What is your opinion on them? Does anyone have experience with them, and how they contrast to more traditional bridles?
There aare some horses who seem to prefer a Michlam. On one of my guys the bit stays much more still on his head. Also the padding seems to be more comfortable Not sure if the Hunter folk will like to “non-traditional” look.
I have one. I like it. One of the equines seems to like it. Like Outyougo said, the bit seems to be more stable than with a traditional bridle.
But, the fitting is kind of tricky. The range of head sizes/shapes that the bridle will fit properly is not as wide as that for a traditional bridle. For example, if you have a horse with a small muzzle and a broad jowl/long head, you probably aren’t going to get a good fit.
Honestly I am not crazy about the Micklems. They are great in theory but I did not see a difference with my horses. If your horse is anything but a standard fit in normal bridles, you might have trouble with the Micklem. The horse size fit my standard, petite mare that could take a cob in other bridles. My gelding, who is a horse size in traditional bridles, did not fit comfortably in the horse size Micklem. He’s an OTTB but has a normal sized head with big jowls and a big forehead.
Made a noticeable improvement in my mare. Sizing is funky–I’d suggest going a size up from what your horse normally takes.
IME Micklems are not designed to be tight (except for the strap that goes across the jowl which is snug). If you tighten it like a normal bridle, you likely won’t see a difference. For my mare, the “noseband” and “flash” are very loose (you can see gaps between the noseband and her face and the flash hangs a little) and frankly, doesn’t look all that attractive BUT that is how she likes it. You really need to play around with the fit to make a good assessment.
I had a horse that ground his teeth every ride. He had been treated for ulcers, was sound, and current on teeth floating. I put him in the Micklem, and no more grinding - at all. I have another horse with heaves who seems to have an easier time breathing in the Micklem. It hasn’t made a discernible difference on the two others I’ve tried it on.
I replied to the OP My horse looks like a TB/Moose Cross, He wears a 5 3/4 to a 5 7/8 bit. I did have local shoemaker add a longer strap on the top strap. The michlam is his preferred bridle. The other horse is a “pin head” Mr pinhead is better in a conventional headstall.
My fussy horse loves his, way more comfortable.
I like it but I agree there’s not much you can do if it doesn’t fit. I think it is especially nice for making the bit more stable in the mouth. The stiffness that can make it awkward if it doesn’t fit is really fantastic compared to say a flash noseband that is fighting physics to stay in place properly.
My very fussy and mouthy mare loves the Micklem. That and a bit change made a world of difference in her training. She is much softer and more into the contact.
Not traditional for the hunter ring so we are going to need to find something that pleases her which is going to be difficult.
They either make all the difference in the world or none at all. My horse was completely indifferent to it when he went in one. When I was working in a tack shop, I always encouraged people to try and borrow one before investing, because there’s just no point in ending up with a funky looking bridle if it does nothing for you. I’m glad the one I horse went in was my coach’s!
But, for those it works for, it seems to be a game changer, not just a “oh, that’s a little better.”
[QUOTE=Mia Sorella;8521143]
IME Micklems are not designed to be tight (except for the strap that goes across the jowl which is snug).[/QUOTE]
therein lies the rub - in order to keep the bridle from going every which way you have to tighten much tighter than a traditional caveson - you can’t leave the noseband as loose as i would like.
IMHO, it’s a poor substitute but a good idea. problem is it does have plenty of poll pressure (especially since you have to tighten the noseband more than an average noseband to keep the bit stable) AND it creates a nexus of pressure right across the bridge of the nose which some horses find much less tolerable than poll pressure. when fitted correctly they still apply pressure across the poll and nose. the way the bridle is configured, it applies as much pressure to the poll as a standard figure 8 caveson, IME.
at best, i think it is a placebo for many people.
My really fussy horse didn’t like it at all. He prefers the independent caveson/cheeks.
My younger, less fussy one prefers the micklem a tiny bit, I think, but the difference is pretty small.
I was bummed it wasn’t life changing as I know it has been for many.
[QUOTE=beowulf;8522256]
therein lies the rub - in order to keep the bridle from going every which way you have to tighten much tighter than a traditional caveson - you can’t leave the noseband as loose as i would like.
IMHO, it’s a poor substitute but a good idea. problem is it does have plenty of poll pressure (especially since you have to tighten the noseband more than an average noseband to keep the bit stable) AND it creates a nexus of pressure right across the bridge of the nose which some horses find much less tolerable than poll pressure. when fitted correctly they still apply pressure across the poll and nose. the way the bridle is configured, it applies as much pressure to the poll as a standard figure 8 caveson, IME.
at best, i think it is a placebo for many people.[/QUOTE]
I don’t put it any tighter than a standard caveson and haven’t had it shift.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;8522485]
I don’t put it any tighter than a standard caveson and haven’t had it shift.[/QUOTE]
you leave a generous two fingers width in the noseband? this is two fingers can fit between the jaw and the leather around the entire circumference of the nose - bridge of nose, cheek, underside of jaw, etc.
Maybe just a regular two fingers, not a generous two fingers (although I have fat fingers). But yeah, it’s significantly looser than a figure eight and I haven’t had any issues with slippage. I have the horse size and I’ve used it on two different horses with significantly different head sizes, too-- one very long TB head that was borderline between a horse/ oversize and one much smaller, slightly wider TB head that is borderline between a horse/ cob.
FWIW the fussy horse I bought it for was only marginally better in it and when I stopped riding him I planned to sell it. I put it on my current horse on a whim, mostly because I needed to try the bit that happened to be on it and was too lazy to switch, and I was surprised to feel a definite difference with him.
I have one but I didn’t notice much difference in how my horse went in it. It does seem a bit quicker to clean than my conventional bridle though 
Would never try one. SOOOO ugly
[QUOTE=Alterrain;8522888]
Would never try one. SOOOO ugly[/QUOTE]
Because that’s infinitely more important than horse comfort.
I have one for my tbd Micklem with a loose ring snaffle , he is 100% better in it then any other bridle, in a figure 8 he gets nervous and antsy , and in plain noseband he is just too strong. But in the Micklem he is vey rideable and relaxed. I also do not tighten it that much, two fingers would fit under the front part. The bit is very stable and the bridle does not shift around. They are hard to fit, I had to order 2 sizes and mix and match parts to make it fit .
