Old Bridle, New Purpose

Like all of you, I have ten of everything. How many pads and pairs of reins does one girl need? A lot, apparently. For years, and I mean that literally, I hunted for a bridle that not only fit Speedy well, but also looked and felt nice. As a result, I have a large pile of rejected bridles, none of which look or feel like anything special.

Today's well fitting Stubben bridle.

A few weeks ago, I was complaining about what an annoyance it is to switch out Izzy's bit each week. I finally decided to make the job somewhat easier by at least attaching some reins to the second bit so that I don't have to unhook everything. Tracy, from Fly On Over, joked that she hates switching bits so much that she just buys a new bridle instead.

Palm to face. Why didn't I think of that? No, really, I am not being sarcastic. Why did I not think of using a second bridle? As mentioned, I have a whole pile of discarded bridles from which to choose. So I did.

A reject being repurposed.

There is nothing I like about this bridle. The noseband is hung over the crown piece by sliding it through keepers which is the most inconvenient system of all time. Give me a monocrown any day of the week. It has a crank noseband which is okay on a larger horse, but it overwhelmed Speedy's lovely face. The leather is also cheap and crappy. Here's what it looked like on Speedy. I am sure he's horribly embarrassed by this photo. I know I am! 

Poor Speedy. You can see why this bridle was rejected.

It actually fit Sydney (the OTTB gelding I had before Izzy) pretty well even though I still hated it.

He wasn't embarrassed to wear it.

On Izzy, the throat latch is too small; I have it on the last hole at the bottom. The browband is also a bit snug, but it's not pinching his ears. I am missing a keeper on the crank of the noseband so the leather flaps around a bit. Basically, this bridle is a mess. It doesn't fit Izzy very well, but it will do for a once a week bridle.

Back up, dude. They can't see it!

That's better.

At least the cheek pieces are long enough. That's about the only part of this bridle that actually fits him. Well, that and the crank. For now, it's a much easier way to use the legal bit. In fact, I rode him in the "new" bridle and legal bit on Saturday. He's not relaxing and swinging his back like I'd like, but he has made huge progress over the past few weeks.

​Bit by bit, right?!