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Horse Bridle
Nothing is nicer than soft and supple leather. The trick is finding one that isn`t astronomically priced. I have worked with hundreds of bridles and have found that just because it`s really expensive doesn`t necessarily mean it`s good quality.
I currently ride my show mare in a Vespucci Figure-8 bridle with Courbette Eventa reins and an Arc de Triumph Savannah dressage bridle with their calf skin reins. I know that these are expensive bridles, but this was my gift to myself one year when I finally saved enough money to buy a bridle over $100. I also have my retired gelding in a pieced together hunter bridle with Ovation laced reins. Ovation Laced Reins:
I have to admit that I`ve been thoroughly impressed time and time again with Ovations products, but am always skeptical because I do find things they make that I really don`t like. Therefore, when I found a pair of laced, brown reins for around $50 I was definitely skeptical. The last set of cheap reins I bought literally felt like I was holding cardboard between my fingers. Against my own best judgment, I bought them anyway. After all, they were the cheapest I could find and I really didn`t want to spend a lot of money for a set of schooling reins. While I will admit they aren`t as nice as a pair of $200 laced reins they are a lot nicer than I expected. They broke in well and have held up very well with minimum care. I would argue that they are just as nice as any pair of $75 to $125 pair of reins I`ve ridden with. Definitely worth the money I spent on them. *On a side note: I‘ve found that Ovation tends to have good leather products for a very reasonable price.
Vespucci Figure 8 Bridle:
I have always bought cheap bridles. But after working at the tack store and dealing with really nice ones I decided I wanted to finally have some of that nice leather I handled every day. The first bridle I bought was the Vespucci Figure-8 Bridle mono-crown in Oakbark. This bridle didn`t come with reins and was roughly $250. I found these as a negative if you had to actually buy reins because that would raise the cost of the bridle roughly $150-160 making it a $400 bridle. The up side for me was I already had a set of reins that I loved. I decided to buy this bridle because of its good name, beautiful oakbark color and the all-leather figure-8. I`vessve had this bridle roughly two years and have been very pleased with it. The leather felt broken in before I even put it on my horse and has maintained its suppleness even through every day use. However, it does need a bit more oiling than my Arc de Triumph bridle. That personally concerns me when I think of the cost of this bridle compared to my Arc de Triomphe is only $100. I`ve found the Arc de Triomphe leather is of a higher quality. The Vespucci bridle is padded in all the right areas and my mare actually likes putting it on. I love the color too! It`s a nice rich, red, Havana brown with tan padding. The oakbark color was lighter when I bought it but has now been oiled enough where it`s very deep reddish, Havana brown color. The tan padding really makes everything pop. My Mom got the same bridle in just Havana and I believe it`s still a nice color, it`s just doesn`t have the same pop, wow factor that the oakbark has.
Courbette Eventa Reins:
I love these reins! I first rode in them when I borrowed a set after mine had broken. I fell in love. These reins take the perks of rubber reins and remove the down sides. I use to hate rubber reins because when they got wet they were impossible to hold on to and the `traction bumps� were annoeventaying to ride with. These rubber reins are smooth and are more tacky than normal rubber reins giving you better grip even when wet and there are no annoying `traction bumps� to deal with. The only down side is they are a little thicker than normal reins. I got use to this and it doesn`t bother me. However, I`ve heard from other people that the extra thickness makes the reins harder to hold on to. In the end, it`s a personal preference I guess. The other thing I loved about the Courbette Eventa Reins instead of other brands was they had a buckle option instead of the hook and loop.
Arc de Triumph Savannah Bridle:
This is by far the most expensive bridle I have ever bought in my entire life. However, I will have to admit this is the best bridle I`ve ever owned! This bridle came broken in and I honestly have nothing negative to say about it � except the huge price tag. The leather on this bridle is amazing (it should be for how much the bridle costs), but still� When I compare this bridle to my Vespucci which is just a little bit less I feel the Arc de Triumph is a much better value. This bridle also comes with a set of reins. I got the calf skin reins and love them. It`s like having a thinner set of Eventa Reins.
The Savannah has a 1.5� padded nose band with a crank. This is really nice and keeps the horse more comfortable by distributing pressure. I understand that 1.5� nose band wouldn`t work for all horses but Arc de Triumph has a different bridle called the Napoleon that has a thinner nose band for the daintier horse. Another feature I love is the removable flash. The flash loop goes in between the padding and leather so there is always an even surface touching your horse. This design allows for the flash to be fully removed or make the nose band appear standard. This is by far the coolest feature in my opinion. This bridle also has a mono crown now (though I don`t personally have it) which is also nice and adds padding to the bridle. My Mom has the mono crown and loves it. This bridle looks great on and gives the horse a pure professional appearance in the show ring. Though I totally understand a lot of people can`t afford this bridle, it is definitely one of those bridles you would only have to buy once based on its quality and classic design. I highly recommend it!
