The Ultimate Guide to Bridles

The ultimate guide to bridles

Choosing the right bridle and making sure it is the perfect fit is just as important as ensuring they are comfortable in their saddle. We share our top tips for picking the right bridle for your horse.

A Quick Bridle Breakdown

While styles can vary across types and brand, they all tend to have the same key features.

Headpiece– sits behind the horse’s ears, and is the section that the other pieces attach to

Noseband– come in many variants, but all go around the horses nose

Browband– goes below the horse’s ears across their forehead and prevents the bridle sliding

Throatlash– goes under the horse’s jaw from below each ear, helps to prevent bridle falling off

Cheekpieces– straps which attach the bit to the rest of the bridle

Bit –goes in the horse’s mouth, in the gap between their teeth

Reins– allows rider to communicate to the horse through the bit

Fitting the Bridle

There are a few key things to look out for to make sure your horse is comfortable here, and a few easy ways to make sure your bridle fits.

The headpiece should provide clearance around the horse’s ears, and the browband should sit 1-2cm below the ears both sides and not be too tight that it puts pressure on sensitive facial nerves, or too loose that the bridle can fall off.

Your throatlash should be loose enough to fit a fist between the horse’s throat and the strap.

The horse’s noseband should sit 3-4cm (about 2 fingers) below the horse’s Facial Crest (the horse’s cheek bones), you should also fit 2 fingers underneath it around the horse’s nose.

The cheekpieces should be fitted to allow the bit to sit comfortably in the horse’s mouth, this is usually with 2 wrinkles (depending on the bit design and your horse’s mouth shape). It’s important to have the cheekpiece length symmetrical and matching on both sides.

Signs of a Bad-Fitting Bridle

• White hairs under the bridle

• Reluctance to have the bridle put on

• Sores in the corners of the mouth

• Rubbed hair under straps

• Pain on facial trigger points (eg base of ears, under the noseband, where the browband sits or at the poll)

• Skin irritation under the bridle

• Irritability in the contact
  
  

Caring for Your Bridle

It’s a good idea to regularly clean and condition your bridle to keep it supple and comfortable for your horse, it also gives you a good opportunity to check for any weak areas of stitching, stretching leather, cracks or failing buckles. You should rinse your bit after every ride to remove any crusty bits of grass/hay/feed and check for any rough edges which could cut your horse’s mouth or tongue.

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