So, last Christmas I got a new bridle. Now, since I have used it for a couple of months, I thought I would do a review on it.
The bridle itself is a plain cavesson headstall made by Jeffries, Falcon range. Obviously I wanted to get the matching bridle to go with my saddle. The bridle is made of Black supple leather, Its a dream to clean, one quick wipe and its good to go. One difference between this and the last aside from the colour is the buckle on the cheek pieces, my old cheek pieces had buckles each end, the ones on the Jeffries have buckle on top and that weird bit on the bottom which I have learnt to be called 'Billets', I don't think I will actually call them these but you never know. These are cheeky wee buggers (pardon the pun) that will misbehave when you take it apart and then try to reassemble it. Recently I was round at a friends and she had a new bridle with both 'billets' on the end of reins and cheek pieces and we assembled it (taking a good 30 mins) to then discover we had put the bit on the wrong way round! Bummer! After then I official hate them! Buckles are so much easier!
The overall sleek look of it goes very well with Blue's head, not that he is sleek, it just tones his head, makes it look more proportionate, longer and less pony like. Its a great bridle that fits perfectly around his nose and ears, we did have problems to begin with and the first we ordered was too small, cob, then we ordered a full and even the throat lash didn't fit, so we sent it off for an extension at very little expense, all through the process Jeffries was brilliant. As you can see in the picture the bridle is very simplistic but bold and showy at the same time.
I ride in a full cheek eggbut snaffle with a french link. Blue isn't strong, I can ride him in a headcollar! He is quite slow on the uptake so after a couple of months of a snaffle I decided to go about getting a stronger bit which would help with steering. This bit is great, the full cheeks create more pressure while turning so Blue has much better responses when jumping and galloping. Although I can ride perfectly in a snaffle this bit just gives the bit more edge and fast response, wouldn't go back. You can see in the pictures, I only need a cavesson noseband, blue isn't head strong at all and needs no extra force there.
I rode in a grackle on Melody, I'm really not sure if this made any impact, its what her owner had her in and I didn't know anything else. Now with Blue I actually think about these things, running martingale, no running martingale? I tried out a few things, discovered what he needed and what worked. Its the best way to get the right tack, not gonna lie, it is time consuming but once you get the right thing it just makes life so much easier and you can really get to grips with a horse. It may surprise you but I still believe in a more human to horse aspect rather than gadget to horse. You see some teens on push button ponies with breastplates, gags, and spurs, it's clear they can't ride when you put them on a horse with a GP saddle and a standard cavesson with a snaffle. I often ride Blue bareback, and regularly ride him in just a headcollar (mostly cause I'm catching him and I might as well force him to walk me back).
Well, I got a bit side tracked there... Sorry about that, it's supposed to be a review on a bridle and I'm saying that I ride in a headcollar regularly.. I also assure you, this isn't product placement, I don't have a deal with Jeffries, I genuinely just like their brand and seem to buy a lot of their stuff. I know their stuff is quite steep but it's good quality stuff, so if you have a bit of money spend it on the major stuff you need for your horse, where quality matters. I should make a pact to buy stuff from other brand, I have recently ordered some new jodphur boots and am about to buy a big shop. With that in mind I may do a haul kind of blog. Dunno yet though. Anyhoo, I'm tired so I wish you well and see you soon xx
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