Monocrown/Integrated/Recessed Crown/Anatomical Bridles vs. Traditional Bridles

[Equestrian24]

Do bridles with a monocrown/integrated crown/recessed crown make a noticeable difference in a horse’s comfort, or is it more of a fad? Same with anatomical bridles, is there a notable difference or is it just the latest trend?

I’m asking because I’d like to make sure my tack is as comfortable for the horse as possible, but don’t want to spend extra money if it makes little to no difference. Every bridle I own has a traditional crown with the noseband poll strap running underneath it. Also, I’m wondering, even though it would may look really silly, would simply placing the noseband poll strap over the top of the crown rather than under be similar to an integrated/recessed crown? Or would one of those crown pads that attach to bridles similar to what EquiFit makes be a good choice?

[islgrl]

For my current horse an anatomical crown is the only thing he can tolerate. His ears are set back weirdly far and a regular crown presses into them and causes him apparent discomfort. All my other horses have been fine with a tradition crown.

[Willesdon]

I’m just a grumpy old woman, but my personal theory, and I’m open to persuasion here, is that a correctly fitted traditional bridle works just as well as an anatomical one. The anatomical ones are designed to avoid particular pressure points and nerves and, oh look, a correctly fitted traditional bridle misses precisely those same points. Too many people do not fit the bridle correctly and spend money to solve the problem caused by e.g. noseband too tight, noseband placed too high, a brow band so small it pulls the headpiece into the base of the ears and buckles resting on bones - or the rider having hands like bricks. Look back at photos from 50 years ago and it is noticable how much looser and more open bridles were, with top class show jumpers in caveson and snaffle, polo ponies in a Pelham and standing martingale rather than the tangle of straps now considered necessary.

And of course fashion is a strong driver and there is a lot of money spent on horses.

However, having grumped, I will say that I once asked Dickie Waygood, Performance Manager for the British Eventing Team and a bottomless pool of knowledge, about the Micklem bridle and whether it made a difference to performance. His answer was “Some horses seem to like them and go better, some don’t. Who knows why”. Horses have opinions too.

[Against_All_Odds1]

I tend to ride a variety of growthy youngsters and having the option to remove the nose band has come in really handy when a 3 year old is loosing caps in that area.

[Jealoushe]

If you take a traditional bridle and hang it on your hand, with your hand positioned so your palm is facing to the side and not to the top or bottom. Then hang a bridle with a soft padded crown piece or anatomical poll on your hand the same way. Feel the difference. It is hugely noticeable. That alone convinced me that yes, some of the bridles are more comfortable than traditional ones. The pressure on the poll is placed over a wider space and that alone will relieve the pressure a bit.

Some horses like certain ones while some don’t care. Each horse is an individual.

[foursocks]

It totally depends on the horse, and I think most are fine in regular bridles. Mine is not very sensitive to tack but he has a big, itchy nose. He doesn’t like figure-8s, he likes flash nosebands only a little bit more, and he is much happier and less itchy in the Schockemohle Equitas. That’s what I use on him, but other than being less itchy he goes exactly the same in that as he did in his old bridles.

Other horses are a lot more sensitive, but I have seen several that seem really unhappy in Miklems or other anatomic bridles, even though their owners claim the horses loves them. So, I think a lot of the time it’s more to do with the owner than the horse.

I do think the set back and padded crowns make sense, but if you look at the horses that are competing at the top levels the vast majority just go in traditional bridles. That should tell us something about the marketing of these things and who is embracing them.

[touchstone]

These bridles have always struck me as a solution in search of a problem. Aside from the look, which is not my personal cup of tea, they are just plain harder to use–harder to adjust accurately, harder to swap out parts, more likely to shed keepers. A well adjusted bridle just doesn’t put that much pressure on the horse’s poll to begin with, unless the rider has chosen a bit that does so on purpose.