bridling passion....

why do 'all' bridles (in the UK at least)   

now come with 

• a flash noseband
• and rubber reins

as standard...? 

as all bridles seem to come with a flash...

virtually everyone uses them

and so many riders think all horses need one...

it's a self perpetuating myth...

(not unlike the perception 

that all ponies

need a Pelham bit with roundings....!)

in addition

very few people know how to fit such nosebands correctly

for example

I find people frequently turn up for their first lesson with me
with a flash 'flapping' loosely on their horse's nose

personally, if I were a horse,
this constant flapping every stride would drive me to distraction...

so I would much rather a flash band is removed
than loosened

in fact my horses spend most of their lives completely 'nose band less'...

for a start it's one less thing to clean ;-}

and for newly broken horses

or those with bridling 'issues'

it's one less thing for you and the horse to have to 'cope' with

I don't have violent objections to flash nosebands being used

as long as

they are fitted correctly

and the rider genuinely needs a little more in the 'brakes department'

when jumping or out hacking (trail riding)

(although their use 'on the flat' is much more dubious...)

as, on balance,

I think a 'stronger' noseband

has less potential to cause damage to the horse 

in the 'wrong' hands

than a stronger bit...

I just don't see why

if I don't want to use a flash band

I am faced with 

the 'Hobson's choice' of 

• either riding my horse with a strange little tab adorning his nose
• or taking a knife to the noseband in an attempt to remove the attachment without ruining the bridle

after all

separate attachments to convert a cavesson into a flash 

are widely available...

so please, manufacturers and suppliers

just provide a cavesson noseband as standard...!

 

equally...

why do 'all' standard bridles (in the UK at least)

now come with rubber reins...?

I hate them with a vengeance
as they are 

• too bulky 
• and don't 'bend' round one's fingers properly

thereby preventing riders developing/experiencing any true 'feel' through the reins...

personally I would always advocate a good pair of 

• medium thickness
• webbing
• Continental reins

as the ideal, day-to-day

set of reins to use....

what are your views on these two issues?

feel free to add a comment below...

For your own copy of my 

FREE training guides and newsletter 

please complete the form at the bottom of this page

To access all blog posts, click the tab at the top of the page

or join me on Facebook by clicking on the following link > labruyere on facebook

Please share this information with anyone you feel would find it of interest

by clicking on the relevant button below.