Those FSS bridles all over Ebay-- your review?

[mvp]

You know what I’m talking about, right?

These are the All Manner of Colors and Bling for Cheap that these guys sell:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/british-bridles/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

And a relatively boring example:

FSS German Posh DARK HUNTER GREEN Comfort Padded Dressage CRANK Bridle Reins...

How’s the quality?

Now mind you, I’m from HunterWorld where we like beautiful leather and workmanship in our bridles; they are the horse’s jewelry. We take care of our bridles and we pay a lot for them… more than the prices of these bridles.

So do these bridles oil up well and last if cared for? Or will you hate the lavender-lined becrystaled thing you bought because, while the idea was good (theoretically speaking), the execution was piss-poor and the bridle always a stiff, dull fake-Rolex-watch of a thing you force your horse to wear on his head?

[alibi_18]

Not stiff but not what I would consider quality.
The sizing is kinda off, the stitching/built is weird. It’s made out of “fake” soft leather and won’t aged well, actually, it won’t aged!

The pricing is just about right.

[RiverOaksFarm]

I have one of their double bridles. alibi_18 nailed it – they’re worth what they cost. In other words, they’re not awful (I’ve seen much worse quality) but they don’t hold a candle to the higher end (and higher priced) bridles either.

It’s not just the quality of the leather (mediocre) but also other little details – like keepers which the straps won’t fit through, or the loops on the browbands being so tight you can hardly get it on the bridle. (I literally had to use pliers to be able to get enough grip to slide the browband into position on my FSS double. It doesn’t budge.)

But they’re pretty and they’re cheap, so there’s that. I’m not sure if I’d buy another or not…

[Pipkin]

I have one. It’s very soft, and fits him well. I doubt it’s very durable, wouldn’t want to get it wet. However, it’s much nicer than my other “quality” bridles and cost a quarter as much! One of which actually bubbled in the rain :eek:

Mine - http://s30.postimg.org/tlvm2w5tt/blinggg_small.jpg

[Nestor]

Gosh, spend max $50 more and get a good bridle from Germany! My Kieffer Ergonomic snaffle bridle is $162 right now from Calevo.

[SendenHorse]

I have the halter, they are nice, but I use mine for “dress up”. I have gotten a lot of complements on it. they have cool padding and colors-- my design was unique to FSS so that is why I purchased it.

[MysticOakRanch]

I have had two, and both were really… CHEAP. One broke the first time I put it on - the cheap plastic buckle just broke off. Their customer service is non-existent. In fact, I think the vendor (whose name changes every 6 months or every year) is one of the big reasons eBay changed their buyer protection policies, so now the buyer is always right. FSS seller has screwed over a lot of people over the years. But their stuff is cheap, colorful, and the photos look great, so they sell a LOT.

I would not buy from them again - the quality is very poor, you get what you pay for. Every once in a while, someone pops up with a good experience, but much more often, you hear the story of poor quality, broken buckles, keepers that just fall apart, rough leather, stiff leather that shows cracks in the color, etc.

Probably better off just buying something of decent quality that is used. Or as Nestor points out, spend a little more and buy from a vendor who ships something of quality from Germany, or wait for a sale at your local tack shop.

[gallopingmouse]

I bought one of their bridles a few years back. Not very good quality leather; like others have said, I would rather spend a little bit more and get a better product.

[Draftmare]

My friend from the UK warned me that these are junk when I was looking at them. Bummed because I love all their fun color combinations, but didn’t want to waste the money. Instead I bought a Star brand bridle for $40 from the local tack shop. Is also not very good quality, but I spent a fraction of the money and still got fun colors.

[mvp]

Thank you all for your reviews!

I’m already not a fan/not used to black tanned leather and all the buckles on dressage bridles. None of 'em, not even very expensive ones strike me as being as lovely as an expensive hunter bridle.

I would rather buy one beautiful bridle than endure each day with a bridle that looked and felt bad. I grew up riding with the tack chosen by other people, sometimes trying to care for it well despite it’s being poor quality in the first place.

It is one of my adult vows/gifts to my self to Never.Again.Have.Crappy.Leather.Anything.

Very Joan Crawford to be sure, but it doesn’t hurt anyone. I just can’t find anything but wire hangars in dressage bridle world.

Oh, is a Kavalkade in the same “meh” category? I ask because I think the name is cheesy, but I think I remember cleaning one for a trainer that was pretty good. And I gotta say, I have cleaned Keiffers and similarly-priced bridles. I don’t think they are lovely for the price.

That’s how I got on this “cheap” bandwagon. I thought that maybe there was no soft black leather to be had anyway, so why pay $300 for stiff and too many buckles that are hard to clean well?

[flyracing]

If you don’t like buckle ends, Bobby’s bridles has about every configuration under the sun for about $200 or under. All my bridles from them are stud end and have lasted years. My oldest is now over 10 years and I still show in it FEI. I also have two fss bridles. The sizing is a bit off and I put too much work into making the cavesson flexible. This was years ago though, so not a current update. I’m toying with buying one if their unique halters, but don’t down if I should do horse or full horse size for a warmblood.

[Foxtrot_s]

If they are similar to the bridles I’ve seen marketed here - look good, but are cheap, I’d pass…I am also a lover of fine quality leather goods and every time I put one of my bridles on my horse I admire them. I’ve had some for over 20 years…so they pay off.

