I’m casually in the market for a new (to me) bridle for a smaller headed appendix. I LOVE my older Beval; it’s so soft, well made, and just perfect. But, I bought it third hand so I have no idea what year it was made.
I have read in several threads that quality has declined “in recent years”, but I’m not sure how far back that would be. Any ides on what time frame bridle to look for?
IMO, it has been about 10 years. Sad, because their strap goods used to be truly lovely.
I agree with Lucassb! I have a newer bridle (less than 5 years), one of their top of line models, and it’s not very nice. 
But I’ve seen some of their 15 year old bridle work that is beautiful.
Bennett’s Hunter™ Fine Bridles made by Jim Wiebe are stunning (next time!).
[QUOTE=Lucassb;8977143]
IMO, it has been about 10 years. Sad, because their strap goods used to be truly lovely.[/QUOTE]
At least.
The good thing about being old (Old enough to remember the Messiah-like birth of New Cavalry in the 1980s) is that you know how to tell when leather has been tanned badly.
I think Bevals has followed so many other lesser tack makers with using a “color corrected” technique with tanning. There, the light color you see on top is even and opaque. That’s created with petroleum products and it makes the leather impervious to darkening via oiling.
You can still find bridles made with leather that has been tanned better, but you have to know what to look for. The real damage is to the generations of whippersnappers who will no longer know how to identify good leather.
Oh, the humanity!
This topic and my batch of foster kittens that won’t purr… and COTH’s software all screwed up. Entropy.
[QUOTE=mvp;8977355]
I think Bevals has followed so many other lesser tack makers with using a “color corrected” technique with tanning. There, the light color you see on top is even and opaque. That’s created with petroleum products and it makes the leather impervious to darkening via oiling.[/QUOTE]
I bought a Bobby’s bride several years ago, first English bridle I’d ever had so I don’t even know where it ranks as far as quality (ever since I got a feel for French tack, I don’t even bother to look at anything else). But when I ended up with a much darker saddle, I went to town trying to darken it and became quickly frustrated with the waxy layer on top. I guess googling how to fix it never crossed my mind so I ended up essentially twisting and bending each piece until the coating cracked and the darkening oil could penetrate the leather. I managed to get it darkened but what a process it was.
The Beval I have must be pretty old then. Super quality, rich dark color, buttery soft. Just wish it wasn’t too big for a normal sized quarter horse. I did manage to buy it just off of pictures so I guess I can be fairly confident in discerning quality from crap. Even if I am a whippersnapper :winkgrin:
Jim just passed away
About a decade sounds right. It’s a shame because the old ones are some of the nicest tack around. I have 2 old Beval Heritage bridles that I would not part with for anything!
[QUOTE=vxf111;8977778]
About a decade sounds right. It’s a shame because the old ones are some of the nicest tack around. I have 2 old Beval Heritage bridles that I would not part with for anything![/QUOTE]
I’m afraid that will be the general consensus; no one will be wanting to let their bridles go. Any suggestions on a high quality brand that has been tanned properly? I’m the epitome of “champaign taste on a beer budget”, so I loooove to buy used. Just need to know what other brands to look for (perhaps other french brands? Antares seems super proud of their stuff though). Google and eBay searches don’t seem to yield very good results.
I used to say “Aramas” but I have had some bad experiences with HK quality. So now I would say “Wellfleet” because SP will stand behind the bridle if you do have a problem.
Other than that, Edgewood are still pretty nice. AdTs are nice, though they had a little problem with spotting dye that I think is long resolved. I have a Herve Godingdon that’s lovely but it’s blingier than your traditional hunter bridle.
I concur - the quality changed around 10-15 years ago. If you are patient (and fortunate), you can still find the good stuff on eBay or in consignment stores or occasionally from a COTH friend. I think the first signal the quality was starting to go downhill was about the same time as the batch of New Canaans that would only oil to a funny color. The leather quality was otherwise lovely, but the color could be hideous.
I am one of those who hoard good, old Beval tack and I recently had to send one of my New Canaans out on lease with my mare. While I was at a Beval store, in a conversation about the New Canaans, I was told that if someone offered me $75 for one to take it and run, because they’re not worth anything. Shakes head Clearly, that lady didn’t know what she was talking about when it comes to the good old Beval tack (she also denied a color problem).
SO! This means that some people will hoard it and never let it go, and others will sell it for a song.
Do you know what size your Beval is? In terms of newer stuff that’s still good quality, I keep looking for something else with which to fall in love… and I’m not finding anything. All I know is that anytime I admire someone else’s bridle hanging in the tack room, it turns out to be an older Beval (seriously, almost invariably… the other ones I’ve liked have been SmartPak Wellfleet).
I think Edgewood or Hadfield’s is the best you’re going to do. Edgewood runs larger than Beval, but my mare who is a perfect cob in Beval also fits a cob size Edgewood (it’s just not as perfect - so Edgewood is maybe a half size bigger than Beval?). There have been many reports of Edgewoods stretching, but I’ve never experienced this. Hadfield runs closer to Beval in sizing, I believe.
