I just put a Tota Comfort bridle on a client horse that I have been riding this afternoon, and the mare had been really, really heavy on the left rein (getting progressively better over the past 2 months from developing the half halts and lateral exercises) but she was almost completely EVEN in the connection once I put the bridle on! I have other horses going in this bridle, but I haven’t seen this dramatic of a change in a horse from a bridle ever! I can’t wait to see how she goes tomorrow!!
I have an older horse who has some atrophy in his face from nerve pressure, and every now and then while riding (especially with pressure on the right rein) he would fling his head as if he had been shocked. Switched to the Tota cavesson, and no more head flinging! It doesn’t push on his nerves, so no more pain.
I’m a big fan of the Tota Comfort System! My guy was often unsteady in the contact and unwilling to take contact at times. He’s a whole different horse in the Tota noseband! Soft, steady, happy and has a nice foamy mouth. I definitely recommend it!
I would love to have one! My trainer has one on her FEI WB and he loooooves it.
Can’t believe the price though 
I am trying to decide if I want one of these for my just-started 3yo or if I want to not open that door and get her going in a traditional noseband first. The price is unbelievable but I would do it if it would make a difference in developing a horse without contact issues.
The mare was even better today - more up in the shoulders and even better behind and equally even in the connection. In response to some of the previous comments about the price, I think that you have to look at the entire investment that you make in your horse. Given that the idea is that you have an enjoyable hour out of your day, think of all the repetitive costs that we pay for our horses between shoes every 5-8 weeks, board costs every month, lessons on a regular basis, horse shows, supplements, and preventative vet care - I rank the cost of a bridle (something that I’m really only going to have to buy ONCE in the course of potentially the lifetime of this horse that I own) as EASILY worth having to skip one horse show, or take a string of non-productive lessons where the trainer will repeatedly tell me the same thing that essentially my tack is preventing me and my horse from doing correctly. I think that something with this much work put into the design and obvious changes for the positive effect in the horses is EXTREMELY worth the investment.
I’m interested in the Tota system, but I think it’s odd when a first time COTH member posts a VERY positive review about a product.
Since it appears that the OP may have a business relationship with Tota, let me say this:
I’ve used Tota for saddle fitting and even bought a pair of custom Koenigs from him. HOWEVERI would never consider doing any additional business with him because when I inquired about a 2nd pair of custom Koenigs, his shop gave me the run-around. Here is a list of what happened:
- Tota said he would do a second pair
- I followed up and the store said no they would not do it.
- I asked them to please confer with Charlie and ask why there was a discrepancy between what Charlie said and what the store later told me
- I was informed by the store that they would not do the order for me.
- The store then told me that I would have to go to a different Koenig dealer to try to get the boots. (I wanted to get a pair in softer leather not stiff so that I could jump in them. The original boots I ordered were the stiff kind)
The second store then told me no they would not do the order.
The first pair fit well so I don’t see what the problem was. They did have to adjust the top of the boot because it had too much of a gap, but they did that work in house.
Apparently is is too much work to do an order where there might be a possibility of having to adjust the top. The small people don’t seem to matter to him.
I was very disappointed in Tota.
I would love to try a Tota Comfort noseband. I think I would be more willing to buy it if I could try it first without risking not being able to return it if I found it didn’t work well for my horse.
https://totacomfortsystem.com/product/closeout-tota-comfort-noseband-crown-attachment-bridles/
This one is on sale for $250 instead of $350.
I actually AM a trainer in Wellington with an extensive show record. A friend of mine suggested that I look at some of the COTH forums and I just happened to have that experience that I had yesterday and thought that this would be a good place to share it!! I teach clinics in the midwest in the summer and I have always been allowed to let my clinic clients try the nosebands/bridles prior to purchasing.
Next time you talk to Charlie, tell him he’s not taking very good care of some of his customers!!
1 Like
This only works with their proprietary crownpiece, so not much to offer there.
I wish there was a version around 1" wide. These are all giant, according to the measurements, for my little peanut of a filly.
1 Like
Contact their customer service… they used to have a program to trial a demo noseband. Communication can be slow (tried email and FaceBook), but the woman I worked with was generally polite.
You were right! I sent an email this morning and got a response an hour or two later. They do 7 day demos and you only pay for shipping. Thanks for bringing up the idea!
Yay! One thing I noticed is that using the noseband alone changed the fit of the rest of the bridle… you might need to size up on the browband. I ended up finding a screaming deal on a used PSoS, which was a miracle for my guy, but the Tota is beautifully made.
thanks! How did it change the fit of the rest of the bridle?
Well, it’s designed to remove potential pressure points on various nerves along the face/head, so some of the straps on my (Vespucci) shifted such that the crown piece was sitting further back on my gelding (he does have an odd ear position, though). So his browband would have needed to be longer than it had been to accommodate. Since his issue was in the TMJ area rather than the poll or cheek or other, it was pretty noticeable. I’m not sure it would have been as much of an issue with a horse with different sensitivities.
Interesting! I actually have a problem with my crown piece fitting the back of my horse’s ears so matter what I do, and I know my browband is plenty big for his face. I noticed he is happier when the crown piece is farther back (before it slides forward), so that is interesting to hear. Thanks!
Our problem was that any browband on a ‘regular’ bridle (even mono crowns) would dig into the delicate bits between his ears and eyes, to the point where he was throwing his head (and thus his body) to the sides. Immediate relief when I took the browband off, which also let the crown slide further back. The browband looked long enough if I judged it according to the air gap between his forehead and the center of the browband, but the issue happened even if I sized up. I hope the Tota works for you! Happy to chat via message, too! We’ve tried many things 
1 Like
