with trying to fit it correctly (never did look right for my 15.2h TB) and the leather never really did soften up that nicely. Recently purchased a PS Of Sweden Jump Off bridle and its so much better in every way imaginable. Better leather, better fit, more features and more anatomical and comfortable and he loves it. Its worth the extra money. I wont touch a Micklem again.
My horse really likes hers, I almost wish she didn’t since there are bridles out there that I would love to have that are much better quality. I have had mine for about a year, and the leather around the stitching is starting to crack in a really weird way. I wipe it down pretty regularly as my mare tends to get sweaty on her face pretty easily, and it still just doesn’t feel soft. It pretty much has the same waxy, stiff brand new feeling to it.
The nice thing about the Micklem bridles is they have a pretty solid resale value, and you can also usually find one used with relative ease.