I’m a little more judgmental than vxf1111 when it comes to Arc de Triomphe; I think they’re overpriced for the quality and I think the quality is still a bit spotty.
A more economical option would be Aramas/SmartPak Wellfleet/Dover Showmark, but I find the sizing to be a bit wonky in these. I’ve only ever seen them fit two or three horses well. If they fit well, they’re great options. Dover and SmartPak will stand behind the product, so I would order from one of them if I were to go this route. SmartPak does free returns on sized items and several of their Wellfleets are on sale right now, so it’s worth a try.
There are actually some strong similarities between Herve Godignon and ADT; I think Herve is the better quality of the two, but as vxf1111, it’s not quite as traditional for a hunter bridle (and it’s a bit harder to find).
I think Ovation does a really nice product for the price, but don’t think you’ll be getting something like an old Beval. Ovation is like a Toyota Corolla, and an old Beval is like… well, I don’t know my cars well enough, so I’ll just say a well-maintained older luxury car.
mvp - my foster “kittens” (we’ve had them since May, so they’re actually close to 10 months) don’t face nuzzle.
I’ve had good luck with Edgewood, and those are usually findable on eBay or the used tack sites and fb groups for well within your budget. I also really like Five Star Tack, a different sort of feel to the leather but they break in lovely and they have a lot of high quality details. Much harder to find used, but they do have a sale going on right now.
Ovation has also never done me wrong, though I haven’t picked one up recently.
I’ve never seen an Ovation that impressed me. I think the SP Harwich are better for the same cost, but YMMV.
I dig a really ropey, soft bridle once it’s broken in. Which might be why I like AdT and others don’t. In my experience their and Edgewood are some of the ropey-ist. Which also might be why people say Edgewood ‘stretches.’
I don’t buy bridles to fit tight tight tight but any leather that really gets butter soft is likely to stretch if you buy your bridlework TIGHT fitting. If you like that tight fitting look, you’re better off with tack that retains a bit more stiffness even when broken in. I prefer a smidge loose in terms of fitting.
No, Ovation is not “impressive.” No one is going to look at it and say, “Ooh, what’s that?!?” But it’s a solid, traditional bridle. They used to use Wickett & Craig leather (not 100% sure whether they still do), which I like better than the leather used on the Harwich line. But yes, Harwich is a definite possibility if one has resorted to looking at Ovation.
[QUOTE=pattnic;8978657]
No, Ovation is not “impressive.” No one is going to look at it and say, “Ooh, what’s that?!?” But it’s a solid, traditional bridle. They used to use Wickett & Craig leather (not 100% sure whether they still do), which I like better than the leather used on the Harwich line. But yes, Harwich is a definite possibility if one has resorted to looking at Ovation.[/QUOTE]
I bought one of the “good” Ovations based on the fact that posters here raved about them as being good quality for the price point. I was very disappointed and resold it quickly. Their leather is stiff in a way that I just can’t get behind. If you’re in that price point, there are better options IMHO.
I feel the same way about Red Barn. Cheap and plastic-feeling. People recommend them for the price point but I can’t see buying one of those when you can get a HK (not without their problems but at least the leather is nice).
The Dover Crown-and-higher lines are ok too but they come with plain reins and again I have trouble justifying paying the same for that as a Smartpak that come with fancy reins. Also Dover offers 54 inch reins on their O/S bridles and I need 60 so Dover “house line” bridles are never an option I’m going to go for. I cannot understand why they don’t offer longer reins on the oversized bridles. Most other manufacturers that sell reins along with bridles do (HK, KL Select, Mortack, etc.)
I have not noticed the SP bridles (or the HK, since they’re made by HK) to be odd fitting. I use their O/S on two different horses, one with a doorknocker head and the other with a large but normal proportions head. Both fit nicely. I used their F/S on my regular sized horse who wears “full” in everything and it fit fine. A lot of people I board with have SP tack. I really haven’t noticed it being harder to fit than anything else. No bridle is going to fit EVERY horse but I have not noticed SP fitting less often as a general rule. I do think they all run every so slightly bigger than some other brands (including Hadfield) but I don’t think the proportions are funny or off. Actually Beval has some funny proportions sometimes. I have an oversized head stall that would fall off a draft and another that is 100% normal sized?!
I wish there were better options in the “new midrange” choices. But really, I keep coming back to the Smartpak bridles and it’s hard for me to see a good reason to pay the same prices for any other new bridle of like-quality (i.e. Ovation and Red Barn). Coupled with SP’s customer service, I just can’t see making a different choice.
OP’s not quite in that budget range so she has some additional choices. If she’s looking used, and she’s patient and good at looking, she can get a fairly high end bridle lightly used for $350. She doesn’t have to settle for an Ovation or a Harwich 
vxf1111 -
Ugh, Red Barn is the worst. Hate it.
I could see how if you like a “ropey” bridle, you wouldn’t like Ovation.
Excellent point about 54" vs 60" reins on an oversize bridle… that makes zero sense.
