I got my 110Euros tonight for my Zilco biothane bridle so I'm cleared to buy its replacement. 110Euros for a bridle and reins, wow, I'm delighted to get it, I thought I'd have to drop the price. After I cleaned it up, I almost wanted to keep it, it was so gorgeous. So......
This is hard. Biothane bridles are custom made articles that can be altered without cost if they make a mistake or something doesn't fit....if the buyer pays shipping. Potentially I could get a bridle that needs an adjustment, and I'd have to pay shipping three times in a row for that correction.
It makes me lean toward buying German, even though I discovered something today about a couple of popular dealers that really disturbed me, and will convince any of you left unconvinced, that I'm nuts.
Two popular biothane bridle dealers have failed to invest in one important piece of hardware for their stuff. I was like...huh?
Hey, let's see if you can spot the problem in the photos I've linked below. (Problem is too large a word, so I should say unexpected difference in manufacturing.)
Do you see it?
super nice bridle with comfy padding but....
"thinline" bridle (13mm!!) that looks totally cheap to me, and I hate off colored stitching. But...
One last example of the WTH? Also, youre insulting this horse's face by putting such an ugly bridle on it.
I don't think anyone will see the piece that disturbed me - hey, try clicking on the photos to zoom, you can really get close. Then you might see it.
I've given this so much thought...........I really want padding in my bridle, cuz Mag has skin issues and rips himself up on feathers and bubble wrap. Today I had to hose 4 bloody sores from his legs, and when I ride him in my thin black bridle, I feel bad every time he tries to snatch grass and I say no, and jerk on him. He's gonna have a busted up face from his constant snacking.
So I ordered the fanciest lambskin noseband ever yesterday (24Euros!) by Christ, famous for lambskin. It might look ridiculous, we'll see.
A frightening number of Mag's close relatives have scars along their faces. So I'm wrapping him up piece by piece.
I want padding, of some sort.
I see no padding on either ATG or Distance Depot, although they both produce waffle weave padding on their breastcollars, so theoretically.....
I have to say, these dealers should invest in their websites a little more - if I start with a high quality photo, and then have the chance to zoom in (like the weird examples I gave links to above - just click them to zoom in - it's incredible how close you can get!), I can see what I'm getting. The bridle I'm most interested in by ATG has a broken link when I click the photo, though I'm sure it's as nice as the others I can click on. But to be able to zoom in, that was a really nice feature by BK Endurance and showed every aspect that I hate in a bridle.
Below are two sidepulls by Neyala, and at this point this is my favorite designer due to the padding, although I hate rivets. DD also uses rivets. Personal pet peeve.
If you didn't see the weird thing above, maybe you do now?
What popped up in my random photo gallery tonight, my "ripped from her own anxiety" mare Mara showing off her whites. Life lessons.
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7 comments:
Is it that there are no keepers? You can buy plain black ones to replace, but shouldn’t have to! I think the German ones look nice. Major is delicate-skinned as well, but I’ve had no issues without padding (I do have to immediately rinse sweat from his face or he’ll get a rash).
And my policy, which might not be popular, is that he knows better not to snatch or grab, and if he does and gets yanked on, it’s really his own fault. Even doing that (because he does not always remember that running for home is not the best option ) I’ve never had any marks from the bridle.
But you know Mag best, I know you’ll choose something great!
I'm a dummy, I don't see the thing.
The problem with sheepskin/lambskin is that it picks up EVERYTHING--not just dirt, but also burrs, seed pods, leaf bits, gahhhh. I also hate fleecy girths (but I use them on horses that need them, like Hana) for the same reason.
Not sure what your wth is but personally I don't like the conway buckles in the construction of the bridles.
Irish, my horse is not as smart as yours. He tries to eat constantly and it's a battle the entire time. He gets yanked on and yelled at but he cannot stop. I've had some luck with rewarding him for NOT eating but that's only when we're working on that specifically.
Aarene, I have not yet put wool on a horse's face so maybe you're right and I'll regret this. I am fastidious about my wool girth and pad, I brush out my pad after every use, and the girth when it needs it. Wool is a lot of work, and not as sleek as alternatives, but oh well.
Shirley, I hate conways too. I've come to live with them because if you only use it on one animal, you don't have to adjust it. I also hate rivets. To me rivets seem cheap. Chicago screws are also not my friends.
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OK, I'll give a hint. It's at the lowest part of the bridle. It's metal. I found out today I can special order an American style (Whatever It Is) in Germany, hehe. And it took me a while to figure out what I was looking at, I had to zoom in. But I guarantee you if you have an American made endurance bridle or halter, it's different than this.
Ohhh, the "halter ring" below the chin? It looks...like something a dorky gelding I used to ride would ABSOLUTELY use to destroy his own face.
Rivets are a bad idea. I like hardware that I can replace without having to have the whole thing repaired by somebody else. Conway buckles are a PITA, but as you say: if you can just set-and-forget it's no big deal.
It's the loose ring on the bottom of each of these bridles? (Where you would clip a lead rope.) Vs the ring that is attached on 3 sides on an American bridle? Though like Irish, I originally thought it was the lack of keepers! Lol How odd.
Aarene, Saiph, right: )
I was contacted by Nelaya (?) tonight and hope to work it out with them. They order their beta biothane from America, and put it together here, where I can had adjustments made if something is wrong. *sigh* I wish I could order American.
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