Remember this bridle? With the way too long cheekpiece. This is really common in off the peg bridles – even the pricier ones! Especially if you have a small pony…. (with this pony the cheekpieces are really at browband level). Well – now we are going to tackle the Browband. An incorrectly fitting browband can cause head shaking and other behaviour issues in an otherwise sedate pony.
This one is too short for several different reasons.
- Look how close the cheekpiece comes to the eye? SOmetimes this is unavoidable but in this case the over small browband is the cause.
- The headpiece crown is sitting diggin into the ear – this can cause headshaking.
- The Browband itself is gaping at the top but flat against forehead at the bottom.
Important Points…..
Pony size/height is no indicator of size. If someone tells you that a 13″ (33.5cm) will fit all ponies up to 12hh then realise that this pony is 9.1hh and he needs a “Cob” size (or 14.5″. 36cm)
This is a really important size. It can affect the performance of the pony/horse. This can turn your Angel into a Dragon at Shows.
To get the sizing correct try different browbands on the bridle – everyone had browbands lying around. It doesn’t need to look pretty its just to find the best size.
Also note that the width of the browband has an impact – those 1″ wide browbands fit differently to a 1/2″ wide one.
Make sure your competition bridles fit the same as the Workday bridles. This lessens the issues with ‘different feel’ for the pony.
We are here to help
No one disputes that the leather on the $600 bridle is to die for… But I get a bit nervous about my kids and their sense of responsibility for them. After a lot of looking I found the Dever Bridles. Dever is a UK company founded by horse riders and they offer 2 levels for bridle.
The Classic Bridle range is UK Leather.
The Ascot range is cheaper leather – Generally German leather.
But they are all made to ‘realistic’ head measurements and we offer a mix and match service to further improve fit.
How can I take measurements?
This is fairly easy. Take a picture like the above one and I’ll show you how to measure to find the correct cheekpiece length for you.
To be continued