Regarding the fit of Wellfleet/Showmark/Aramas/HK - once upon a time I had a horse size HK, and that fit like a normal horse size. It was when the newer stuff started to come out (SmartPak introduced their line, Dover switched the branding of their HK stuff from Circuit to Showmark) that I started to find the sizing odd. BUT, do you suppose that could perhaps be because I have pretty much only ever needed cob-size bridles? I hadn’t thought of that. Also, in defense of HK/Aramas, I haven’t actually tried an Aramas-branded bridle on my horses - only Dover Circuit (stamped HK with the diamond), SmartPak (both Plymouth and Wellfleet) and Dover Showmark (of HK manufacture), so perhaps I am painting with a bit too broad a brush.
I fully agree with the feeling of lack of options… but I feel like it’s extended beyond even just the midrange.
I feel like you, mvp, BAC, Lucassb, and I could all get together sometime and have a very lengthy and interesting discourse on bridlery!
Bridles are my wheelhouse
[QUOTE=pattnic;8978550]
Do you know what size your Beval is? In terms of newer stuff that’s still good quality, I keep looking for something else with which to fall in love… and I’m not finding anything.[/QUOTE]
It’s a “standard horse” size. Can’t remember if there’s a number that correlates with it. It’s not an oversize. But… You cannot have it 
It fits the bigger headed goof perfectly. But my eq horse, it’s on the last hole on every strap, the throat latch has a knot in it, and it’s still just a tad sloppy. I’m going to be a hoarder. You can pry that bridle from my cold dead hands 
[QUOTE=vxf111;8978679]
I bought one of the “good” Ovations based on the fact that posters here raved about them as being good quality for the price point. I was very disappointed and resold it quickly. Their leather is stiff in a way that I just can’t get behind. If you’re in that price point, there are better options IMHO.
I feel the same way about Red Barn. Cheap and plastic-feeling. People recommend them for the price point but I can’t see buying one of those when you can get a HK (not without their problems but at least the leather is nice).
The Dover Crown-and-higher lines are ok too but they come with plain reins and again I have trouble justifying paying the same for that as a Smartpak that come with fancy reins. Also Dover offers 54 inch reins on their O/S bridles and I need 60 so Dover “house line” bridles are never an option I’m going to go for. I cannot understand why they don’t offer longer reins on the oversized bridles. Most other manufacturers that sell reins along with bridles do (HK, KL Select, Mortack, etc.)
I have not noticed the SP bridles (or the HK, since they’re made by HK) to be odd fitting. I use their O/S on two different horses, one with a doorknocker head and the other with a large but normal proportions head. Both fit nicely. I used their F/S on my regular sized horse who wears “full” in everything and it fit fine. A lot of people I board with have SP tack. I really haven’t noticed it being harder to fit than anything else. No bridle is going to fit EVERY horse but I have not noticed SP fitting less often as a general rule. I do think they all run every so slightly bigger than some other brands (including Hadfield) but I don’t think the proportions are funny or off. Actually Beval has some funny proportions sometimes. I have an oversized head stall that would fall off a draft and another that is 100% normal sized?!
I wish there were better options in the “new midrange” choices. But really, I keep coming back to the Smartpak bridles and it’s hard for me to see a good reason to pay the same prices for any other new bridle of like-quality (i.e. Ovation and Red Barn). Coupled with SP’s customer service, I just can’t see making a different choice.
OP’s not quite in that budget range so she has some additional choices. If she’s looking used, and she’s patient and good at looking, she can get a fairly high end bridle lightly used for $350. She doesn’t have to settle for an Ovation or a Harwich ;)[/QUOTE]
Not gonna lie, I got my Beval for cheap. I don’t remember exact price but something like $120. So I’m sure that kind of deal isn’t a frequent occurrence. I don’t mind shelling out for quality, but I do find the upper end prices ($400+) a bit offensive. I’ve found a couple Smartpak bridles that do look pretty nice.
I have an oversize AdT that I bought for the bigger horse (I’ve learned that my definition of a horse’s head size is NOT the same as bridle manufacturers) that is honestly a bit too big for him (if I remember right, I quit using it once I got my Beval). I wasn’t super impressed with it. I thought it was a bit stiff and cheap looking. Maybe it just needs some oil and some work. But I hated the reins. So I’m not sure I would try another of those unless it’s used and I can physically put my hands on it.
I’ll certainly keep an eye on ebay and search the FB pages some more. But now I have some other brands to keep an eye out for. Thanks for all the info!
I recently bought a Harwich bridle and martingale because they were on dirt cheap sale with perks and association discounts. For the price I paid, I can get behind them. The bridle’s not butter soft after oiling, but it also hasn’t been on a horse yet, so I’m willing to reserve judgment. For the price, I don’t expect Edgewood or comparable quality. I bought it to replace my old-as-the-hills schooling bridle, but once it’s softened and broken in, I don’t think I’d mind showing in it.
I do absolutely hate the way laced reins (especially those of middling quality) feel when they’re new…
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