Talk to me about Finesse bridle fit

[SBrentnall]

I just used my new finesse snaffle for the first time, and I’m concerned about its stability. Partway through the ride it seemed to be pushing forward against my horse’s ears and he started to shake his head. I’m wondering if it needs to be tighter in order to be stable until the padding compresses slightly.

I typically leave my noseband fairly loose and I took off the flash. Do I need to tighten the noseband and put the flash back to keep it stable?

It also creased sharply in the middle of the padding (see photo) rather than compressing all around, which makes me worry about pressure points.

Thoughts?

[Scribbler]

Is that the crown piece? I could see that just being too big and bulky. Or perhaps the browband is too small

Getting an anatomical bridle and then having to strap your horses mouth shut to keep it stable seems counter productive. However, honestly I think most poll pressure comes from tight flashes pulling the crown piece tight so I’ve never seen the need for padded crown pieces on absbafgle bridle with no noseband or flash.

[SBrentnall]

Yes, that’s the crown piece. It starts high but is apparently supposed to mold to the horse over time. It’s very light, but I’m just not sure about the stability of the bridle as a whole if the noseband is as loose as I like it.

[Scribbler]

@SBrentnall

Yes, that’s the crown piece. It starts high but is apparently supposed to mold to the horse over time. It’s very light, but I’m just not sure about the stability of the bridle as a whole if the noseband is as loose as I like it.

Well from what you are showing here it’s not working on your horse. Could be design flaw or could be your horse isn’t ideal head shape for this design.

[SBrentnall]

Could be. But it’s only been used for one ride. That’s why I want to know what other owners have experienced.

[beowulf]

I don’t own one, so caveat there - but I’ve seen several used. They did not have creases like that. Are you sure it is not damaged?

[anonevent]

I wonder if the crown was too long for your horse’s head and it got folded into that shape. From your description, It sounds like it might be too generously sized, overall.

Did it come out of the box with the crease? I’ve been waiting for so long for mine to ship. There have been multiple delays. Total conjecture…I wonder if there was a defect discovered in a batch? Maybe ask the store you purchased it from to check with their Finesse sales rep about the crease.

[SBrentnall]

It’s possible. I’ve never seen one in-person before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

[SBrentnall]

That’s a good point. It didn’t come out of the box with the crease - that’s what it looked like after the first ride.

Mine shipped very quickly - I ordered from Classic Dressage in the UK and it arrived within a week of placing the order.

[anonevent]

I ordered mine from HorsebyHorse in the beginning of June and was made aware that they would not ship until the third week of July, then got an update that they’re further delayed

Definitely ask the store you purchased it from about the crease. That doesn’t look right.

[mombc24]

Cathrine Dufour recently posted on her Instagram story a photo of her finesse bridle hung up and I want to say it also had a crease but it has disappeared so I can’t confirm.

[eponacelt]

If you hung the bridle on a tack hook to clean it, or anything basically that doesn’t have a round shape, that crease will appear. If its ONLY ever been on a rounded hanger or your horse, that shouldn’t be happening.

That said, the noseband should be snug in order to keep everything in place. You don’t need to crank down on it, but the way the whole bridle sort of “floats” on the horse’s head means that I think if you don’t make sure the noseband is snug, it might move. Especially with a newer noseband that hasn’t conformed itself to your horse’s face, it may just be too loose.

[SBrentnall]

It went from the box, to my horse, to a round bridle hanger for cleaning, to the round bridle hanger in the photo for storage.

[eponacelt]

I would contact the seller then. That shouldn’t happen.

[Aleuronx]

@SBrentnall Did you get this resolved with the seller or Finesse?

I’ve been thinking about making the plunge to try on for my sensitive mare but am hesitant on your experience. Way too much money for that to happen with no use.

[SBrentnall]

Yes - they were both wonderful! The seller immediately contacted Finesse and they confirmed that the crown should not crease in that way. And they immediately sent me an entirely new bridle, minus the noseband (which wasn’t damaged).

I was very impressed with both Finesse and Classic Dressage.

[LadyNeon01]

I might have to reach out to Classic Dressage then. I recently got a Cayenne double bridle and the crown did the exact same thing! Makes me wonder if something is wrong with a batch of them.