OTOH I paid $29.00 for a schooling bridle from India years and years ago. It had very nice braided noseband and headpiece, and is still hanging on my bridle rack…did very well for $29.00, surviving all weathers.

[Crash_Helmet]

Well, just to buck the trend… I have a plain black crank snaffle with flash that I bought from FSS maybe 8 years ago. I wasn’t expecting much for a hundred bucks delivered but I thought it was worth a shot as I had a horse that had destroyed several spendy bridles and I was a bit peeved.

I still use that bridle as my daily schooler. The leather was supple (but not floppy like Jerry’s) and the buckles (all stainless steel, btw—I can’t believe someone got plastic buckles!) are fine and still functioning like they are new. All the straps fit perfectly and the stitching is fine. It’s actually a better quality bridle than my Red Barn Salute model, which it resembles.

For reference, the other bridles I own are Passier, Schumacher, KL Select, and Schockemohle… most of these are expensive pieces of tack. I can’t recommend FSS bridles because they are obviously variable in terms of quality. I just got lucky, I guess.

BTW, it’s a little offputting for someone to come to the dressage board and say stuff like:

I’m from HunterWorld where we like beautiful leather and workmanship in our bridles; they are the horse’s jewelry. We take care of our bridles and we pay a lot for them… more than the prices of these bridles.

and

I’m already not a fan/not used to black tanned leather and all the buckles on dressage bridles. None of 'em, not even very expensive ones strike me as being as lovely as an expensive hunter bridle.

Hunter riders don’t corner the market on buying and caring for nice tack.

[Draftmare]

[QUOTE=mvp;7981274]
Thank you all for your reviews!

I’m already not a fan/not used to black tanned leather and all the buckles on dressage bridles. None of 'em, not even very expensive ones strike me as being as lovely as an expensive hunter bridle.

I would rather buy one beautiful bridle than endure each day with a bridle that looked and felt bad. I grew up riding with the tack chosen by other people, sometimes trying to care for it well despite it’s being poor quality in the first place.

It is one of my adult vows/gifts to my self to Never.Again.Have.Crappy.Leather.Anything.

Very Joan Crawford to be sure, but it doesn’t hurt anyone. I just can’t find anything but wire hangars in dressage bridle world.

Oh, is a Kavalkade in the same “meh” category? I ask because I think the name is cheesy, but I think I remember cleaning one for a trainer that was pretty good. And I gotta say, I have cleaned Keiffers and similarly-priced bridles. I don’t think they are lovely for the price.

That’s how I got on this “cheap” bandwagon. I thought that maybe there was no soft black leather to be had anyway, so why pay $300 for stiff and too many buckles that are hard to clean well?[/QUOTE]

I have several Kavalkade products, and like all of them. They are really good quality at a low price point.

[MysticOakRanch]

[QUOTE=Crash Helmet;7981360]
Hunter riders don’t corner the market on buying and caring for nice tack. ;)[/QUOTE]

I agree! I have some really nice tack, and there is a huge difference in the good stuff. My ADT bridle is just beautiful, and carefully cared for! There is a lot of really nice tack out there - but many of the high end companies have come out with some mid-priced lines which is not quite as nice. If you want high end, look at Schumacher, ADT, Dobert, Kieffer, Passier, Jerrys, and look at their higher end models- which will cost you (like a nice hunter bridle) more then $150! If you want to compare oranges to oranges… A nice bridle is probably going to set you back $300 to $500. Add a fancy browband (I love People on Horses), that will be another $100 to $200…

[SendenHorse]

The way Dressage riders bling the browbands… now THAT is “jewelry”…LOL
I noticed hunter tack is more floppy then dressage tack, from my experience. Don’t confuse softness with quality. they just are different styles.

I wouldn’t hesitate to order FSS, but for the price point I like Schneiders tack better. I have seen this one in person, for 50-60 dollars its much nicer then FSS (and Horze).

http://www.sstack.com/english_bridles_dressage/premier-dressage-snaffle-bridle-with-crank/

I have a Heritage bridle, after having Kieffer, Crown, etc. My “nice bridle” if I get a new one will be Jerry’s Harness.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Crash Helmet;7981360]

BTW, it’s a little offputting for someone to come to the dressage board and say stuff like:

I’m from HunterWorld where we like beautiful leather and workmanship in our bridles; they are the horse’s jewelry. We take care of our bridles and we pay a lot for them… more than the prices of these bridles.

and

I’m already not a fan/not used to black tanned leather and all the buckles on dressage bridles. None of 'em, not even very expensive ones strike me as being as lovely as an expensive hunter bridle.

Hunter riders don’t corner the market on buying and caring for nice tack. ;)[/QUOTE]

I apologize for offending you.

Maybe I’m hanging out with the wrong dressage people when I have been creating my representative sample of what tack folks choose and how they care for it.

[Highflyer]

I compromised and bought just the bling-ed browbands. They seem to be reasonable quality (certainly not comparable to a Stubben/ Kieffer/ older Crosby bridle etc. but as nice as the overpriced Miklems they go on), and look nice.

[NJRider]

There are a bunch of threads about that company http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?283684-saddlery4u2-on-ebay-any-experiences&highlight=Saddlery4u

[GoForAGallop]

While not technically a dressage bridle, the Perri’s bridles would be more than appropriate for local/lower-level shows: http://www.amazon.com/Perris-Padded-Bridle-with-Flash/dp/B00BM258VQ

I have them in both black and havana, and have been pleased with them. They break in nicely, are cheap(ish), and have the fun colors.