HAHA! BroncoMo, I see now that I didn’t put my question about size in the right place! I promise I wasn’t actually trying to steal it from you! :lol:
PS - I might still take some measurements of your current Beval bridle and compare it to the measurements on the Beval website (just click on the size chart for any of their bridles). I’m very surprised that a horse-size Beval would be that much too big for your smaller horse (my perfectly-cob-size-Beval-wearing mare can wear a horse-size Beval and she doesn’t swim in it; it’s just not as perfect). Then at least you know what size (for sure!) to be looking for!
[QUOTE=pattnic;8980079]
HAHA! BroncoMo, I see now that I didn’t put my question about size in the right place! I promise I wasn’t actually trying to steal it from you! :lol:[/QUOTE]
Haha no problem!
Good idea, I’ll have to measure it. I’m overseas for a bit so it’ll be a few more months before I can do so 
I was told my Beval was a standard horse size when I bought it; not cob, not oversize (I think there was a number, 2? 3 maybe?). The big horse that it fits nicely has a big enough head, a standard halter does not fit him. I had to get him a small draft halter and he wears it on a fairly tight hole. So he’s a big dude. The smaller horse is quite a bit more refined and wears standard sized halter; I think of him as having just a plain, average sized appendix QH head. I was told by a friend (whom I got this horse’s dam from) that she uses cob sized bridles on all of hers because most hunter bridles are made to fit warmbloods, not our “dainty” QHs. So that may be why he’s harder to fit. He seems normal size to me, but the bridles are made for a thicker horse.
ETA: it isn’t so huge on him that it doesn’t “fit”. The bit sits just right in his mouth. It’s just that all the cheek pieces are on the tightest holes so there’s a lot of tail to keep tucked in to keepers, the throat latch is a bit sloppy even with a knot in it, the caveson sits a smidge lower than I’d prefer, and the caveson noseband is on the tightest hole and it’s about one hole too loose. So he doesn’t swim in it, I’d just like it a tad better fitting overall.
My Dad, Jimmy Wiebe, passed away in December 2016.
I, Jim Wiebe, am alive and well in December 2020, in northwest Mississippi near Memphis, TN.
Merry Christmas.
Jim Wiebe
J. B. Wiebe III, LLC
Hernando, MS
https://jbwiebe3.com
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Good to hear! Condolences on the loss of your dad. Merry Christmas!
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This thread is from 2016. Sorry to hear about his passing
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I absolutely love my older Beval bridles, as well as my Dover Wellington bridle, which I’m told was made by the same factory (E. Jeffries)! I’ve tried looking around for Jeffries bridles and they sell them in the UK (though they have different lines that I believe are of varying quality), but haven’t had any luck finding any in the US except for having seen a couple of used ones on eBay.
I noticed that the Beval logo changed at some point in time, and also the “Made in England” stamp disappeared a bit later. My oldest Beval bridles have a “Beval Ltd.” stamp, while the later ones have simply “Beval” inside of a border, and IME the ones that have “Made in England” finely printed on one of the pieces are the better ones.
Yes, n: Jeffries made Bevals’ strap goods and leather horse boots of all persuasions. They are a Walsall, UK company, so I would bet that a bridle made by them would satisfy.
Some other sleepers you all might investigate:
You can’t discern anything from the pictures, and I have some very old ones (one of which has been coddled its whole life, so oiled and new-looking) and one which is unoiled/been in the Tack Cryofreeze so that it’s new.
Also, Olson Nolte Saddle Shop in Redwood City/San Carlos, CA had 'em/has 'em.
These should be seen in person. I don’t know how the stuff on the current website is or how to buy from them. But I’d gladly roll the dice bases on what my other Moritz bridles look like. Yes, I’d roll the dice.
- At Dover saddlery, this thing is surprisingly nice and even better at the $159 price:
https://www.doversaddlery.com/ds-indulge-fancy-stitched/p/X1-120241/
It is made from that reddish, obviously “naked” leather that Aramas made sorta famous a long time ago. I think it will take oil very nicely and be beautiful for a long time. I like the border stitching (though I could also do without the fancy stitching). I have seen this bridle in person and I’d own it. Heck, I’d own in In The Name Of Science, to oil it and use it so I could tell you all how it turned out.
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I have a Moritz bridle, as well as a noseband from them, and love those as well! Unfortunately, the bridle wasn’t very well cared for by the time it came to me in a tack lot off of eBay, but I can tell it’s well made! I’d love to have another.
I’ve seen the InDulge bridles and were curious about them!
I ordered that Indulge Dover bridle and sent it back the same day. Cheap glued plasticy finish a la Red Barn. Big nope from me.
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I was wondering about that due to the price and some of Dover’s other bridles I’ve seen recently. I’m not a big fan of what I’ve seen of Red Barn, either.
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The price is right for what it is, but I would rather pay a little more than have a bridle of that quality
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I agree, it’s worth it to pay more for better quality! I started out with bridles so cheap the excess of the reins stuck straight up in the air rather than folding over (because the reins were THAT stiff), then was satisfied with “meh” quality bridles later on, but once I got my hands on some truly nice stuff, I’ve become pretty picky and it’s hard for me to go back to anything so-so! I also tend to find great deals on used bridles online and in consignment shops!
I won an Indulge figure 8 in a raffle. I like that it doesn’t have sheepskin on the nose, and that the flash straps are stitched so they won’t stretch.
Otherwise, it’s a piece of crap. The reins are awful, the leather feels cheap, the padding is blah, and the keepers are WAY too tight.
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Has anyone seen Lund bridles recently? Does Lund still exist?
I bought a Bevals bridle in 2005. It was square raised, unpadded and without fancy stitching. My guess is it was not one of their higher end bridles. I never liked the leather quality and have always been surprised to read the rave reviews of their bridles on here. Perhaps the quality was declining even then, or perhaps I got a bad one 
Is Lund the company that made Royal Sports bridles?
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Beval has several different models of bridles of varying quality ranging from more economically priced ones (IIRC, the Stamford might be one of them?) to their top of the line Heritage model, though I’m not sure if it was that way in 2005. I want to say per some of the posts I’ve read here, it may have been as far back as the mid-2000’s or so that the quality began declining, though.
IMO, I think the ones that say “Made in England” somewhere on them are of the best quality. They switched manufacturing at some point.
The square raised New Canaan and Newport I remember being awesome bridles (I have one of the square raised New Canaans and it’s one of my favorites!). I have a couple of plain round raised Bevals, a round raised fancy stitched New Canaan, and the plain square raised New Canaan, and like all of mine, the two New Canaans being my favorites!
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Yanno, I have more recently seen considerable variation in those Dover Indulge bridles. That means they vary across design (figure 8 vs. raises, padded fancy-stitched hunter version), and with date of manufacture. My guess is that a large contractor like Dover is ordering bridles in large-ish batches and willing to take whatever leather their jobbers can get in the quantity they need.
My new conclusion is that one must meet a bridle in person; online match-making works badly.
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I always wanted a square raised New Canaan and about 15 years ago (that’s a rough estimate) I finally bought one at Beval’s annual 20% off sale. I was so disappointed that it would not take oil evenly and became very spotty so I returned it to Beval who told me that they felt they had to discontinue the New Canaan line because they were no longer able to guarantee the quality of the leather. They offered me a full refund or the option to purchase another bridle at the 20% off discount even though the sale was now over. I chose to get the Beval Heritage unpadded hunter bridle, and I still have it in my basement. It cleans up beautifully and at that time the leather was a very good quality, I have no idea if the Heritage line is still as nice as it was then.
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