I have the one with pink padding and actually really like it. The leather is soft, all of the keepers are appropriately sized and the buckles seem to be of reasonable qulity. I thought it would be really cheap but it’s not, more like a good midrange bridle. I could have done way worse for a schooling bridle 
mvp-"
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."
Just a wee bit patronizing are we?
I’m from the horse world that is fussy about leather quality. My observation is that good leather always looks like good leather, and thd the rest slowly and quietly show their quality. One of my 50 year old bridles has wonderful leather and is a beautiful hunt field bridle, while its sister is still a classy show bridle.
My dressage bridle is basic but good black leather, but its only 10 years old.
You get what you pay for.
I have a browband from them and while absolutely gorgeous, I have had to superglue the stones (they are like one big chain) back in twice now and will have to again. The leather seemed nice but I won’t be buying a bridle from them.
mvp, wait thee a month and shop at the sale at Canby. You have to do a bit of wading through crappy leather but there are always a few sellers with good used high end dressage tack.
If you’re really jonesing for new, Five Star Tack has lovely stuff. I bought a bridle of theirs at L
Gallops a few years ago that was buttery, gorgeous black leather. Or, just buy a brown saddle and then you can use the hunter bridles you love. :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=classicrocky;7995115]
I have a browband from them and while absolutely gorgeous, I have had to superglue the stones (they are like one big chain) back in twice now and will have to again. The leather seemed nice but I won’t be buying a bridle from them.[/QUOTE]
Hmm good to know. I was thinking about getting one of their browbands, thinking I could deal with okay leather on just the browband.
[QUOTE=Heinz 57;7995295]
mvp, wait thee a month and shop at the sale at Canby. You have to do a bit of wading through crappy leather but there are always a few sellers with good used high end dressage tack.
If you’re really jonesing for new, Five Star Tack has lovely stuff. I bought a bridle of theirs at L
Gallops a few years ago that was buttery, gorgeous black leather. Or, just buy a brown saddle and then you can use the hunter bridles you love. :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
Oooh…. the Canby tack sale. I forgot about that.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Sadly, dark bay horse would look caca in brown tack. How do I know? She’s wearing a wonderful, old-yet-virgin hunter bridle of mine. The price was right, the leather is great and the dimensions of the whole thing is perfect for her head. I’d love that in a black form. 5-Star tack might be the modern equivalent. Oh, and I wish modern times hadn’t made flash nosebands the default position.
Will you be at Canby?
[QUOTE=mvp;7995561]
Oooh…. the Canby tack sale. I forgot about that.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Sadly, dark bay horse would look caca in brown tack. How do I know? She’s wearing a wonderful, old-yet-virgin hunter bridle of mine. The price was right, the leather is great and the dimensions of the whole thing is perfect for her head. I’d love that in a black form. 5-Star tack might be the modern equivalent. Oh, and I wish modern times hadn’t made flash nosebands the default position.
Will you be at Canby?[/QUOTE]
I don’t know. From a financial standpoint I’d like to say no, and there isn’t anything I especially need (going from 5 to 1 lonely horse will do that), but I do still like to go scour for bargains on bits and horse boots. I’m a sucker for the Kerrits booth too, but again… One body does not NEED more stuff than I have already accumulated in 20 years. If I do end up going, maybe we can team up.
The Five Star stuff was gorgeous. I haven’t put my hands on it in recent years, but the bridle I picked up was a padded monocrown figure 8 - with reins I think it was around $375. Some of their plainer pieces are probably cheaper, but I’d still consider them investment pieces. I don’t know if Gallops carries them on a regular basis or if it was some sort of anomaly, but it might be worth a quick call if you want to put your hands on the piece before purchasing. I’m sure they have some of the other higher end brands mentioned here, too.
I recently purchased an FSS bridle (I believe it was in October). I agree that the overall quality is about on par with the price. The leather is decent and evenly dyed, it has stainless steel buckles, and the patent leather noseband still looks nice and shiny after 6+ rides a week since October. All that being said I have to note that the bridles lack refinement and a feel of quality. I dislike the shape of the buckles they use–they’re too big and a bit gaudy looking, and while the wide nosebands are popular, the one on the FSS bridle is a bit overpowering. I am on the whole though happy with it as a schooling bridle so I don’t trash my nicer tack.
If you want an absolutely lovely bridle look at the Otto Schumacher bridles. I have 4 of them - all purchased on ebay (3 were older and one brand new)- and can say that the craftsmanship is just wonderful; beautifully constructed, supple leather that wears well, subtle accents, great stitching. I am a huge fan of the rolled bridles in particular as they buckle/adjust up top and leave nice clean lines on the horse’s face. If you go the used route you can get them from $100 on up; I paid between $200 and $350 for mine but all were rolled leather and it appears that the flat leather is less expensive. If you want to customize your bridle or just get a new one be prepared to spend $400 and up (I would guess the average is $600 for a snaffle but I have seen them as high as $900 with tons of options selected).:eek:
I bought mine 6 years ago. It has held up nicely. The crank noseband is a bit stiff, but I feel like I got my money’s worth. It cleans up nicely, looks sharp, and adjusts from a quarter horse head to a warmblood head easiy.
