I just bought a brand new Henri De Rivel bridle, conditioned all the pieces, and was putting it together to see how it all looks. Problem is some of the leather straps won’t fit into the keepers. I’ve been trying for 45 minutes and broke two nails so far. I’ve never had a brand new bridle - is this normal? How do I get them to fit? I’m seriously losing my mind. All suggestions welcome!
My HDR figure 8 is that way. The end tab that you try to force through the keeper eventually bunches up and wrinkles.
I ended up putting the figure 8 part on another bridle I had because the HDR one was such a bear.
I use a hoof pick to gently stretch the keeper so I can get the strap through. As skipollo said, if you just try to force it you end up wrinkling the tab and then it never wants to go through or lie flat.
You can try to stretch the keepers with a hoof pick or anything else that is a tight fit- this works especially well if you use something tapered that you can tap in a little bit further each time. I’ve never tried it, but I wonder if you could use a bit of rubbing alcohol like you would if you needed to stretch boots.
If worst comes to worst, Nunn Finer makes rubber keepers that you could use instead.
I think that the leather also swells a bit after oiling. I wonder if you could take a knife and just carve a bit from under the rough side of the straps to make it more narrow at the tip. Then use pliers rather than your nails.
I ran into that problem with an HDR bridle as well. Luckily the keepers that were really tight were ones I didn’t need to remove/adjust regularly so I just fought with it the one time when sizing and the noseband and throat latch keepers weren’t too bad.
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your replies! Gonna give it another shot with your suggestions!
When you clean or oil leather, the fibers in the leather swell due to the moisture. I usually like to clean and oil and then right away place the leather ends through the keepers, otherwise you end up struggling to put it through. Good luck - you could also try a hoofpick as others have mentioned.
Wet the keepers thoroughly, then pass your strap through it. Work a flat screwdriver or something the same shape underneath the strap and keeper to gently stretch out the keeper…then leave it there until the leather dries. Your keeper is stretched out and shaped when you remove the screwdriver.
I do a lot of keeper repairs, one side always blows out along the stitching holes from the stress of having a strap forced through a too tight keeper. After reattaching/resewing the end I stretch out the keeper this way. Works great.
Thank you all - I waited til it was completely dry and stretched out the keepers with a hoof pick and it worked!! The patent leather looks fantastic but what a pain… Thanks again to everyone for helping me out!!
Sorry to hijack! I have bought a Henri de Rival bridle that I got at a great deal… The issue is it will not absorb the oil I’m using at all (even heated). I’m currently using Antares oil which usually I love but this time it’s not getting softer, is hard hard hard … Help!!
Wet the keeper. Find something properly tapered first. After wetting, sllde tapering object through. Leave it til it dries. You may need to repeat several times to get it wide enough. Go slowly.
No worries eclipse!! I used Lexol first and massaged it in, then used hydrophane leather dressing when the Lexol dried to waterproof. Both soaked in well. Never tried the Antares oil so not sure how well it works.
[QUOTE=LetsGetThis948;8163304]
No worries eclipse!! I used Lexol first and massaged it in, then used hydrophane leather dressing when the Lexol dried to waterproof. Both soaked in well. Never tried the Antares oil so not sure how well it works.[/QUOTE]
to prevent this happening in the future…
this only works if you clean your bridle regularly… for really grimy/unkempt bridles don’t follow this:
what i do is take apart the bridle for cleaning. let it dry, wipe it down, and then reassemble. i keep all the leather OUT of the keepers.
oil/condition your semi-assembled bridle… as you go along and after you oil a section, feed the leather through the keepers… great way to keep tab of which side you already done if you’re clumsy like me…
as i said it’s really only best to do this if you keep up with cleaning your tack - and it’s much easier to put together before the tack is oily/greasy, or at least for me.
