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Evaluating a Horse BridleShare Your Opinion | Read Other Opinions | Ask A Question
First the Budget
Well like I said, you could spend anywhere from $30.00 to $500.00 plus, but on average if you spent $200 dollars you can find a quality bridle; whether it be a hunter or dressage bridle. I spent $250 on a new Calvary horse bridle 15 years ago and still have it (and I am showing with it this season).
Take note that some bridles are priced without reins. Some bridles you can piece together for a custom fit. This is done for several reasons. You may have a horse with a more petite head but a longer neck. If you were to buy a cob size bridle, the reins may be to short!
I was at a tack shop recently with my students and was asked to look at a bridle. She asked me what I look for in a bridle. I look at the quality of the leather, the quality of the stitching, and the quality of the hardware.
Comparison shop! Hold the $30 bridle next to the $200 horse bridle you will see the difference. The leather will be softer and easy to manipulate, the stitching will be finished and the hardware will be a substantial material. I recommend, Crosby, Edgewood, Bobby’s and New Calvary because I have had experience with all of these brands. The Pessoa, Hadfields and Vespucci are good quality but can be rather expensive. There are several different styles of bridlesI personally recommend going with something conservative. Bridles come with fancy stitching, raised leather, padding and of course there has been a recent increase in ”bling”. As in most things, horse bridles also go in “trends”. If you want to get more for your money stay away from trends and go with classic and conservative (both in hunter bridles and dressage bridles).
Make sure that if you are looking at padding on your bridle that your horses head will support the padding. What I mean is make sure if your horse has a small or petite head don’t buy a bridle with padding. Go with a thinner width noseband and browband.
You should also try to match your bridle to your saddle. Make sure the color doesn’t contrast too much with your horse. Most Edgewood bridles are lighter in color and need to be cleaned and oiled before use. My recommendation for lighter colored bridles is to clean with Kirk’s castile soap to get any wax off the leather. Then heat up your oil (I prefer blue ribbon oil) and let your bridle soak in the oil. The longer you leave it in the warm oil the darker it will become.
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