Spinoff: When did Beval bridles decline in quality?

[BroncoMo]

So, I have no idea what prompted my zombie thread to be bumped back up. At some point after this thread I ended up buying a brand new with tags Beval New Canaan on consignment, so I have no idea its age. But I took a chance on it because it was a horrendous baby sh!t yellow color. It was so easy to darken, no waxy coating and took oil very easily. It’s a gorgeous dark brown now and is in rotation. I honestly don’t know which bridle it is now because it matches my other Bevals and I don’t remember which size bridle was in question.

Anyways, thought I would update this now over four year old thread since I keep getting notifications when people post

[Equestrian24]

I had heard that they discontinued them because they were having quality control issues. I guess I lucked out on my two! I bought both used, so I’m not sure exactly how old they are.

[Equestrian24]

Glad to hear you got a good one! I love my older Bevals and REALLY wish the new ones were still as nice, because out of my outrageous stash of 35+ bridles (I have a bit of a problem when it comes to bridles, and didn’t realize I had that many until I recently moved and unpacked them, lol), I think they’re some of my very favorites!

[BAC]

@BroncoMo

But I took a chance on it because it was a horrendous baby sh!t yellow color.

That’s ugly tannish/yellow was the color of the original bridles before they were oiled. Good for you that you got such a nice bridle. I think its worth keeping your old stuff, today’s leather is not nearly as good quality and its more expensive too.

[Equestrian24]

Very true. I’ve been so disappointed in many of the new bridles I’ve looked at! Even so-called “high end” bridles that retail for $600+!

I’m taking an indefinite hiatus from riding at the moment and have thought about selling a bunch of my tack (and to be honest, I probably should part with some of it, as I do have way more than I’ll ever actually need), but it wouldn’t be easy to find replacements of similar or equal quality down the road, and much of what I have is no longer in production and hard to find, even on the used market.