Your Favorite Bridle

[Didi]

Hi, All! I am currently looking for a raised fancy stitched bridle for a hunter. The horse is a lease horse. I say this because I already have a fancy bridle that my 3 year old is using so I am not really in the market for an expensive bridle for a horse I am only planning on having for a year or two. The 3 year old is in training with a professional who sometimes rides when I do so it is not really practical to use the same bridle.

Whew! That was a long way of asking: What is your favorite bridle that does not cost an arm and a leg (after all - I only have one of each left due to my horse habit as it is - LOL)?

[jhg140]

Ovation - bought their unpadded wide nose for my AO hunter some time back and was very pleased. Not sure how it would hold up to every day riding, but it was an excellent show bridle. SmartPak carries these now

[beowulf]

Courbette.

There are tons of fancier, more en-vogue options… I even have them in my tack drawer… but day in and out I seem to always reach for the Courbette. It’s a ten year old bridle and still looks brand new save for the patina.

[hunter51]

I used Smartpak’s Harwich raised fancy stitch hunter bridle for a while both for home and showing and it held up really nicely. It was also very affordable, especially if you get it on sale and it comes with nice reins.

ETA I see they now have a wide noseband option which looks really nice!

[kaya842]

Bridles and Reins.com is the website for the Royal Sports tack which is where I’ve bought all my bridles. They offer different lines (such as the “economy” and “luxury” versions) and I have bought the cheapest line for all of my bridles. They have a ton of options and the bridles are soft and padded. They do stretch slightly over time and aren’t French leather, but I got 2 for $110 including shipping so I am not complaining. They also switched out brow bands for different size for me (and ended up sending me both sizes) because my mare’s head is funky and didn’t charge me extra. I’ve gotten tons of compliments on them. Definitely a good buy for something you don’t need super long term. I have the figure 8, wide hunter noseband, and dressage bridles.

[Madison]

Tenney’s Saddlery usually has a Black Friday promotion that takes 25% off, and they carry the Aramas bridles - the wide noseband one is very pretty and on sale it would be around $250 including reins.

[HJdaydream]

@jhg140

Ovation - bought their unpadded wide nose for my AO hunter some time back and was very pleased. Not sure how it would hold up to every day riding, but it was an excellent show bridle. SmartPak carries these now

Agreed! Love my Ovation for every day

[Bunker]

@Madison

Tenney’s Saddlery usually has a Black Friday promotion that takes 25% off, and they carry the Aramas bridles - the wide noseband one is very pretty and on sale it would be around $250 including reins.

I really like the Aramas bridle too. Nice quality leather that oils up nicely. Huntley also makes a beautiful bridle and they usually have a very good Black Friday discount. I always buy directly from them - they are so nice and will swap out bridle parts if needed. I think they run a little large so they swapped out cheek pieces at no charge so the bridle now fits perfectly. Great customer service!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Robeson Saddlery

Lovely bridle, great details and workmanship, excellent leather quality and thickness, perfect stitching, etc. (mine is the raised, stitched model). It’s 36+ years old and still looks new. It was so expensive I had to buy it one piece at a time! LOL My favorite of all my bridles. I don’t believe the company exists anymore. But if you come across one used (and well cared for) on eBay or elsewhere, buy it. You won’t be disappointed.

[hunterjumper98]

I absolutely adore the used Edgewood bridle I picked up off of a Facebook group for schooling. I ended up paying only $100 for it. If you can find a used high-end bridle in your budget, I would 100% go that route. You really can’t beat a nice, soft Edgewood bridle - new or used.

If you would rather purchase new, Ovation makes a really nice wide noseband bridle. I personally have not owned one, but I have heard great things. SmartPak also carries the Harwich bridles, which seem to be pretty good as well. I owned one a while ago and was pleased.

[Pegasus28]

Another vote for Ovation. I have a fancy stitched raised hunter bridle that came with my horse 6 years ago, and I like it better than the used Vespucci figure 8 I bought this past year. The ovation is always soft and cleans up great.

[Didi]

Thank you all! This is extremely helpful.

[AHorseSomeDay]

I have a CWD bridle that I only use for shows that I love. I have an Ovation bridle that I use for every day schooling and I don’t really like it. The leather is not good quality. I’ve oiled and tried conditioning but it doesnt really do anything.

I do like the Aramas bridle but I found that it stretches and it does bleed when you clean it.

[Pohney]

I’ll add another plug for Ovation. I was looking for inexpensive, doesn’t totally offend my generally-high-end-leather preferences, and decent looking. I picked up an Ovation wide-noseband for < $100 and actually had a lot of compliments on it and people mistaking it for a higher-end option, at least from photos or more than a few feet away. It wasn’t bad to touch either, though mine didn’t take oil well, and was easy to keep clean and held up to daily use. The plus side? I sold it 2 yrs later for 90% of what I paid.

[Suspiria]

JMHO:

Bobby’s is not the leather quality or craftsmanship they used to be, now that they have outsourced.

I haven’t touched an Ovation personally but can vouch for SmartPak Harwich and SmartPak Wellfleet. I use the Wellfleets as my show bridles–they are up there with Vespucci as far as leather quality.

I just bought a Bartville Harness/Nunn Finer eventing bridle off eBay for $50 and am ecstatic about the quality (and I prefer brass hardware so I’m honeymooning over it).

I’m a strap goods collector and yes, I have a problem.

I am stealthily shopping for a split crown Courbette also, and i have two brand new Stubbens that I love. It’s hard to beat the classic saddlemaker brands (Courbette/Stubben/Kieffer/Passier/etc) for quality and value.

[twoscompany]

I bought my favorite wide noseband bridle on eBay. The only identifying marks is “B&B Saddlery” stamped on the crown. It’s a plain raised, wide noseband pony/cob sized bridle. I paid $125 for it lightly used and it’s been going strong for years. I get many compliments on it. My go-to for affordable high end tack is premiertackoutlet.com. Rebecca is wonderful at finding what you’re looking for if she doesn’t have it in stock. I got a gorgeous, lightly used Hadfield’s figure 8 for half an arm… but it was well worth it. Paid less than two thirds of the retail price and the bridle looked like it was never used, just oiled. Worth a look.

[BAC]

I agree about Rebecca at Premier Tack Outlet, she has beautiful, high end merchandise that is nicely discounted.