This entry was posted in Eventing, Jumping, News, Reviews, Tack and tagged Bridles, eventing, eventing colorado, Horse tack, Show Jumping, Tack, three day eventing.
I currently ride my show mare in a Vespucci Figure-8 bridle with Courbette Eventa reins and an Arc de Triumph Savannah dressage bridle with their calf skin reins. I know that these are expensive bridles, but this was my gift to myself one year when I finally saved enough money to buy a bridle over $100. I also have my retired gelding in a pieced together hunter bridle with Ovation laced reins. Ovation Laced Reins:
I have to admit that I`ve been thoroughly impressed time and time again with Ovations products, but am always skeptical because I do find things they make that I really don`t like. Therefore, when I found a pair of laced, brown reins for around $50 I was definitely skeptical. The last set of cheap reins I bought literally felt like I was holding cardboard between my fingers. Against my own best judgment, I bought them anyway. After all, they were the cheapest I could find and I really didn`t want to spend a lot of money for a set of schooling reins. While I will admit they aren`t as nice as a pair of $200 laced reins they are a lot nicer than I expected. They broke in well and have held up very well with minimum care. I would argue that they are just as nice as any pair of $75 to $125 pair of reins I`ve ridden with. Definitely worth the money I spent on them. *On a side note: I‘ve found that Ovation tends to have good leather products for a very reasonable price.
Vespucci Figure 8 Bridle:
I have always bought cheap bridles. But after working at the tack store and dealing with really nice ones I decided I wanted to finally have some of that nice leather I handled every day. The first bridle I bought was the Vespucci Figure-8 Bridle mono-crown in Oakbark. This bridle didn`t come with reins and was roughly $250. I found these as a negative if you had to actually buy reins because that would raise the cost of the bridle roughly $150-160 making it a $400 bridle. The up side for me was I already had a set of reins that I loved. I decided to buy this bridle because of its good name, beautiful oakbark color and the all-leather figure-8. I`vessve had this bridle roughly two years and have been very pleased with it. The leather felt broken in before I even put it on my horse and has maintained its suppleness even through every day use. However, it does need a bit more oiling than my Arc de Triumph bridle. That personally concerns me when I think of the cost of this bridle compared to my Arc de Triomphe is only $100. I`ve found the Arc de Triomphe leather is of a higher quality. The Vespucci bridle is padded in all the right areas and my mare actually likes putting it on. I love the color too! It`s a nice rich, red, Havana brown with tan padding. The oakbark color was lighter when I bought it but has now been oiled enough where it`s very deep reddish, Havana brown color. The tan padding really makes everything pop. My Mom got the same bridle in just Havana and I believe it`s still a nice color, it`s just doesn`t have the same pop, wow factor that the oakbark has.
Courbette Eventa Reins:
I love these reins! I first rode in them when I borrowed a set after mine had broken. I fell in love. These reins take the perks of rubber reins and remove the down sides. I use to hate rubber reins because when they got wet they were impossible to hold on to and the `traction bumps� were annoeventaying to ride with. These rubber reins are smooth and are more tacky than normal rubber reins giving you better grip even when wet and there are no annoying `traction bumps� to deal with. The only down side is they are a little thicker than normal reins. I got use to this and it doesn`t bother me. However, I`ve heard from other people that the extra thickness makes the reins harder to hold on to. In the end, it`s a personal preference I guess. The other thing I loved about the Courbette Eventa Reins instead of other brands was they had a buckle option instead of the hook and loop.
Arc de Triumph Savannah Bridle:
This is by far the most expensive bridle I have ever bought in my entire life. However, I will have to admit this is the best bridle I`ve ever owned! This bridle came broken in and I honestly have nothing negative to say about it � except the huge price tag. The leather on this bridle is amazing (it should be for how much the bridle costs), but still� When I compare this bridle to my Vespucci which is just a little bit less I feel the Arc de Triumph is a much better value. This bridle also comes with a set of reins. I got the calf skin reins and love them. It`s like having a thinner set of Eventa Reins.
The Savannah has a 1.5� padded nose band with a crank. This is really nice and keeps the horse more comfortable by distributing pressure. I understand that 1.5� nose band wouldn`t work for all horses but Arc de Triumph has a different bridle called the Napoleon that has a thinner nose band for the daintier horse. Another feature I love is the removable flash. The flash loop goes in between the padding and leather so there is always an even surface touching your horse. This design allows for the flash to be fully removed or make the nose band appear standard. This is by far the coolest feature in my opinion. This bridle also has a mono crown now (though I don`t personally have it) which is also nice and adds padding to the bridle. My Mom has the mono crown and loves it. This bridle looks great on and gives the horse a pure professional appearance in the show ring. Though I totally understand a lot of people can`t afford this bridle, it is definitely one of those bridles you would only have to buy once based on its quality and classic design. I highly recommend it!
This entry was posted in Eventing, Jumping, News, Reviews, Tack and tagged Bridles, eventing, eventing colorado, Horse tack, Show Jumping, Tack, three day eventing.
